African Peacebuilding Network (APN)

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) News

Announcing the 2025 African Peacebuilding Network and Next Gen Social Sciences in Africa Fellows

The SSRC is excited to announce the 2025 cohort of fellows for the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Gen Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program.

This year’s cohort will conduct expert research on diverse topics including policy for localizing digital technology, the impacts of the lithium rush in Zimbabwe, and depictions of women in African cinemas of conflict. In this year’s competitive selection process, APN awarded 20 Individual Research Fellowships and 1 Research Policy Fellowship, and Next Gen awarded 37 fellowships across three categories, including 9 Dissertation Proposal Fellowships, 17 Dissertation Research Fellowships, and 11 Dissertation Completion Fellowships.

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Event

Charting a Path to Stability: SSRC–IPSS Dialogue on Political Transitions in the Horn of Africa

The Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (APN and Next Gen) program, in collaboration with the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University, co-hosted a high-level policy dialogue titled “Challenges to Political Transitions and Strategies for Regional Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa,” held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from June 27–28, 2025. The dialogue convened senior policymakers, African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) representatives, including H.E. Amb. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, civil society actors, scholars (including SSRC’s APN and Next Gen fellows), and

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Event

Emerging Threats to Environmental Justice in Africa: Insights from SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Panel

Held as part of the 2025 Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Annual Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya (June 23-25), the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program brought together six fellows to explore how environmental injustice is shaped by inequality, climate change, and conflict in various African contexts on a program-sponsored panel titled ‘Inequality, Climate Change and Conflict: Emerging Challenges for Environmental Justice in Africa’. Framed within the broader ACUNS theme of “Environmental Multilateralism and Human Development,” the panel session spotlighted African-led scholarship and grounded research findings across Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Ghana, highlighting the continent’s disproportionate vulnerability to

African Peacebuilding Network (APN)

APN and Next Gen-Sponsored Panel at the 2025 ECAS Conference: Prague, Czech Republic

The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program sponsored a panel of current and former fellows, on the topic, “Changing Geopolitics, Violence, and Conflict Resolution in Africa: Emerging Challenges and Prospects for Peace,” featuring presentations based on the fellows’ program-supported projects. The panel was held during the European Conference on African Studies (ECAS), Prague, Czech Republic, from June 25 to 28, 2025. The panel addressed how changing global and regional geopolitics, involving the complex interplay of domestic and external actors, is impacting and shaping the trajectories of violent

African Peacebuilding Network (APN)

SSRC, WANEP, and CORN-WA Convene High-Level Policy Dialogue, “Emerging Challenges and the Future of ECOWAS”

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC)’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program co-hosted a high-level policy dialogue on “Understanding the Geopolitical and Strategic Changes in West Africa: Emerging Challenges and the Future of ECOWAS”, in partnership with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and Conflict Relief Network (CORN) West Africa. The high-level policy dialogue took place in Accra, Ghana on April 15 and 16, 2025. It convened representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), civil society organizations (CSOs), analysts, researchers, and policy practitioners to generate and mobilize collective

African Peacebuilding Network (APN)

2025 APN & Next Gen | MUST National Grant Writing and Proposal Development Workshop

Blantyre, Malawi From February 28 to March 1, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in partnership with the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), held the 2025 National Grant Writing and Proposal Development Workshop at the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, Malawi. On Friday, the workshop began with an opening ceremony, including welcome remarks from Master of Ceremonies: Enerst Longwe (Lecturer, Language and Communication Studies Department, MUST), Dr. Ignasio Jimu (Head of Department, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices, MUST), Dr. Cyril Obi (Program Director, APN and

African Peacebuilding Network (APN)

2025 APN & Next Gen | MUST Writing and Dissemination Workshop

Blantyre, Malawi From February 24 to February 27, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in partnership with the Malawi Institute of Science and Technology (MUST), hosted the 2025 APN and Next Gen | MUST Writing and Dissemination Workshop from at the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre, Malawi. The workshop brought together the 2024 APN and Next Gen fellows’ cohorts, esteemed facilitators, and distinguished keynote speakers to help enhance fellows’ writing and dissemination capacities. On February 24, Ignasio Jimu, Head of Department for the Department of

APN Panel with panelists standing together
African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Event

Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations, Part 2

January 14, 2025 | Washington DC  The second session of the Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations series took place on January 14th, 2025, at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC. This collaborative effort between the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen), and the Wilson Center’s Africa Program brought together experts to discuss the geopolitical shifts and increasing prominence of middle and emerging powers on the African continent, particularly its implications for democratic governance, security issues, and Africa-US relations.   Cyril Obi, Program

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Event

Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations

November 13, 2024 | Washington DC On November 13, 2024, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen), in partnership with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program, hosted a policy dialogue at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. This inaugural session of the “Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations” series brought together African and US scholars and experts to discuss political developments across Africa, exploring strategies for strengthening democracy in the region.   Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Studies of

African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa

Virtual Book Discussion: Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa – September 25, 2024

The virtual book discussion for Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa began with opening remarks and the introduction of one of the book’s co-authors, Dr. Cecilia Nedziwe, by the moderator, Dr. Cyril Obi, Director of the SSRC’s APN and Next Gen Program. The book discussion was led by three speakers: Prof. Siphokazi Magadla, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University, Dr. Lilian N.S. Kong’ani, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town, and Erin Hazan, PhD Candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr. Cecilia Nedziwe thanked

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