CoRE in Interdisciplinary Peace Research NCIRI Seminar Series (Third)
The African Leadership Centre (ALC) and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS), Addis Ababa University, and all partners are pleased to invite you to our third NCIRI seminar series event titled “Energy Justice and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Fair Energy Access Promote Peace?”, which will be held on Friday, 28th August 2026 as a Hybrid event.
The Nurturing Capacities for Interdisciplinary Research and Impact (NCIRI) Seminar Series is a new initiative from the ARUA-Guild Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE) on Interdisciplinary Peace.
Abstract:
Armed conflict remains one of the most pressing obstacles to sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although conflict determinants have been widely studied, little is known about the role of energy justice in shaping conflict dynamics. This paper investigates the relationship between energy justice and armed conflict using a panel of up to 30 SSA countries over the period 2000-2022. We construct a multidimensional energy justice index capturing its distributive, procedural, and restorative dimensions and estimate both static and dynamic panel models. The results consistently show that higher levels of energy justice are associated with a lower probability and lower intensity of armed conflict. The findings also reveal strong state dependence, indicating that past conflict significantly increases the likelihood of future conflict. The findings further reveal substantial heterogeneity across countries, with the peace-enhancing effects of energy justice being stronger in countries characterized by higher levels of institutional quality, economic development, and energy justice. Energy justice appears to be particularly effective in mitigating high-intensity conflicts. Moreover, distributive and procedural justice emerge as the main dimensions associated with lower conflict, whereas the evidence for restorative justice is less robust across specifications. These findings highlight the potential role of equitable access to energy services and inclusive energy governance as complementary elements of conflict prevention and peacebuilding strategies in SSA.
Keywords: Energy justice; Armed conflict; Sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaker:
Dr Brice Kamguia (PhD), ARUA 2026 Fellow
Dr. Brice Kamguia is an economist, researcher, and lecturer in the Department of Public Economics at the University of Yaoundé II–Soa, Cameroon. He is an Early Career Researcher (ECR) within the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), where he contributes to research and capacity-building activities addressing key development challenges in Africa. His research interests span development economics, energy economics, and inequality. He is also increasingly engaged in research on peace, security, and conflict in Africa, examining the economic and institutional factors shaping conflict and resilience.
Discussants:
Dr Fana Gebresenbet (PhD), Director of RVI Ethiopia Office
Dr Fana Gebresenbet (Ph.D.) is currently Head of the Rift Valley Institute's Ethiopia Office. He is also an Associate Professor and teaches the MA and Ph.D. courses at the Centre for Peace and Security Studies, AAU. He earned his Ph.D. in 2016 in the Joint Ph.D. programme that IPSS runs with Leipzig University. His dissertation was on "The Political Economy of Land Investments: Dispossession, Resistance and Territory-Making in Gambella, western Ethiopia." Fana's primary research interests include the politics of development, political economy, pastoral development/conflict, and migration.
Emmanuel Y. Gbolonyo, School of Economics, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Emmanuel Gbolonyo is an economist and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at BOST Energies, Ghana. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where his research focuses on development issues, particularly inclusive green growth, governance, and gender inclusion in Africa.His research interests broadly encompass development economics, energy, and environmental economics, and sustainable development.Emmanuel has published in internationally recognised journals, including Energy Economics, Empirical Economics, Journal of Cleaner Production, World Development Perspectives, and the Journal of Multinational Financial Management. He has presented at several internatinal conferences and also serve as a peer reviewer for international academic journals.
Moderator:
Dr Tilahun Bejitual
You can pre-register your interest to attend LINK
