Head of Department
Prof. Francis Onditi is associate professor of Confictology & Head of Department (HoD), School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya. An authority on the geography of African conflicts and their evolutionary nature, he is a distinguished research professor at the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS), University of Johannesburg, and was awarded the 2019 AISA Fellowship by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). He was recently ranked among the World’s Top 2% scientists/researchers of the year 2022/2023/2024 listed by the Stanford University, USA. Having authored and edited 7 major volumes (books), and over 100 articles and book chapters, in 2023, he was awarded the Erasmus Mundus Global teaching fellowship at Leipzig University, Germany. Prof. Onditi’s research contribution is mainly in modeling, thinking uncharted models, and development of theoretical frameworks and concepts, including the ‘dominatarian theory of regional integration’, and ‘Technology for Peaceful Society’ (T4PS).
His current professorial research focuses on “exploring the analytical conception of the closeness centrality, and its implications for a theory of interactivities for enhancing understanding of the process of conflict excavators and extractives with the aim of providing an explanation of the intrinsic character of interaction among human beings, communities, and states as a process of diffusion of power, conflict reversals, and peace interlocutors.” He founded the idea of ‘interethnic border markets’ and is the Principal Investigator (PI) for his Conflictology lab- Centre for Conflictological Observatory and Predictive Studies (CCOPS), in which, the quest is to understand how the interethnic market spaces can be developed into Infrastructures for Peace (I4P), in order to make communities more resilient to conflict vectors (What is the likelihood of conflict, when people, states, or societies are close to each other or far apart?)
He held a Graduate Research Assistant position at IDS, and thereafter completing his MA degree he taught courses in Geography, both at the University of Nairobi. Prior to joining Riara University, Onditi spent some years working with United Nations agencies and International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC). In both institutions, he served in different capacities, including, Ag. Head of Research Department, Directing Staff (DS), Analyst and advisor on women, peace, and security (WPS). Onditi is a recipient of a number of awards including, the best MA grands by IFRA/C.R.E.AT.I.N.G /EU, and the AAU post-graduate scholarship. His 700-page Doctoral Research Dissertation was recognized as a pioneer piece in enriching peace and conflict studies with PSO concepts. A Pan-African scholar and conflict researcher, Prof. Onditi received his Bachelors and MA degrees from the University of Nairobi, under the scholarship scheme, and PhD. at MMUST. He is also trained in Strategic Management, Innovation, and Leadership at MCTC-MASHAV, Haifa, Israel.
