J. Andrew Grant
Associate Professor
He/Him
PhD (Dalhousie University)
Political Studies
International Relations
Associate Professor
Research Interests
International Relations; African Security; Global Governance; Conflict and Cooperation in Natural Resource Sectors; Regionalism and Regionalization; Non-State Armed Groups; Arms Trade Treaty; Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Biography
Dr. J. Andrew Grant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen鈥檚 University. He is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario鈥檚 Ministry of Research and Innovation for work on governance issues in natural resource sectors. Dr. Grant has been a Visiting Scholar/Researcher at Northwestern University, USA, and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. During his doctoral studies, he served as an intern at the Campaign for Good Governance in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Dr. Grant is editor of (CIR / CIDP 2009) and co-editor of (with F. S枚derbaum, Ashgate 2003), (with T.M. Shaw and S. Cornelissen, Ashgate 2012), (with W.R.N. Compaor茅 and M.I. Mitchell, Palgrave 2015), (with N. Andrews, University of Toronto Press 2020; The Hill Times' List of 100 Best Books in 2020), and (with N. Andrews and J.S. Ovadia, University of Toronto Press 2022, now Open Access). His publications on conflict diamonds and the Kimberley Process, non-state armed groups and regional security, post-conflict reconstruction in fragile states, Canada-Africa relations, and governance issues relating to natural resources including critical minerals have been funded by research agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the British Academy-Association of Commonwealth Universities. He conducts field research on a regular basis in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa. Dr. Grant is a Senior Fellow with the Queen鈥檚 Centre for International and Defence Policy and a Research Fellow with the Centre for the Study of Security and Development at Dalhousie University. In 2017, he served as the International Studies Association (ISA) Program Chair for some 6,000 participants attending the 58th annual conference. A former Executive Council member of ISA-Canada and Chair of the ISA Committee on Virtual Engagement, he currently serves as the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) Liaison with the ISA and the American Political Science Association (APSA). He also serves on the Editorial/Advisory Boards of the Journal of Regional Security, Interdisciplinary Political Studies, and Extractive Industries and Society.
Teaching
For detailed information about political studies courses and instructors, please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate pages.
Selected Publications
鈥淪ustainability and Critical Minerals for Whom? Agential Constructivist Analyses of African Agency in the Southern African Development Community鈥 (with Surulola Eke and Meghan Hembruff). In S.O. Oloruntoba, L.M. Tshimpaka, J.A. Grant and E. Phaswana, eds. Regional Natural Resource Governance in Africa: The Political Economy of Sustainable Development, New York: Bloomsbury, 2026.
鈥淭ransnational Capital and the Scramble for Land and Profit: Financialization, Agrarian Development, and Resource Conflict in Africa鈥 (with Surulola Eke, Evelyn N. Mayanja, and Nathan Andrews). World Development, 194:107076, 2025, 1-14.
Sustainable Mining for Whom? Agential Constructivist Perspectives on Global Mining Sector Consultation Regimes in Africa鈥 (with Surulola Eke and Meghan Hembruff). In P. Haslam, N. Andrews, K. Buhmann, I. Odumosu-Ayanu and M. Stoddart, eds. Contested Consultations in the Extractive Industries: Rights, Processes, and Tensions. London: Routledge, 2025, 41-57.
鈥淭he Global Implementation of UNDRIP: A Thematic Review鈥 (with Isabelle C么t茅, Atiarul Islam, Victoria McLean, Matthew I. Mitchell and Dimitrios Panagos). International Journal of Human Rights 29:2, 2025, 306-330.
鈥淭railblazers and Laggards: Explaining Variation in UNDRIP Implementation at the Sub-National Level in Canada鈥 (with Isabelle C么t茅, Matthew I. Mitchell, Dimitrios Panagos and Louis-Charles Vaillancourt). Canadian Journal of Political Science, 58:4, 2025, 898-926.
鈥淯npacking the State: An Agential Constructivist Assessment of Natural Resources Canada鈥檚 Implementation of the UNDRIP鈥 (with Anika I. Bousquet). Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 31:1, 2025, 77-101.
鈥淭he Plan Nord in Northern Qu茅bec, Canada: Pathway to Peace and Prosperity or Powder Keg?鈥 (with Isabelle C么t茅, Matthew I. Mitchell and Dimitrios Panagos). Ethnopolitics 23:3, 2024, 273-293.
鈥淎n Agential Constructivist Analysis of Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in Africa鈥檚 Critical Minerals Sector: Insights from the Democratic Republic of Congo鈥 (with Surulola Eke, Evelyn N. Mayanja and Olusola Ogunnubi). In K. Buhmann, A. Fonseca, N. Andrews and G. Amatulli, eds. The Routledge International Handbook on Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement. London: Routledge, 2024, 225-243.
鈥淓SG Ratings in the Mining Industry: Factors and Implications鈥 (with Mahelet G. Fikru, Jennifer Brodmann and Li-Li Eng). Extractive Industries and Society 20:101521, 2024, 1-13.
鈥淔orest Governance and REDD+ in Sub-Saharan Africa: Advancing a Participatory System鈥 (with Adrien N. Djomo, Lindsay M. MacDonald and Evelyn N. Mayanja). In H.G. Besada, C. D鈥橝lessandro and T. Golla eds. Routledge Handbook on Natural Resources in Africa. London: Routledge, 2024, 85-105.
鈥淭he Power of Numbers: How Majority/Minority Status affects Media Coverage and Framing of Indigenous Contentious Politics in Canada鈥 (with Isabelle C么t茅, Megan DeVries, Matthew I. Mitchell and Dimitrios Panagos). Politics, Groups, and Identities 11:3, 2023, 619-637.
鈥淣atural Resource Governance in Africa鈥 (with Evelyn N. Mayanja, Shingirai Taodzera and Dawit Tesfamichael). In N. Sandal, ed. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022, 1-46,
鈥淕ender, Land Grabbing, and Glocal Land Governance in Ghana and Uganda鈥 (with Patricia Ackah-Baidoo and Andrea M. Collins). In N. Andrews, J.A. Grant and J.S. Ovadia, eds. Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa: Panacea or Pandora鈥檚 Box? Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022, 101-122.
鈥淩egionalism Beyond State-Centrism: African Regionalism in Comparative Perspective鈥 (with Abdiasis Issa, Fredrik S枚derbaum and Badriyya Yusuf). International Journal 77:3, 2022, 449-468.
鈥淩eflexive Pluralism in IR: Canadian Contributions to Worlding the Global South鈥 (with W.R. Nad猫ge Compaor茅 and St茅phanie Martel). International Studies Perspectives 23:1, 2022, 71-93.
鈥淎 Flash in the Pan? Agential Constructivist Perspectives on Local Content, Governance, and the Large-Scale Mining鈥揂rtisanal and Small-Scale Mining Interface in West Africa鈥 (with Cindy Wilhelm). Resources Policy 77:102592, 2022, 1-11.
鈥淭owards Praxes of the Region: Agential Constructivist Approaches to Regionalisms鈥. International Journal 77:3, 2022, 414-429.
鈥淎gential Constructivism, Shadow Regionalisms and Interregional Dynamics in the Horn of Africa鈥 (with Abdiasis Issa and Badriyya Yusuf). In E. Lopez Lucia and F. Mattheis, eds. The Unintended Consequences of Interregionalism: Effects on Regional Actors, Societies and Structures. London: Routledge, 2021, 165-184.
鈥淭eaching as a Form of Disrupting International Relations鈥 (with David J. Hornsby). In H.A. Smith and D.J. Hornsby, eds. Teaching International Relations in a Time of Disruption. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, 9-23.
鈥淪ecurity for Whom? Analysing Hybrid Security Governance in Africa鈥檚 Extractive Sectors鈥 (with Charis Enns and Nathan Andrews). International Affairs 96:4, 2020, 995-1013.
鈥淐onflict-Prone Minerals, Forced Migration and Norm Dynamics in the Kimberley Process and ICGLR.鈥 In T. Krieger, D. Panke and M. Pregernig, eds. Environmental Conflicts, Migration and Governance. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2020, 197-217.
鈥淎gential Constructivism and Change in World Politics鈥. International Studies Review 20:2, 2018, 255-263.
鈥淭he Glocal Dynamics of Land Reform in Natural Resource Sectors: Insights from Tanzania鈥 (with A.M. Collins and P. Ackah-Baidoo). Land Use Policy 81 (February), 2019, 889-896.
鈥淣atural Resource Governance in Africa: Insights from Governance Initiatives on Conflict-Prone Minerals and Sustainable Forestry.鈥 In Hany G. Besada, M. Evren Tok and Leah McMillan Polonenko, eds. Innovating South-South Cooperation: Policies, Challenges, and Prospects. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2019, 269-288.
鈥淔orest Governance and REDD+ in Central Africa: Towards a Participatory Model to Increase Stakeholder Involvement in Carbon Markets鈥 (with A.N. Djomo et al). International Journal of Environmental Studies 75:2, 2018, 251-266.
鈥淓liminating Conflict Diamonds and other Conflict-Prone Minerals鈥. In Katharina P. Coleman and Thomas K. Tieku, eds. African Actors in International Security: Shaping Contemporary Norms. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2018, 51-71.
鈥淭he Kimberley Process on Conflict Diamonds, New Regionalisms, and the Dynamics of (De/Re)Territorialization鈥. In Ulf Engel, Heidrun Zinecker, Frank Mattheis, Antje Dietze and Thomas Pl枚tze, eds. The New Politics of Regionalism: Perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. London: Routledge, 2017, 146-158.
鈥淣orm Dynamics and International Organisations: South Africa in the African Union and International Criminal Court鈥 (with S. Hamilton). Commonwealth Comparative Politics 54:2, 2016, 161-185.
鈥淎fro-Optimism Re-Invigorated? Reflections on the Glocal Networks of Sexual Identity, Health, and Natural Resources in Africa鈥 (with A.N. Djomo and M.G. Krause). Global Change, Peace and Security 28:3, 2016, 317-328.
鈥淎ssessing the European Union鈥檚 Engagement with Transnational Policy Networks on Conflict-Prone Natural Resources鈥 (with R.W. Alorse and W.R.N. Compaor茅). Contemporary Politics 21:3, 2015, 245-257.
鈥淎 Historical Institutionalist Understanding of Participatory Governance and Aboriginal Peoples: The Case of Policy Change in Ontario鈥檚 Mining Sector鈥 (with D. Panagos, M. Hughes and M.I. Mitchell). Social Science Quarterly 95:4, 2014, 978-1000.
鈥淭he Political Economy of Transitory Mining in Ghana: Understanding the Trajectories, Triumphs, and Tribulations of Artisanal and Small-Scale Operators鈥 (with F.K. Nyame). Extractive Industries and Society 1:1, 2014, 75-85.
鈥淐onsensus Dynamics and Global Governance Frameworks: Insights from the Kimberley Process on Conflict Diamonds.鈥 Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 19:3, 2013, 323-339.
鈥淐onstitutional Change, Aboriginal Rights, and Mining Policy in Canada鈥 (with D. Panagos). Commonwealth Comparative Politics 51:4, 2013, 405-423.
鈥淩eflections on Network Governance in Africa鈥檚 Forestry Sector鈥 (with D. Balraj and G. Mavropoulos-Vagelis). Natural Resources Forum 37:4, 2013, 269-279.
鈥淐ommonwealth Cousins Combating Conflict Diamonds: An Examination of South African and Canadian Contributions to the Kimberley Process.鈥 Commonwealth Comparative Politics 51:2, 2013, 210-233.
鈥淢icro-Regionalisms, Information and Communication Technologies, and Migration in West Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Ghana鈥檚 Diamond, Cocoa, and Gold Sectors鈥 (with M.I. Mitchell, F.K. Nyame and N. Yakovleva). In Ulrike Lorenz-Carl and Martin Rempe, eds. Mapping Agency: Comparing Regionalisms in Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2013, 149-174.
鈥淔rom Carats to Karats: Explaining the Shift from Diamond to Gold Mining by Artisanal Miners in Ghana鈥 (with F.K. Nyame). Journal of Cleaner Production 29 (July), 2012, 163-172.
鈥淭he Kimberley Process at Ten: Reflections on a Decade of Efforts to End the Trade in Conflict Diamonds.鈥 In P盲ivi Lujala and Siri Aas Rustad, eds. High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. New York: Earthscan / Taylor Francis, 2012, 159-179.
鈥淐lan Identity and Islamic Identity in Somalia: An Examination of Non-State Armed Groups in Regional and Sub-Regional Context.鈥 In David Last and Anthony Seaboyer, eds. Clan and Islamic Identities in Somali Society. Toronto: Defence Research and Development Canada, 2011, 35-44.
鈥淣ew Regionalisms and the African Union: Reflections on the Rise of Africrats, Regional Economic Integration, and Inter-Regional Relations鈥 (with T.K. Tieku). In B.J.C. McKercher, ed. Routledge Handbook of Diplomacy and Statecraft. London: Routledge, 2011, 264-273.
"Natural Resources, International Regimes and State-Building: Diamonds in West Africa." Comparative Social Research 27:1, 2010, 223-248.
鈥淒igging Deep for Profits and Development? Reflections on Enhancing the Governance of Africa鈥檚 Mining Sector.鈥 South African Institute of International Affairs 49 (October), 2009, 5-19.
鈥淧erspectives on Migration Patterns in Ghana鈥檚 Mining Industry鈥 (with F.K. Nyame and N. Yakovleva). Resources Policy: The International Journal of Minerals Policy and Economics 34:1-2, 2009, 6-11.
鈥淚nformal Cross-Border Micro-Regionalism in West Africa: The Case of the Parrot鈥檚 Beak.鈥 In Fredrik S枚derbaum and Ian Taylor, eds.& Afro-Regions: The Dynamics of Cross-Border Micro-Regionalism in Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 2008, 105-120.
鈥淒iamonds, Foreign Aid, and the Uncertain Prospects for Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Sierra Leone.鈥 The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 94:381, 2005, 443-457.
鈥淕lobal Governance and Conflict Diamonds: The Kimberley Process and the Quest for Clean Gems鈥 (with I. Taylor). The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 93:375, 2004, 385-401.