Book launch: Redefining Peace in a Shifting World

Join us on Wednesday 18 March for a conversation and a lunch with Loughborough University alumnus Dr Ibrahim Magara (currently Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Coventry University), who will talk about his recently published book Redefining Peace in a Shifting World: IGAD, South Sudan, and the New African Security Paradigm (Palgrave MacMillan, 2025) and discuss the challenges of book publishing for early career researchers.

Dr. Magara holds a PhD in international politics from Loughborough University and is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR). Before starting his academic journey, Ibrahim worked as a peace practitioner for over ten years, coordinating the implementation of programmes supporting local peace processes and inter-religious dialogue for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and other Non-Governmental Organizations all over East Africa.

The book is a groundbreaking exploration of peace-making efforts in South Sudan and the Horn of Africa. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, it examines African regionalism, Pan-Africanism, hybrid governance, and the decolonisation of peace theory and practice. It traces the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) facilitation of the 2018 peace agreement, revealing how the organisation weaves together contending ideas and practices of peace. Through the concepts of strategic hybridisation and platformisation, it underscores African agency and calls for reimagining peace, security, and integration from an African perspective.

In the second part of this event, Dr Magara will talk about the process that has led him to turn his doctoral dissertation into a book published in the prestigious Palgrave Rethinking Political Violence series, edited by Professor Roger Mac Ginty.
This is a hybrid event – it is possible to attend either in person or on Teams.

Book presentation: 12pm-1pm, Morag Bell Boardroom E001 / Online
Lunch: 1pm-1.45pm, Morag Bell Boardroom E001
How to publish session: 1.45pm-2.45 pm, Morag Bell Boardroom E001 / Online

The event is organized by the Centre for Security Studies (CSS) and kindly sponsored by the International Relations, Politics and History Department (IRPH).