Has Africa Got Anything to Say? African Contributions to the Theoretical Development of International Relations

This article argues that International Relations (IR) theory has much to learn from African experiences and African scholarship. The African context provides novel political, cultural, social and economic experiences and knowledge that can and should inform IR theory and encourage its further development. This article outlines how African experiences can be incorporated into IR theory as insights or contributions by African scholars (working both within Africa and beyond), insights or contributions by non-African scholars working on Africa and insights gleaned from a close interpretation of African experiences. It demonstrates how scholars can use African experiences to revise, innovate and better inform existing IR theory.