York historian briefed US officials
Posted on 19 April 2018
In February 2018, Dr Gerard McCann, Lecturer in Modern History, was invited to Washington, D.C. to give an expert briefing to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the U.S. National Intelligence Council.
Commenting initially on India’s contemporary and economic aspirations in Africa, the presentation primarily stressed the importance of appreciating African socio-cultural history and contemporary civil society organisation to drive relevant Indian (and US) policy making in Africa. This was followed by interesting discussion with State Department analysts and U.S. ambassadors in African postings on notions of citizenship and belonging in contemporary Kenya, South Africa and Ghana.
This activity builds on Dr McCann’s policy outreach over the last few years on India-Africa matters, for example at Casa Africa (Spanish Government), Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), Government of São Paolo (Brazil), YouGov and Open Society Institute.
Dr McCann frequently comments on India-Africa affairs in the media, (see here, for example, analysis of the 2015 India-Africa Forum Summit, in The Conversation). He publishes on India-Africa affairs historically and on twenty first-century relations for both academic and wider audiences.