Dr Emmanuel Ossai
Lecturer in Religion and Politics in the Global SouthResearch Overview
religion; conflict; peace; politics; peacebuilding; colonialism; legitimacy; Nigeria; African security; African diaspora; indigenous religion, culture, and thought; the Global South.
Research Interests
My primary area of interest is the interaction between religion and politics, conflict, and peace. My research has focused on Nigeria, but I am interested in the broader Global South, especially the former African and Asian colonies. My studies on religion and peacebuilding, religion and separatism, the determinants of peaceful interreligious relations, the concept of interreligious peace, migration-driven religious changes, and religious responses to diseases have appeared in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals. I am also interested in the relationship between indigenous religion, Christianity and Islam in contemporary Africa, what has been described as the resurgence of indigenous culture in some largely Christianised former European colonies in Africa, and how indigenous ideas and practices may form strategies for addressing present-day challenges, as ubuntu did in post-apartheid South Africa and Gacaca in post-genocide Rwanda.
Current Research
I am completing a research monograph on Christian-Muslim relations and religious peacebuilding in Nigeria for Brill's Studies of Religion in Africa series, and papers about religion and state legitimacy in Africa, and the invocation of ubuntu and related ideas by African legislators.
Career Details
Before joining Lancaster, I was a postdoctoral research fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University and a lecturer in religion and society at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I received my PhD in religion and peacebuilding from the University of Edinburgh.
Additional Information
I host the podcast 'Africa Simplified', which is building a global community of experts discussing African politics, history, culture, religions, development, and more. Africa Simplified is available on YouTube and Spotify.
The Self-Other Relationship in African Philosophy
Oral presentation
African Renaissance: Reclaiming Narratives and Advancing a Shared Future?
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Social History (Journal)
Publication peer-review
African Security (Journal)
Publication peer-review
The Self-Other Relationship in African Philosophy
Invited talk
Lancaster University Africa Research Hub Symposium
Symposium
Religious Identity, Intergroup Threats, and Biafran Separatism in Post-War Nigeria
Invited talk