Land, resilience, and the actors who govern them
Peter Narh is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. His work sits at the intersection of environmental governance, land politics, and rural livelihoods — tracing how communities, chiefs, states, and firms negotiate control over natural resources across Ghana and Kenya. Recent work extends this lens to the governance of critical minerals and energy transitions, including lithium mining, and to the role of media in shaping migration decisions. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS) and as West Africa editor of the Africa Yearbook (Brill). He is a Fellow of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa and a DAAD alumnus, and has held recent visiting positions at UC Berkeley, the University of Freiburg, and the University of Modena e Reggio Emilia.
Recent affiliations & fellowships
Visiting Scholar, Center for African Studies
University of California, Berkeley, United States — Mastercard Foundation short-term scholars programme
Visiting Scholar, African Centre for Transregional Research
University of Freiburg, Germany — under the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa scholarship
Visiting Scholar
University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy — ACHIEVE-IT (Academic Collaboration through Higher International Education for a Viable and Equitable Africa with Italy)
Recent academic & consultancy projects
Migrant Media Action (MMAct)
Media and communities' literacy in, and access to, migration information for informed migration decisions — implemented in Ghana and The Gambia.
Justice in Critical Minerals Governance & Energy Transitions
Collaborative project with King's College London focused on lithium mining in Ghana, Chile, and Australia.
Civil Society Participation in Energy Transition Minerals Governance
Comparative case studies of lithium development in Africa and Australia.
The Changing Nature of Precarious Work in Africa & the Arab Region
Transregional research funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Domestic Security Implications of UN Peacekeeping (D-SIP)
Funded by the Danish Institute for International Studies.
DAAD Staff Exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa
Programme grant, €7,200, hosted at Moi University.
Oil & Changing Urban Space in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
Funded by the Ghana Gas Company.
Selected writing
10 journal articles · 1 book chapter · 1 monograph · 3 working papers · 2 blog postsEducation
Education
PhD, Development Studies
University of Bayreuth, Germany (Environmental Governance option)
MPhil, Development Studies
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
BA, Geography & Resource Development, with Economics
University of Ghana
Honors, fellowships & professional service
Honors & Awards
- —Fellow & Co-convenor, Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa, Interdisciplinary Fellow Group 6, University of Ghana (2022)
- —Fellow, DAAD Staff Exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa, Moi University (2021–2022)
- —Fellow & Co-convenor, Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa, Interdisciplinary Fellow Group 3, University of Ghana (2020)
Editorial & Reviewership
- —Editor-in-Chief, Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS), Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana
- —West Africa Editor, Africa Yearbook (Brill)
- —Regular reviewer, Geoforum
- —Regular reviewer, The Extractive Industries and Society
- —Regular reviewer, Social Science Research Council Doctoral Fellowships