Benjamin Ofosu-Atuahene
Doctoral Student
He/Him
MA (Dalhousie) 鈥 Political Science | BA Hons. (University of Ghana) 鈥 Political Science with Philosophy
Political Studies
Doctoral Student
Research Interests
International Relations, International Security, Privatization of security, Private security actors in Africa, Security Governance, Global North 鈥 Global South relations, African Security, African politics.
Brief Biography
Benjamin is a Ph.D. candidate with the Department of Political Studies at 成人大片, specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Originally from Ghana, he graduated with first-class honours from the University of Ghana. His pursuit of higher education led him to Canada, where he pursued an MA in political science at Dalhousie University and won several awards. At Dalhousie University, his thesis sought to understand why private security services have become a necessary evil in sub-Saharan Africa.
Benjamin's research interests cut across several areas in political science with a primary focus on security governance, and private security actors/services in Africa. During his doctoral studies at Queen鈥檚 University, he remains committed to delving deeper into these areas, concentrating on private security actors within Africa鈥檚 extractive sectors.
Selected Awards and Scholarships
2024 - Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)
2024 - Best Conference Paper Award - Mapping the Global Dimensions of Policy 13th Annual Conference, McMaster University
2023 - Margaret Anderson Graduate Scholarship: Queen鈥檚 University
2023 - Robert Sutherland Fellowship: Queen鈥檚 University
2020 - 2021 - Keens-Morden Scholarship: Dalhousie University
2020 - 2021 - Shaw-Parpart Scholarship: Dalhousie University
2020 - 2021 - Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarship Award: Dalhousie University
2016 - Ghana and West African representative to the annual Korean Government Invitation Program for excellent Undergraduates from Major Partner Countries: MOFA, Government of South Korea
2015 鈥 2018 University of Ghana Scholarship
Selected Conference Presentations
May 2024 - Resource Nationalism(s) in the 21st Century Conference: Experiences, Innovations and Debates in the Global South, York University || Paper Presented: Resource Nationalism(s) for Whom? Agential Constructivist Insights from Botswana鈥檚 Diamond Sector.
March 2024 - Mapping the Global Dimensions of Policy 13th Annual Conference, McMaster University || Paper Presented: Why Private Security has become unavoidable in West Africa: A Case of Niger Delta Region and North-Eastern Nigeria.
Teaching
POLS 262 - International Political Economy (Head Teaching Assistant)
POLS 110 - Introduction to Politics and Government (Teaching Assistant)
POLS 112 - Introduction to Politics (Assistant Head Teaching Assistant)
Community Engagement
Outreach and Communications - Halifax-NS
Academic Service
Journal Reviewer 鈥 African Security
Selected Publications
Jamieson, Brandon, J. Andrew Grant, and Benjamin Ofosu-Atuahene. 鈥淩esource Nationalism(s) for Whom? Agential Constructivist Insights from Botswana鈥檚 Diamond Sector.鈥 Forthcoming in Handbook of Resource Nationalism.
Grant, J. Andrew, Kaul, Benjamin Ofosu-Atuahene, Olusola Ogunnubi, and Badriyya Yusuf. 鈥淭he Just Energy Transition for Whom? Agential Constructivist Analyses of the Governance and Geopolitics of Private Security, Taxation, and New Technologies in Africa鈥檚 Critical Minerals Sector.鈥 Forthcoming in Just Extraction and Just Transition: Critical Minerals Extraction and Decarbonization in Africa.
Ofosu-Atuahene, Benjamin. 鈥淭he Colonial Legacy of Ethnic Partitioning and Predatory Neo-Patrimonialism: Exploring the Dynamics of Private Security in Nigeria.鈥 Forthcoming in African Security (Special Issue).
Ofosu-Atuahene, Benjamin, and Mirriam A. O-Atuahene. 鈥淪hadow Norms and the Limits of Transparency: Extractive Governance in Ghana and Nigeria.鈥 Forthcoming in Resources, Environment and Sustainability, special issue on Just Transition and Extractive Frontiers in Africa: Spatial and Environmental Dimensions of Energy Decarbonization.
Ofosu-Atuahene, Benjamin, and Mirriam A. O-Atuahene. 鈥淥utsourcing and Localizing Security: Non-State Actors and the Future of Security Force Assistance in Mali.鈥 Forthcoming in African Security.
Ofosu-Atuahene, Benjamin, J. Andrew Grant, and Olusola Ogunnubi. 鈥5 Ways to Improve Security Governance and Prevent Future Illegal Mining Tragedies from Happening.鈥 Published in .
Ofosu-Atuahene, B. (2021). Private Security Actors in Africa: The Case of Niger Delta & North-Eastern Nigeria in West Africa. Dalhousie University.