ABSTRACT
Attempts to explore and understand the study and teaching of international relations beyond the West have grown since the beginning of this century. In the African context there is a strong feeling shared by academics and practitioners alike that a detailed analysis of postcolonial societies and alternative perspectives on global issues is of fundamental importance, not only to stretch disciplinary frontiers but also to improve our analyses of the everyday problems that affect the human condition. My own lived experience, first as an African student pursuing a doctoral degree in Britain, afterwards as a professor of IR in Nairobi, and more recently as a policy-maker, seems to confirm this belief, as have my sojourns throughout most of Africa. By constantly illustrating that what I learned in a Western academic setting is not at all reflective of the world I live in, each of these provides strong evidence of the need to gain further insights into the ways in which the “international” is lived and practiced, taught and reflected upon in distinct parts of the globe.
