Nigeria and the Nation-State: Rethinking Diplomacy with the Postcolonial World

About the Event

How is the United States misinterpreting the balance of power in postcolonial nations? Do we need to adapt traditional diplomacy approaches to fit growing postcolonial nations? Join FPRI Trustee Ambassador Charles A. Ray and author Ambassador John Campbell for a discussion of Campbell's new book, Nigeria and the Nation-State: Rethinking Diplomacy with the Postcolonial World. They will discuss the colonial history of Nigeria, how this history plays into the current political environment of the nation, and how U.S. diplomats can focus more on working with traditional, religious, and local leaders (where real power often rests), and less with foreign ministries and weak heads of state. 

John Campbell is the Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. He is the author of a recently published (Dec. 2020) book Nigeria and the Nation-State: Rethinking Diplomacy with the Postcolonial World and writes the blog Africa in Transition. From 1975 to 2007, Campbell served as a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service officer. He served twice in Nigeria, as political counselor from 1988 to 1990, and as ambassador from 2004 to 2007

Charles A. Ray is an FPRI Trustee and Director of FPRI's new Africa Program. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Zimbabwe. In addition, he was the first U.S. Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, opening the Consulate General there in 1998. Ray is currently a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Diplomacy, communications director for the Association of Black American Ambassadors, chair of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation Advisory Council, and a member of the board of the Cold War Museum.

Registration

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If you have any questions, please contact Kayla Wendt at kwendt@fpri.org

Speakers