Africa is often presented as a paradox. Apart from being endowed with a rich mosaic of natural resources, it is also the youngest continent, demographically, making for considerable opportunity for sustainable development. Yet, Africa is bedeviled with serious challenges, including the ongoing migrant crisis in the Mediterranean Ocean, climate change and natural resource depletion, slow gender mainstreaming, endemic corruption, security challenges, the ravages of pandemics like Ebola, to name a few. Thus, on all counts, in both intra- and inter- national arenas, Africa is at a crossroad in the 21st century, faced with numerous opportunities and challenges that demand serious and careful consideration.

This conference is open to Masters, PhD students and Post-Doctoral fellows. We invite paper submissions that will critically reflect on Africa’s development trajectory. Papers from scholars in the social sciences, humanities, and African studies that engage in an inter-disciplinary dialogue around any of the following core themes are particularly welcome:

• Democracy, Elections, and Regime Dynamics
• Gender and governance
• Political Economy and Development
• Society and Environment
• Conflict and Security