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Research Interests

International Relations, International Security, Privatization of security, Private security actors in Africa, Security Governance, Global North – Global South relations, African Security, African politics.

Brief Biography

Benjamin is a Ph.D. candidate with the Department of Political Studies at ³ÉÈË´óƬ, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Originally from Ghana, he graduated with first-class honours from the University of Ghana. His pursuit of higher education led him to Canada, where he pursued an MA in political science at Dalhousie University and won several awards. At Dalhousie University, his thesis sought to understand why private security services have become a necessary evil in sub-Saharan Africa.

Benjamin's research interests cut across several areas in political science with a primary focus on security governance, and private security actors/services in Africa. During his doctoral studies at Queen’s University, he remains committed to delving deeper into these areas, concentrating on private security actors within Africa’s extractive sectors.

Selected Awards and Scholarships

2024 - Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

2024 - Best Conference Paper Award - Mapping the Global Dimensions of Policy 13th Annual Conference, McMaster University

2023 - Margaret Anderson Graduate Scholarship: Queen’s University

2023 - Robert Sutherland Fellowship: Queen’s University

2020 - 2021 - Keens-Morden Scholarship: Dalhousie University

2020 - 2021 - Shaw-Parpart Scholarship: Dalhousie University

2020 - 2021 - Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarship Award: Dalhousie University

2016 - Ghana and West African representative to the annual Korean Government Invitation Program for excellent Undergraduates from Major Partner Countries: MOFA, Government of South Korea

2015 – 2018 University of Ghana Scholarship

Selected Conference Presentations

May 2024 -  Resource Nationalism(s) in the 21st Century Conference: Experiences, Innovations and Debates in the Global South, York University || Paper Presented: Resource Nationalism(s) for Whom? Agential Constructivist Insights from Botswana’s Diamond Sector.

March 2024 -  Mapping the Global Dimensions of Policy 13th Annual Conference, McMaster University || Paper Presented: Why Private Security has become unavoidable in West Africa: A Case of Niger Delta Region and North-Eastern Nigeria. 

Teaching

POLS 262 - International Political Economy (Head Teaching Assistant)     

POLS 110- Introduction to Politics and Government (Teaching Assistant)  

Community Engagement

Outreach and Communications - Halifax-NS