Academic and policy debates on peacebuilding in Africa in the last two decades have rarely placed the issue of leadership at the core of analysis of peace and stability in Africa even if it is often implied. While the analyses of the causes of conflict in Africa acknowledge leadership failures particularly in governance, this does not occupy a central place in considerations of reconstruction and peacebuilding. The research cluster on Leadership and Peacebuilding has two inter-related aims. The first is to address some of the gaps in knowledge on peacebuilding in Africa – conceptually and practically. The second is to contribute to the development of a knowledge base on peacebuilding in Africa, particularly among a next generation of scholars and policy analysts. Research conducted in this cluster will seek to do the following: examine the relevance of peacebuilding as presently conceptualized, to African realities; explore the relationship between leadership and peacebuilding theory and practice; interrogate peacebuilding activities in Africa, led by global actors such as the UN; examine the capacity of African regional and local actors to undertake peacebuilding in response to conflicts in the region effectively; and develop a system for engaging the next generation of African scholars in cutting edge research on leadership and peacebuilding in Africa. It builds on previous research at the ALC on the UN and Peacebuilding in Africa.
