Dr Michael E Odijie

I am an Associate Professor of African History and African Studies, holding a joint appointment between the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies and the Faculty of History. My research explores a range of historical and contemporary themes in West Africa, including local networks against slavery and labor exploitation, the cocoa value chain, EU-Africa relations, and the politics of development. My work has been published in leading academic journals such as The Journal of African History, Slavery and Abolition, Esclavages & Post-esclavages, Law and History Review, African Affairs, The Review of International Political Economy, Third World Quarterly, Competition & Change, Oxford Development Studies, and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History
 

Research Interests

• Slavery and Abolition in West Africa (particularly local slavery and local movements for abolition)
• Labor in West Africa
• Cocoa value chain in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana (especially issues relating to labor exploitation within this chain)
• EU-Africa relations (from historical to contemporary periods)
• Politics of development.

I am currently finishing a manuscript on local movements against slavery in southeastern Nigeria. This work stems from an ERC research grant focused on local ideas and networks opposing slavery in Africa.

I am also researching the cocoa value chain in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, in collaboration with colleagues from various universities.