Books by John Idriss Lahai

Through a multidisciplinary approach, African Frontiers counters the superficial, Eurocentric and gender insensitive dominant discursive representation of Africa within the discourse of war and conflict management, and security and peace/nation-building. The chapters historicize and theorize the realities in postcolonial African states, and the ramifications on the continents future. Situating the study within the context of the prevailing cultural and geo-political realities in the postcolonial African states, the chapters illustrate the complex ways in which events and processes are experienced at the local level, and how these local realities in turn impact and shape the patterns of political and military engagement in Africa and beyond. Organized along three major themes: Insurgency, governance and peacebuilding, expert researchers from around the world contribute chapters on: Rebel and insurgent formations such as the RUF, the LRA, and Boko Haram; state governance and corruption; terrorism and counter terrorism; security and peacebuilding; focussing on the tensions and challenges facing post-conflict societies such as Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and the newest nation-state on the continent, South Sudan. This highly significant and topical study problematizes the impact of wars on African nations, as well as the epistemological framing of the local realities and fallouts of armed conflict on post-colonial states.

This book provides a timely examination of the Ebola pandemic in Sierra Leone from four different standpoints: 1) a social standpoint that focuses on the way in which the vulnerable Sierra Leonian population viewed the pandemic in light of their cultural beliefs, memories of past wars and narratives and actions of the government;