Dr. Thomas Tieku

Dr. Thomas Tieku

Dr. Thomas Tieku

Professor

Phone: 4302
Email: ttieku@uwo.ca

Dr. Tieku is an award-winning author who has written, edited or co-edited five books, and published over 43 refereed book chapters, and journal articles, including The Legon School of International Relations, which won the 2021 British International Studies Association and the Review of International Studies Best Article Prize. A former Director of African Studies at the University of Toronto where he won the Excellence of Teaching Award, Dr. Tieku’s current research, which is supported by a SSHRC Insight Grant, focuses on informality in international organizations and conflict mediation. He has consulted for several organizations including the World Bank Group, the United Nations, the State Department and the Canadian government.

Dr. Tieku received the Hugh Mellon Excellence in Research Award on April 27, 2023.

Education

  • PhD University of Toronto
  • MA Brock University
  • BA (Hons) University of Ghana, Legon

Teaching

  • Politics 2225: Developing Countries in Global Politics
  • Politics 3315: Field Schools (African and European destinations)
  • Politics 3369: International Organization and Law
  • Politics 4421: Negotiating Peace

Research

International Organizations; Informal Global Governance; Negotiation and Mediation; African politics and Africa’s Relations with the West. 

Selected Publications

PEER-REVIEWED MONOGRAPHS
  • Tieku, T.K. (2018) Governing Africa: 3D Analysis of African Union (New York, NY: Roman & Littlefield)
  • Tieku, T.K. (2012). United States of America-Africa Relations in the Age of Obama. [Monograph] Ithaca: IAD, Cornell University
  • Tieku, T.K., & Francis, D. (2011). African Union in Search of Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi and Comoros. [Monograph] Addis Ababa: African Union (Translated into French, Arabic, and Kiswahili). 
PEER-REVIEWED EDITED BOOKs
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
  • Tieku, K. T. 2022. A New Research Agenda for Africa International Relations. African Affairs. 121(484): 487–499.
  • Tieku, K. T., Trondal, J. and Gänzle, S., 2022. The behavioural logics of international public servants: the case of African Union Commission staff. Cambridge Review of International Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2022.2126746
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). The Legon School of International Relations. Review of International Studies 47(5), 656-671. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210521000395
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Informal International Relations. Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of International Studies. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.613
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Punching Above Weight: How the African Union Commission Exercises Agency in Politics. Africa Spectrum 56(3), 254-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002039721990394
  • Tieku, T.K., & Payler, M. (2021). From Paternalism to the Chambas Formula for Mediation: Conceptualizing Cooperation between the UN and Regional Organizations in Mediating Conflicts. International Negotiation. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718069-bja10040
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). The African Union Makes its Mark in the Pandemic. Current History 120(826), 172-177. https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.2021.120.826.172
  • Tieku, T.K., Gänzle, S., & Trondal, J. (2020). People Who Run African Affairs. Staffing and Recruitment the African Union Commission. Journal of Modern African Studies 58(3), 461-481. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X20000270
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). Ruling from the Shadows: The Functions of Informal International Rules in World Politics. International Studies Review 21(2), 225-243. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viz012
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). The African Union: Successes and Failures. Oxford Encyclopaedia of African Politics. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.703
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). The Legon School of International Relations. Review of International Studies 47(5), 656-671. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210521000395
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Informal International Relations. Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of International Studies. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.613
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Punching Above Weight: How the African Union Commission Exercises Agency in Politics. Africa Spectrum 56(3), 254-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002039721990394
  • Tieku, T.K., & Payler, M. (2021). From Paternalism to the Chambas Formula for Mediation: Conceptualizing Cooperation between the UN and Regional Organizations in Mediating Conflicts. International Negotiation. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718069-bja10040
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). The African Union Makes its Mark in the Pandemic. Current History 120(826), 172-177. https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.2021.120.826.172
  • Tieku, T.K., Gänzle, S., & Trondal, J. (2020). People Who Run African Affairs. Staffing and Recruitment the African Union Commission. Journal of Modern African Studies 58(3), 461-481. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X20000270
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). Ruling from the Shadows: The Functions of Informal International Rules in World Politics. International Studies Review 21
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). The African Union: Successes and Failures. Oxford Encyclopaedia of African Politics. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.703
  • Tieku, T.K., & Hakak, T. (2014). African Union-United Nations Security Cooperation. Journal of African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review 4(2), 129-156. https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.4.2.129
  • Tieku, T.K., Obi, C., & Scorgie-Porter, L. (2014). Introduction: African Union Peace and Security Architecture. Journal of African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review 4(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.4.2.1
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013).African Agency via Multilateral Channels: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of Conflict, Security and Development 13(5), 513-535. https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2013.849848
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013). Perks Diplomacy: The Role of Perquisites in Peace Negotiations. International Negotiation 18(2), 245-263.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2012). A Pan-African View of A ‘New’ Agenda for Peace. International Journal 67(2), 373-389. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23266013
  • Tieku, T.K., & Legler, T. (2010). What Difference Can a Path Make? Regional Regimes for Democracy Promotion and Defense in the Americas and Africa. Democratization 17(3), 465-491. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510341003700337
  • Tieku, T.K. (2009). Multilateralization of Democracy Promotion and Defense in Africa. Africa Today 56(2), 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1353/at.0.0094
PEER-REVIEWED BOOK CHAPTERS
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Explaining APSA from the Perspective of Informal International Practices. In K.P.W. Döring, U. Engel, L. Gelot, & J. Herpolsheimer, (Eds), Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture (pp. 101-116). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  • T.K. Tieku, A. Coffie, M. B. Setrana, & A. Taiwo, 2021. A social justice perspective of politics of peacebuilding in Africa. In T.K. Tieku, A. Coffie, M. B. Setrana, & A. Taiwo (Eds.), The Politics of Peacebuilding in Africa. (pp. 5-15). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • T.K. Tieku, A. Coffie, M. B. Setrana, & A. Taiwo, 2021. Conclusion: Ideas, Actors, Institutions, and Future Research Direction. In T.K. Tieku, A. Coffie, M. B. Setrana, & A. Taiwo (Eds.), The Politics of Peacebuilding in Africa. (pp. 232-242). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2020). A Mission to Civilize: The Liberal Idea of Peacebuilding in Africa. In I. Rashid & A. Niang (Eds.), Researching Peacebuilding in Africa (pp. 56-71). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). Stirring the Pot: The African Union and the International Order. In K. Coleman, M. Kornprobst & A. Seegers (Eds.), Introducing Orders of Africa, Orders of the World: How Diplomats Navigate Borderlands (pp. 212-234). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2021). Explaining APSA from the Perspective of Informal International Practices. In Researching the Inner Life of the African Peace and Security Architecture (pp. 101-116). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2020). . In I. Rashid & A. Niang (Eds.), Researching Peacebuilding in Africa (pp. 56-71). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2019). Stirring the Pot: The African Union and the International Order. In K. Coleman, M. Kornprobst & A. Seegers (Eds.), Introducing Orders of Africa, Orders of the World: How Diplomats Navigate Borderlands (pp. 212-234). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K., & Coleman, K. (2018). African Actors in International Security: Four Pathways to Influence. In K. Coleman & T. K. Tieku (Eds.), Africa’s Contributions to Global Norms (pp. 1-19). Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
  • Tieku, T.K., & Coleman, K. (2018). African Agency in Theory and Practice. In K. Coleman & T.K. Tieku (Eds.), Africa’s Contributions to Global Norms (pp. 241-256) Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
  • Tieku, T.K., & Gelot, L. (2017). African Perspective on Global Governance. In A. Triandafyllidou (Ed.), Global Governance from Regional Perspectives (pp. 119-140). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2014). Theoretical Approaches to Africa’s International Relations. In T. Murithi (Ed.), A Handbook of Africa’s International Relations (pp. 1-18). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013). African Union: From Federalism to Fantasy Union. In J. Loughlin, J. Kincaid & W. Swenden (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Regionalism and Federalism (pp. 573-574) New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013). Pan-Africanization of Human Security. In M. Martin & T. Owen (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Human Security Abingdon: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013). African Union. In J. Boulden (Eds.), Responding to Conflict in Africa: The United Nations and Regional Organizations (pp. 33-50) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2013). The Role of the African Union in Post-War Reconstruction. In D. Simpson, C. Veney & P. Zeleza (Eds.), Development and Democracy in Post-War African Nations Lexington Books.
  • Tieku, T.K., & Grant, J.A. (2011). New Regionalisms and the African Union: Reflections on the Rise of Africrats, Regional Economic Integration, and Inter-Regional Relations. In B. McKercher (Ed), Handbook on Diplomacy and StatecraftAbingdon: Routledge.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2012). Africa’s Collectivist Worldview: Its Challenge to International Relations. In C. Scarlett, K. Dunne & T. Shaw (Eds.), Africa’s Challenge to Global Studies (pp. 36-50) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2011). The evolution and role of AU Commission and Africrats: Drivers of Africa’s regionalism. In A. Grant, C. Scarlett, & T. Shaw (Eds.), The Research Companion to Regionalisms (pp. 193-212) Ashgate.
  • Tieku, T.K. (2009). African Union & US Strategic Interests in Africa. In D. Francis (Ed.), African Security & US Strategic Interests in Africa (pp. 78-91) Routledge