KITA Discourse Series 4/2024: Mapping Ethnicity and Discursive Peace in Africa: Contending Diversity, Contesting Identity and Constructing Moral Economy

MAPPING ETHNICITY AND DISCURSIVE PEACE IN AFRICA: CONTENDING DIVERSITY, CONTESTING IDENTITY AND CONSTRUCTING MORAL ECONOMY

By:

DR. MUHAMMAD DANIAL BIN AZMAN (Universiti Malaya)
5 March 2024 (Tuesday)
10.00 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.
Platform: Hybrid

Myriads of peaceful and violent stories have shaped the notions of authority and the invention of tradition and modernity in Africa. Continued controversy and opportunity surrounding identity politics in multiethnic societies and inequality in African plural societies explain the complex relationships between violence and ethnicity in various conflict zones across Africa. In addition to the remnants of colonial boundaries and misrepresentations of ethnicity in debates surrounding identity and autochthony, the multidimensional nature of ethnicity in everyday material transactions and the exchange of socio-political ideas have not provided conclusive evidence of ethnic peace or normalization of violence. In this lecture, we will introduce outsiders and unfamiliar readers to the salient features of ethnicity, identity distortion, discursive peace, violence in African cases and their antecedent conditions. It is crucial for casual observers, commentators, and policymakers to appreciate the various expressions, complex projections, and utilitarian functions of ethnicity in African societies.

Presenter’s Profile

Danial is a Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA), Universiti Malaya (UM), and he teaches Master of Public Policy (MPP) and has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Asia Pacific University (APU) in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia. Danial is highly interested in conducting research, teaching, and supervising in the areas related to Global South or Africa-Asia Relations in World Politics, Malaysia’s Public and Foreign Policy Analysis, and Peace and Conflict Studies. He currently serves as the Secretary of the Malaysian International Studies Association (MyISA) and is an active member of several other international associations. He is also a Fellow of the Research Institute for Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore at Universiti Utara Malaysia (ITS-UUM), Kedah, Malaysia. Danial holds a PhD in International Relations (Political Science) from the University of St. Andrews in the UK. During his doctoral training, he was mentored by the late Professor Ian Taylor, an eminent expert in Africa-Asia Politics and Relations and Critical Political Economy. He also received the UM Bright Spark Fellowship, which helped him pursue his PhD. Furthermore, Danial has conducted extensive fieldwork and study visits in various African and Asian countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, Sierra Leone, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Danial obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction Honours), majored in International and Strategic Studies and minored in East Asian Studies. He received the Ghazali Shafie Book Prize and Dato Panglima Kinta Yusuf Gold Medal for outstanding performance during the 2007 Graduation Ceremony. He has been awarded various prestigious grants such as the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), the National Agency for Anti-Drug Research Grant, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Malaysian government, and grants of the Sumito Foundation, Japan Foundation and Korean Foundation. Apart from peer-reviewed works with various international journals, Danial currently serves as an Editorial Board Member for the Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities (UPM Press), SINERGI: Journal of Strategic Studies & International Affairs (UKM Press), and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Journal of Social and Political Science (JSP-FISIP) (Indexed in Scopus and WOS).

PROGRAMME:

Date: 5 March 2024 (Tuesday)
Time: 10.00 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.
Venue: KITA Meeting Room, 4th Floor, Kolej Keris Mas Administration Building, UKM Bangi Campus
Live Streaming: Webex & KITA Facebook page

10.00 a.m.: Introduction by Moderator & welcoming remarks

10.10 a.m.: Mapping Ethnicity and Discursive Peace in Africa: Contending Diversity, Contesting Identity and Constructing Moral Economy – Dr. Muhammad Danial

11.00 a.m.: Q & A Session

11.30 a.m. Closing

Join via Facebook

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the presentation(s) are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of KITA.

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

Download [179.83 KB]