UMass Boston

Civil society and transnational civil society development; international security and crisis intervention in Africa; conflict resolution efforts as grassroots approaches to promoting democracy, conflict, and democracy in Africa (especially Nigeria); culture and religion, international negotiation, nation-building

PhD, Tufts University

• Kew, D. Civil Society, Conflict Resolution, and Building Democracy in Nigeria. Forthcoming. Syracuse University Press.
• Kew, D. and Oshikoya, M. (2013) “Escape from Tyranny: Civil Society and Democratic Struggles in Africa,” in E. Obadare, ed. The Handbook of Civil Society in Africa.
• “Seeking Peace in the Niger Delta,” with David L. Phillips. New England Journal of Public Policy 2 (Summer 2013) 1.
• Kwaja, C. and Kew, D, (April 2010) Analysis: Nigeria's smoldering crisis in Jos -Dialogue between Christians and Muslims is necessary to prevent another round of violence.

Darren Kew  studies the connection between democratic institution building in Africa and the development of political cultures that support democracy, particularly in terms of the role of civil society groups in this development. He is the Executive Director of the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development. Kew has worked with the Council on Foreign Relations' Center for Preventive Action to provide analysis and blueprints for preventing conflicts in several areas around the world, including Nigeria, Central Africa, and Kosovo. He has also been a consultant to the United Nations, USAID, the US State Department, and to a number of NGOs, including the Carter Center in a 1999 effort by former President Carter to mediate the Niger Delta conflicts. His work on how conflict resolution methods promote democratization of national political cultures is one of the first of its kind linking these important fields.  Research interests include:

• Civil society, conflict prevention, and transnational civil society development
• Religion, Ethnicity, and Conflict Resolution
• International security and crisis intervention in Africa
• Conflict resolution efforts as grassroots approaches to promoting democracy
• Conflict and democracy in Africa (especially Nigeria)
• International negotiation and mediation

View Curriculum Vitae