Shadrack Nasong'o

TEACHING
In my teaching, I seek to enhance my students’ analytical competency and capacity for critical thinking so that they leave my courses with an inquisitive mind wedded to the quest for further knowledge and understanding, constantly asking and proffering plausible answers as to the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of the political world from multiple theoretical and conceptual perspectives. Towards this end, I typically offer courses in comparative politics and international relations. These courses include Government and Politics of Africa; Identity Conflict in Africa; The Politics of Pan-Africanism; Revolution in World Politics; International Law, International Conflict Management, Introduction to International Relations, and Introduction to Comparative Politics as well as the Senior Research Seminar.

RESEARCH
My research interest lies in the areas of the politics of democratization, governance, identity conflict, and the political economy of development with particular focus on Eastern Africa. I have researched and written extensively in these areas, and have so far published 14 books and dozens of peer reviewed book chapters and refereed journal articles. My latest published monograph,  Kenya and the Politics of a Postcolony, won the 2025 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award. Another of my books, a coedited volume titled The Palgrave Handbook of Kenyan History, received honor from the American Library Association as One of the Best Historical Materials Published in 2023 and 2024. In recognition of my prolific research and scholarship, I have been honored with Rhodes College’s Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and/or Creative Activity, and the Ali Mazrui Award for Research and Scholarly Excellence from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, I have received the CODESRIA African Diaspora Visiting Fellowship and the Carnegie Africa Diaspora Fellowship both for purposes of teaching and conducting research in Kenya, as well as the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Fellowship to teach and conduct research in South Africa.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS:

Nasong’o, S.W. and Ikpe, E. eds. Beyond Disciplines: African Perspectives on Theory and Method. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science in Africa, 2025.

Nasong’o, S.W. Kenya and the Politics of a Postcolony. London and New York: Anthem Press, 2004. 

Nasong’o, S.W., Abala, J.I. and Otiso, K.M., eds. African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2023. 

Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Kenya. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Kenyan History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

Nasong’o, S.W., ed. African Governance, Security, and Development. Lanham: Lexington Press, 2021.
 

SELECTED BOOK CHAPTERS:

Nasong’o, S.W. “Political Science and African Political Epistemologies: The Dialectics of Developmentalist vs. Emancipatory Approaches,” in Nasong’o, S.W. and Ikpe, E., eds. Beyond Disciplines: African Perspectives on Theory and Method. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2025, pp. 31—54.

Ikpe, E. and Nasong’o S.W. “Introduction: Emancipatory Epistemologies Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries,” in Nasong’o, S.W. and Ikpe, E., eds. Beyond Disciplines: African Perspectives on Theory and Method. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2025, pp. 1—10.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Between Transformational and Transactional Leadership: Burkina Faso’s ‘Upright Man’ Vs. Kenya’s ‘Hustler Man’,” in Agwuele, A., Ogeto, E., and Okinyi, B.O., eds. Everyday Echoes among African Scholars and Raconteurs: Essays, Short Stories and Poems. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2025, pp. 16—38.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Political Science and the Study of Africa: Mapping the Theoretical and Conceptual Terrain,” in Laakso, L. and Zondi, S., eds. Political Science in Africa: Freedom, Relevance, Impact. London: Bloomsbury, 2024, pp. 13—27.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Environmental Policy and Practice in Kenya,” in Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Kenya. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 125-141.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Civil Society and the Politics of Democratization,” in Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Kenya. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 189-198.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Political Consolidation and the Rise of Single-Party Authoritarianism,” in Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Kenyan History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 245-256.

Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N. and Falola, T., “Introduction: Kenya in Historical Perspective,” in Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Kenyan History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 1-9.

Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N. and Falola, T., “Contemporary Kenya: Politics, Economics, Environment, and Society,” in Nasong’o, S.W., Amutabi, M.N., and Falola, T., eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Kenya. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, pp. 1-14.

Nasong’o, S.W. “The Politics of Soccer Management in Kenya: The Rise and Decline of a Popular Sport,” in Ayuk, Augustine E., ed. Football (Soccer) in Africa: Origins, Contributions, and Contradictions. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, pp. 189-212.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Kenya’s Response to COVID-19: Lockdown and Stringent Enforcement,” in Zahariadis, N., Petridou, E., Exadaktylos, T. and Sparf, J., eds. Policy Styles and Trust in the Age of Pandemics: Global Threat, National Responses. New York: Routledge, 2022, pp. 101-116.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Introduction: Democracy, Governance, and Development,” in Nasong’o, S.W., ed. African Governance, Security, and Development. Lanham: Lexington press, 2021, pp. xv-xxiii.
 

SELECTED JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Nasong’o, S.W. “In the Shadows of the Natural Sciences: The Humanities in Crisis or the Crisis of Humanity?” CODESRIA Bulletin Online, No. 9, March 2022, 1-13. 

Chemiati, J.W. and Nasong’o, S.W. “Implications of Resource Based Territorial Disputes on Interstate Economic and Political Relations: The Case of Kenya and Uganda in Lake Victoria.” Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 6 no. 1, 2022, 94-108. Available online here. 

Nasong’o, S.W. “Political Science and African Political Epistemologies: The Dialectics of Developmentalist vs. Emancipatory Approaches.” Africa Development, vol. 46, no. 3, 2021, pp. 127-154. 

Nasong’o, S.W. “Anthroponymy and Toponymy: Culture and Politics in Kenya’s Personal and Place Names,” The Nairobi Reader, Special Issue 1. Nairobi: Nairobi Bookshelf, March 2021, 41-50.

Chemiati, J.W. and Nasong’o, S.W. “The Influence of National Sovereignty on Kenya-Uganda Economic and Political Relations.” Kenya Studies Review, vol. 9, no. 2, 2021, pp. 17-29.

Nasong’o, S.W. “The Sea and Global Security: The Case of Piracy and Terrorism,” The HORN Bulletin, Vol. II, Issue VI, November-December 2019, pp. 19—27.

Nasong’o, S. W. “Rethinking Africa’s Development Models: Between Modernization and Dependency Paradigms.” Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 2019, 34—41. Available online here. 
 

SELECTED OPINION PIECES:

Nasong’o, S.W. “Kenya’s ‘Hustler Man’ vs. Burkina Faso’s ‘Upright Man.’” The Elephant, Nairobi, March 11, 2024.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Rethinking Kenya’s 2022 Presidential Election.” The Elephant, Nairobi, February 28, 2023.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Why Ruto is Unlikely to Succeed Uhuru.” Premium Times, Lagos, July 23, 2022.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Mwai Kibaki: The President who Squandered the Opportunity to Fix Kenya.” The Conversation, April 22, 2022.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Folly of Reasoning that Study of Humanities is No Longer Necessary.” Daily Nation, Nairobi, Saturday April 16, 2022.

Nasong’o, S.W. “The Humanities in Crisis or the Crisis of Humanity?” Opinion, Kenya Studies Review, vol. 8, no. 1, summer 2020, 68-70. 

Nasong’o, S.W. “Disaster Capitalism in the Age of Covid-19.” The Elephant, Nairobi, April 17, 2020.

Nasong’o, S. W. “The War on Corruption: What Singapore Got Right.” The Elephant, Nairobi, January 16, 2020. 

ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLES:

Nasong’o S.W. “Political Science,” in Anne Mette Kjær, Moses Khisa, and Xichavo Alecia Ndlovu, eds. Elgar Encyclopedia of African Politics. London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2026, pp. 346—352.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Colonialism and Neocolonialism,” in Christensen, K. and Levinson, D., eds. Global Perspectives on the United States, vol. 3. Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2007, pp. 51-53.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Zambia,” in Christensen, K. and Levinson, D., eds. Global Perspectives on the United States, vol. 2. Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2007, pp. 680-683.

Nasong’o, S.W. “Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa,” in Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and Dickson Eyoh (eds.), Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century African History. London: Routledge, 2003, pp. 113-115.