J. Andrew Grant
Associate Professor
He/Him
PhD (Dalhousie)
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
Brief Biography
Dr. J. Andrew Grant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. He is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario’s 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 Darfur: Reflections on the Crisis and the Responses (CIR / CIDP 2009) and co-editor of The New Regionalism in Africa (with F. Söderbaum, Ashgate 2003), The Research Companion to Regionalisms (with T.M. Shaw and S. Cornelissen, Ashgate 2012), New Approaches to the Governance of Natural Resources: Insights from Africa (with W.R.N. Compaoré and M.I. Mitchell, Palgrave 2015), and Corporate Social Responsibility and Canada’s Role in Africa’s Extractive Sectors (with N. Andrews, University of Toronto Press 2019). His publications on conflict diamonds and the Kimberley Process, non-state armed groups and regional security, post-conflict reconstruction in fragile states, and governance issues relating to natural resources 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, and South Africa. Dr. Grant is a Senior Fellow with the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy, a Faculty Associate with the Queen’s Southern African Research Centre, 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 Executive Council of the International Political Science Association Research Committee #40 (New World Orders) and the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Regional Security and Extractive Industries and Society.
Teaching
For detailed information about political studies courses and instructors, please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate pages.
Service (2024/2025)
- Colloquium Committee
- Departmental Committee
- Equity Issues Committee (Chair)
Selected Publications
“Agential Constructivism and Change in World Politics”. International Studies Review 20:2, 2018, 255-263. https://academic.oup.com/isr/article-pdf/20/2/255/25056278/viy021.pdf
“The Glocal Dynamics of Land Reform in Natural Resource Sectors: Insights from Tanzania” (with A.M. Collins and P. Ackah-Baidoo). Land Use Policy 81 (February), 2019, 889-896.
“Natural Resource Governance in Africa: Insights from Governance Initiatives on Conflict-Prone Minerals and Sustainable Forestry.” 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.
“Forest Governance and REDD+ in Central Africa: Towards a Participatory Model to Increase Stakeholder Involvement in Carbon Markets” (with A.N. Djomo et al). International Journal of Environmental Studies 75:2, 2018, 251-266.
“Eliminating Conflict Diamonds and other Conflict-Prone Minerals”. In Katharina P. Coleman and Thomas K. Tieku, eds. African Actors in International Security: Shaping Contemporary Norms. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2018, 51-71.
“The Kimberley Process on Conflict Diamonds, New Regionalisms, and the Dynamics of (De/Re)Territorialization”. In Ulf Engel, Heidrun Zinecker, Frank Mattheis, Antje Dietze and Thomas Plötze, eds. The New Politics of Regionalism: Perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. London: Routledge, 2017, 146-158.
“Norm Dynamics and International Organisations: South Africa in the African Union and International Criminal Court” (with S. Hamilton). Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 54:2, 2016, 161-185.
“Afro-Optimism Re-Invigorated? Reflections on the Glocal Networks of Sexual Identity, Health, and Natural Resources in Africa” (with A.N. Djomo and M.G. Krause). Global Change, Peace & Security 28:3, 2016, 317-328.
“Assessing the European Union’s Engagement with Transnational Policy Networks on Conflict-Prone Natural Resources” (with R.W. Alorse and W.R.N. Compaoré). Contemporary Politics 21:3, 2015, 245-257.
“A Historical Institutionalist Understanding of Participatory Governance and Aboriginal Peoples: The Case of Policy Change in Ontario’s Mining Sector” (with D. Panagos, M. Hughes and M.I. Mitchell). Social Science Quarterly 95:4, 2014, 978-1000.
“The Political Economy of Transitory Mining in Ghana: Understanding the Trajectories, Triumphs, and Tribulations of Artisanal and Small-Scale Operators” (with F.K. Nyame). Extractive Industries and Society 1:1, 2014, 75-85.
“Consensus Dynamics and Global Governance Frameworks: Insights from the Kimberley Process on Conflict Diamonds.” Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 19:3, 2013, 323-339.
“Constitutional Change, Aboriginal Rights, and Mining Policy in Canada” (with D. Panagos). Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 51:4, 2013, 405-423.
“Reflections on Network Governance in Africa’s Forestry Sector” (with D. Balraj and G. Mavropoulos-Vagelis). Natural Resources Forum 37:4, 2013, 269-279.
“Commonwealth Cousins Combating Conflict Diamonds: An Examination of South African and Canadian Contributions to the Kimberley Process.” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 51:2, 2013, 210-233.
“Micro-Regionalisms, Information and Communication Technologies, and Migration in West Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Ghana’s Diamond, Cocoa, and Gold Sectors” (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.
“From Carats to Karats: Explaining the Shift from Diamond to Gold Mining by Artisanal Miners in Ghana” (with F.K. Nyame). Journal of Cleaner Production 29 (July), 2012, 163-172.
“The Kimberley Process at Ten: Reflections on a Decade of Efforts to End the Trade in Conflict Diamonds.” In Päivi Lujala and Siri Aas Rustad, eds. High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. New York: Earthscan / Taylor & Francis, 2012, 159-179.
“Clan Identity and Islamic Identity in Somalia: An Examination of Non-State Armed Groups in Regional and Sub-Regional Context.” In David Last and Anthony Seaboyer, eds. Clan and Islamic Identities in Somali Society. Toronto: Defence Research and Development Canada, 2011, 35-44.
“New Regionalisms and the African Union: Reflections on the Rise of Africrats, Regional Economic Integration, and Inter-Regional Relations” (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.
“Digging Deep for Profits and Development? Reflections on Enhancing the Governance of Africa’s Mining Sector.” South African Institute of International Affairs 49 (October), 2009, 5-19.
“Perspectives on Migration Patterns in Ghana’s Mining Industry” (with F.K. Nyame and N. Yakovleva). Resources Policy: The International Journal of Minerals Policy and Economics 34:1-2, 2009, 6-11.
“Informal Cross-Border Micro-Regionalism in West Africa: The Case of the Parrot’s Beak.” In Fredrik Söderbaum and Ian Taylor, eds. Afro-Regions: The Dynamics of Cross-Border Micro-Regionalism in Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 2008, 105-120.
“Diamonds, Foreign Aid, and the Uncertain Prospects for Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Sierra Leone.” The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 94:381, 2005, 443-457.
“Global Governance and Conflict Diamonds: The Kimberley Process and the Quest for Clean Gems” (with I. Taylor). The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 93:375, 2004, 385-401.