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Karpatské Námestie 10A, Bratislava, Slovakia
FELLOW EXPERTS
Czech Slovak Institute of Oriental Studies
Jan Záhořík
Is an Africanist/social scientist focusing on the modern and contemporary history and politics of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa as well as the issues of nationalism, identity, conflicts, inequalities, European-African relations in the Cold War, and recently also the issues of migration and security related issues particularly in the West African Sahel region.
He is the head of the Center of African Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic where he serves as an associate professor and the head of the newly opened (from September 2023) MA program Development and Globalization.
He has lectured at ca. 20 universities in Europe, USA, and Africa. In January 2023, he received rector’s Award for the contribution to internationalization in research at the University of West Bohemia. In last ten years, he has developed fruitful collaboration with several African universities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Senegal, and recently building new collaboration with academic and research institutions in Tanzania, Rwanda, Libya and other countries.
His recent publications include:
Záhořík, J.-Morone, A. (eds., 2022): Histories of Nationalism Beyond Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bach, J-N.; Fantini, E.; Ferras, P.; Abbink, J.; Ancel, s.; Záhořík, J. et al. (2022): Routledge Handbook on the Horn of Africa. New York: Routledge.
Záhořík, J. (2019): Inequalities and Conflicts in Modern and Contemporary African History. A Comparative Perspective. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Záhořík, J. (2023 – in print): Shifting Between Pragmatism and Ideology: Relations Between Czechoslovakia and Ethiopia under Haile Selassie in the Cold War, ca. 1955-1978. Journal of Cold War Studies.
Záhořík, J. (2021): Competing -Isms in the Horn of Africa: The Rise and Fall of Pan-Ethiopianism and Pan-Somalism. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 28, 1, 74-91, DOI: 10.1080/13537113.2021.2004766
Maxwell, A.; Turner, M.; Záhořík, J. (2021): The Nation versus the “Not-Quite-Nation”: A Semantic Approach to Nationalism and its Terminology. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 21, 2, 194-207. https://doi.org/10.1111/sena.12349
Šiška, J.; Yirgashewa, A.; Beadle-Brown, J.; Záhořík, J. (2019): Role of resource centres in facilitating inclusive education: experience from Ethiopia. Disability & Society 35, 5, 811-830, DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2019.1649120
Issam Khoury
A seasoned journalist and dedicated political activist from Syria, Issam Khoury has devoted more than two decades to writing and conducting research for major news outlets across the Middle East and North Africa.
He is the prolific author of three books in Arabic, as well as the critically-acclaimed "Assad and ME" in English. His impressive portfolio includes over 700 incisive reports on politics, governance, Islamic groups, human rights, culture, and arts, marking him as an esteemed authority on political and social trends and key personalities within the region.
His trailblazing work includes being the first journalist to report on the Syrian revolution from within the country, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to bringing urgent stories to the fore.
Aside from his writing and activism, Issam Khoury is a noted expert in social media. His expertise has been instrumental in training journalists throughout the Arab world, fostering a new generation of digitally-savvy reporters.
In 2016, he lent his insights as a senior advisor to Strategy XXI Partners in New York. A year later, in 2017, he founded the Center for Environmental and Social Development, an international human rights organization with a 501(c)(3) status based in New York.
Issam Khoury holds a Master of Geopolitics earned in 2008. His pursuit of professional development led him to the CUNY J-school in New York as an international journalist fellow in 2015.
More recently, in 2022, he obtained a master's degree from the Quantic School of Business and Technology.
David Aworwo
Dr. David Aworawo is a Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Lagos, where he led the Department of History and Strategic Studies from August 2020 to July 2023.
He authored the award-winning doctoral thesis, "Diplomacy and the Development of Equatorial Guinea, 1900-1990," and co-edited several notable books on Nigerian history and politics.
Prof. Aworawo has published extensively on African politics and international relations in various international journals. He has received grants and presented papers at institutions such as Cambridge University, Harvard University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, he has served as an instructor at the Foreign Service Academy and the Nigerian Army College of Logistics.
Joshua Olusegun Bolarinwa
Dr. Joshua Olusegun Bolarinwa is an Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Security and Strategic Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos.
He is a Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and International Peace Academy scholar, and teaches at several Nigerian universities, including the University of Lagos and Lagos State University. He is a visiting scholar at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Bolarinwa served as Editor of Nigerian Forum (2011-2016) and Book Review Editor (2011-2019), and is currently the Editor of the Nigerian Journal of International Affairs.
He has published widely, consults for ECOWAS, and is a member of the AU Net4peace Strategy Group.
Notable publications include contributions to books and journals on topics such as peace enforcement and conflict management in Africa. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Adeboye Institute for Peace and Good Governance, Journal of Humanities and Peace Studies, and the Journal of Contemporary Peace Research.
Fuat Emir Şefkatli
Is a researcher specializing in non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Libya and the Sahel region, as well as disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) processes.
He holds a master’s degree from Plymouth University, Department of International Relations and Global Security, and is currently pursuing his PhD studies in the Strategy and Security Studies Program at the National Defense University in Turkey.
Şefkatli serves as a North African Studies Researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM) and as an Associate Research Fellow at the Czech-Slovak Institute of Oriental Studies (CSIORS).
He has contributed scholarly works and his commentaries and opinions have been featured in international media outlets including Al Jazeera English, Daily China, Russia Today, Middle East Monitor, and TRT World.
Sofyan Essarraoui
Sofyan Essarraoui is a Ph.D., candidate at the Sociology Department at Eotvos Lorand University of Budapest, Hungary.
His research area and interest are international migration with a special focus on Migration within Africa and beyond Africa.
Sofyan’s research title is: ‘Sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco: Inclusion Policies and Daily Experiences'.
Through this research, Sofyan seeks to shed light on the Sub-Saharan migrants’ experiences in the aftermath of the comprehensive migration reform in Morocco.
