Exploring sessionist movements in post-colonial Africa: Meet PCJ Fellow Peter Sekyere
Each year, the Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice offers three fellowships to exceptional doctoral students from U of T’s Department of Political Science, whose research relates to issues of peace, conflict and justice.
This year, Peter Sekyere is one of three recipients of the Trudeau Centre Fellowship in Peace, Conflict and Justice. Peter is a PhD student at the Department of Political Science with a focus in International Relations and Developmental Studies. His research concerns the intersection of state formation, secession and conflict in the global south. In particular, he examines secessionist movements in post-colonial Africa, and how they are influenced by other similar movements through diffusion.
Growing up in Ghana, Peter completed his bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Ghana. From there, he attended the University of Oslo, Norway for his Master of Philosophy in Human Rights, as well as Brock University, obtaining his Master of Arts in International Relations, before coming the University of Toronto to pursue his current PhD studies.
Peter cites his upbringing in West Africa as well as his experiences at the Norwegian Human Rights Center as key influences on his interest in human rights and international relations. Motivated by his desire to learn more about Ghana’s human rights record, Peter stated that “part of the reason why I took on the human rights program was to acquire insights—often we think we know something until we actually get to study it—to really understand what exactly human rights are, their implications for human and national development and so on.”
Peter is particularly fascinated by the right to self-determination. He points to many examples of self-determination or secessionist movements in the global South which prompted him to explore the question: “what is the end result of widespread secessionism in the international system?” Conflicts such as the Sudanese Civil War, the 1960s Biafra War in Nigeria, as well as secessionist activities in Ghana, Cameroun and several others that are occurring today motivate Peter’s research as they develop and relate to his studies. “It’s things relating to the life around me, questions that I have harboured intellectual curiosity about over the years. That’s how I relate to my studies. I’m passionate about it, so it keeps me going.”
In November, Peter presented his research in a seminar to PCJ students. He spoke about the phenomenon and spread of secessionist movements, which “seem to have come to stay in the global system since the birth of the right to self-determination.” He emphasized the importance of considering different explanations when looking at international relations—in this case, looking beyond domestic level explanations and investigating diffusion to explain secession movements strategic behaviour. Peter aimed to leave students with the idea to “pay attention to the post-colonial African experience for general IR theorizing—focusing on domestic factors are not enough because they eliminate important external linkages and other questions about how other movements also influence the behavior of secessionist movements domestically.”
When asked what advice he would give to current undergraduate students, Peter offered some insights from his own experiences: “The first thing I would say is, don’t stay in the dark if you don’t have clarity on something or if you need guidance. There are so many people with a great deal of expertise, our profs and mentors—someone will be able to help you. Second, enjoy what you are doing, see how it connects to you personally.”
