Selected Publications
- A Theory of African Constitutionalism(Oxford University Press 2021).
- The Identity of the Constitutional Subject and the Construction of Constitutional Identity: Lessons from Africa, Comparative Constitutional Studies Vol 1(1): 29-50(2023).
- Global Constitutionalism and Cultural Diversity: The Emergence of Jurisgenerative Constitutionalism in Africa, Global Constitutionalism, Vol. 10(1): 40-71 (2021).
- Federal Theory and Federalism in Africa, Verfassung und Recht in Übersee/World Comparative Law Vol. 53(2): 95-115 (2020).
- Decoding Legal Pluralism in Africa, Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law Vol. 49 (2): 228-249 (2017).
FRIAS Project
Syncretic Authoritarianism.
In this research project, I investigate how African constitutionalism can produce and sustain what I call “syncretic authoritarianism,” a type of authoritarianism that draws on a particular configuration of international law, administrative law, customary law, and democratic constitutionalism only as a blueprint and billboard. Externally, syncretic authoritarian systems rely on the notion of juridical sovereignty in international law to secure key external support essential for their rule. Internally, they use the legal, institutional, and bureaucratic apparatus of the administrative and local state to eliminate their rivals and impose their authority over people and territory. This research project explores and examines the constitutional origins of authoritarianism in Africa, demonstrating that authoritarianism requires a legal collaboration of internal and external actors. By decoding the supportive conditions for authoritarianism, this research project also indirectly lays the groundwork for the institution and consolidation of democratic constitutionalism on the continent.