Horace G. Campbell is an international peace and justice scholar and Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Born in

Montego Bay, Jamaica Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, ...

, he has been involved in Africa's Liberation Struggles and in the struggles for peace and justice globally for more than four decades. From his years in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada, to his sojourns in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, the United Kingdom and parts of the Caribbean, he has been an influential force offering alternatives to the

hegemonic Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

ideas of

Eurocentrism Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western worl ...

. In an attempt to theorise new concepts of revolution in the 21st century he has been seeking to expand on the ideas of fractals and the importance of emancipatory ideas. He currently teaches in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University.

Education and early academics

Campbell was educated in the Caribbean, Canada,

and the United Kingdom. He did his doctoral work at Sussex University in the United Kingdom. The title of his thesis was "The Commandist State in

". Since 1979, he has been studying issues of

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and transformation in Africa. Before teaching at Syracuse University, Horace Campbell taught in the Department of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

and for six years at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

, Tanzania. Campbell seeks to continue the traditions of scholarship and activism of the Dar es Salaam School of History and Philosophy. He has been a Visiting

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

in China (at Tsinghua University), South Africa, Ireland and

. In the Fall of 2011 and 2013 he taught as a Visiting Distinguished Professor in the Department of International Relations at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

in Beijing. At Tsinghua University he taught courses on

Comparative Politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

and International Political Economy.

Contributions to scholarship

Presently, within Syracuse University, Campbell serves as a mentor for younger scholars and teaches courses on Politics in Africa, African

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

Militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and Transformation in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, Introduction to Pan Africanism and The Caribbean Society since Independence, Caribbean Intellectual Thought and Introduction to African American Studies. At Syracuse University, Campbell is a member of the International Relations Faculty in the Maxwell School. He is also one of the principal conveners for the Graduate

Seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

on Pan Africanism: Research and Readings. In this course he conducts a major seminar on the issues of peace and reconstruction and the meanings of Pan Africanism today. He is the Director of the Africa Initiative (AI) at Syracuse University. The purpose of the initiative is to focus on Africa as an important source of knowledge, highlighting work on the continent by Syracuse University scholars. The scholars represent a variety of disciplines including the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, mathematics, engineering and others. The Africa Initiative has the following areas of research and advocacy: peace and reconstruction, Africa and the

information revolution The term information revolution describes current economic, social and technological trends beyond the Industrial Revolution. Many competing terms have been proposed that focus on different aspects of this societal development. The British polymat ...

, gender and the environment in the Pan African world, African

Orature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used var ...

, African Languages and literature, and Reparations in the Twenty First Century. Campbell has published widely. His most recent book, ''Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya: Lessons for Africa in the Forging of African Unity'', exposed the duplicity and hypocrisy of the counter revolution in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

that is now acting as a force for the destabilisation of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. His most important book, ''Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney'', is going through its seventh edition. In 2014 the French edition of this book was published by Camion Blanc. Campbell's book on

sought to cut through the

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

discourse of the political leadership in Zimbabwe. His ''Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation'' (David Phillip, South Africa and Africa World Press,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 2003) lays out a new critique of

liberation movements A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperiali ...

that go sour and fail to transform themselves and their societies. His book ''Pan Africanism, Pan Africanists and African Liberation in the 21st Century'' (New Academia Publishers 2006), co-edited with Rodney Worrell, laid out some of the conceptual challenges for the unification of Africa and the emancipation of African peoples globally. Campbell's ''

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and Twenty-first Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA'' analysed the new social forces that organised to intervene in the political process of the United States in the midst of the global financial crisis. This book outlined just how significant the movement behind Barack Obama was for the politics of the United States and for the world. In breaking from the conceptual gridlock of traditional political science in the United States, this book examined the networks that made the electoral victory possible in 2007–2008 and discusses the importance of self-organization and self-emancipation in politics. Situated in the context of the agency of new social forces galvanised in the 2008 electoral season, the book develops a theory of politics that starts with the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

principles of

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

, healing, and reparations for the 21st century. It argues that key ideas like quantum politics and a “network of networks” move away from old forms of

vanguardism Vanguardism in the context of Leninist revolutionary struggle, relates to a strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically "advanced" sections of the proletariat or working class, described as the revolutionary vanguard, form orga ...

during a period in history that can be characterised as a revolutionary moment. Since the writing of the book the revolutionary upsurges in Egypt has confirmed the importance of the concept of networks. Campbell’s contributions to the new stage of global revolution were published in the book ''African Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions'',''African Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions'', Pambazuka Press, 2011. edited by Sokari Ekine and

Firoze Manji Firoze Madatally Manji (born 1950) is a Kenyan activist with more than 40 years’ experience in international development, health, human rights, teaching, publishing and political organizing. He is the recipient of the 202 Background Firoze M ...

. Campbell has contributed more than 40 chapters to other edited books and has published numerous articles and reviews in scholarly journals. He writes regularly for the major newspapers in the US, Southern Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. He has been a commentator on international politics on MSNBC, ''Democracy Now!'', CCTV (in China), Pacifica Radio and other radio stations in the USA, the Caribbean, East Africa, and South Africa. His commentaries on international issues are widely circulated via Pambazuka News and Counterpunch. Campbell's interview for the Blackelectorate.com, on the implications of 11/2 September, 001 for humanity was widely reproduced on web sites in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America. As a commentator on peace and transformation, he is actively involved in the opposition to the establishment of the

US Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U. ...

and the militarisation of African politics.

Affiliations and activism

Horace Campbell is active in the Syracuse community as a member of the advisory board of the Syracuse Peace Council, the oldest peace and justice organisation in the United States. He was a sponsor of the

Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa The Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa (CAFA) was an organisation set up in light of the struggles in the universities consequent to the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The organisation was founded by Silvia Feder ...

throughout the nineties. He is also a board member of The Association of Concerned African Scholars (ACAS), and member of the

African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...

and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. He was an active member of the African Association of Political Science and was the guest editor of the first issue of the '' African Journal of Political Science'', where he coordinated the publication on the question of Pan-Africanism in the 21st century. In the Global Pan-African movement he worked closely with the late Tajudeen Abdul Raheem to articulate a more inclusive and internationalist concept of Pan African emancipation in the 21st Century. In 2005, he served as the Chairperson of the Walter Rodney Commemoration Committee. This was a committee of activists who seek to extend the work and ideas of

Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. Rodney was assassinated in Georgeto ...

in relation to emancipatory politics. Campbell was the first Director of the Syracuse University Abroad Program in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, Zimbabwe. During this period in Zimbabwe he worked with the Youth to grasp the importance of emancipation in the post-independence era. It was his interaction with the youth, especially the radical

African feminists African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

that influenced his book ''Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation''. In the region of Southern Africa, he participated in the debates on African Unity and continues to be an active researcher on questions of peace and reconstruction in Africa. In 2007 he was the keynote speaker at the Africa beyond Borders conference in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa. He delivered the Wolpe Lecture at the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

in July 2007. Since that time he has retained his engagement with the politics of transformation and

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...

in Africa, actively campaigning against the politics of impunity on the continent. In 2011 he delivered the Strini Moodley Memorial Lecture in Durban, South Africa. At the Kwame Nkrumah Centenary Celebration in Accra, Ghana, in 2011 Campbell delivered a lecture entitled "Towards an Africa without Borders in the 21st Century: The Inspiration of Kwame Nkrumah”. In the summer of 2001, he conducted research on peace in Central Africa and was based at the Global Pan African Movement in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda. He gave presentations on Peace and Reconstruction before the Uganda Society in Uganda, the Nairobi Peace Initiative (

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

) and the Desmond Tutu Peace Center (

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa). Campbell was a presenter on Globalisation at the NGO Forum of the

World Conference Against Racism The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Five conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, 2009 and 2021. Founded ...

(WCAR) in Durban South Africa. He served for five years as the Chairperson of the International Caucus of the Black Radical Congress. In the summer of 2001, he worked closely with the late Tajudeen Abdul Raheem to conduct research on peace in

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...

. For this work he was based at the Global Pan African Movement in Kampala, Uganda. He gave presentations on Peace and Reconstruction before the Uganda Society in Uganda, the Nairobi Peace Initiative (Nairobi, Kenya) and the Desmond Tutu Peace Center (Cape Town, South Africa). Campbell was a presenter on Globalization at the NGO Forum of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa. He served for five years as the Chairperson of the International Caucus of the Black Radical Congress. He has continued to maintain his linkages with the progressive sections of the international Rastafari movement, and in 2013 he presented a major paper on the "Coral Gardens Uprising in Jamaica" at the Rastafari Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.

Personal life

Campbell is married to Professor Makini Zaline Roy, who is an educator, Professor of Education at Syracuse University and a community activist.

Publications

Books

*Campbell, H. (2013)
''Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya: Lessons for Africa in the Forging of African Unity''
Monthly Review Press. *Campbell, H. (2010)
''Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics''
, Pluto Press. *Campbell, H. (2007)
"China in Africa: challenging US global hegemony"
in Manji, F., and S. Marks (eds), ''African Perspectives on China in Africa'', Oxford:

Pambazuka Press Fahamu is a not-for-profit organisation committed to serving the needs of organisations and social movements that inspire progressive social change and promote and protect human rights. It has played a pioneering role in using new information and ...

. *Campbell, H. (2006)
''Pan Africanists and African Liberation in the 21st Century''
New Academia Publishers. *Campbell, H. (2003)
''Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation''
New Jersey: Africa World Press; South Africa: David Phillip. *Campbell, H. (1985)
''Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney''
Hansib Publications (French translation published by Camion Blanc in 2014, foreword by Jérémie Kroubo Dagnini). *Campbell, H. (2018), "Nelson Mandela: Ubuntu and the Universalist Spirit," in Shubin, V., and Zelenova, D. (eds)
''South Africa: Pages of History and Contemporary Politics'', Moscow: Institute of African Studies
*Campbell, H. (2018), "The Pan African Experience: From The OAU to the African Union," in Falola, T., and Shanguhyia, M.S., (eds):
The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History
', New York: Palgrave, Macmillan.

Articles

*(2013
"The Military Defeat of the South Africans in Angola,"
''Monthly Review'', Vol. 64, No. 11 (April 2013). *(2009
"Reparations and regrets: Why is the US Senate apologising now?"
''Pambazuka News'', Issue 440 (2009-07-02.) *(2009
"Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem and the tasks of Pan-Africanists"
''Pambazuka News'', Issue 442 (2009-07-16). *(2009
"Zimbabwe: Where is the Outrage? Mamdani, Mugabe and the African Scholarly Community"
''Association of Concerned Africa Scholars'' (16 March 2009). *(2009
"Obama and US Policy Towards Africa"
, ''Pambazuka News'', Issue 415 (15-01-2009).

Television appearances

External links

at the Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University

at the Department of African American Studies, Syracuse University
The New African Initiative: Peace, Justice and Reparations or the Rekindling of the Human Spirit
(included as a document at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Horace Jamaican academics Alumni of the University of Sussex Syracuse University faculty Northwestern University faculty Living people Makerere University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Pan-Africanism Political scientists