Profile for Mathurin Houngnikpo

Dr. Mathurin C. Houngnikpo is currently the Academic Chair of Security Studies at the Africa Center of Strategic Studies. Prior to joining the Center, he taught in the Department of International Studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  Dr. Houngnikpo also held several teaching positions with both the Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.  Dr. Houngnikpo served as Head of the Department of Consular Documents for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Benin from 1983-1986 and again from 1989-1990.  He also served as Associate Editor for Africa Today, a publication of the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies. Dr. Houngnikpo was a Fulbright Grantee, and participated in the George W. Shepherd Fellowship as well as received several other grants and awards for research and leadership.  He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Paris VIII, Saint-Denis, France and a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Denver.  Dr. Houngnikpo is the author of Africa’s Elusive Quest for Development (2006); Economic Integration and Development in Africa (with H. Kyambalesa, 2006); Not Yet Democracy: West Africa’s Slow Farewell to Authoritarianism (with B. N’Diaye and A. Saine, 2005); L’Illusion Démocratique en Afrique (2004); Des Mots pour les Maux de l’Afrique (2004); Determinants of Democratization in Africa (2001), and other books and articles.  Dr. Houngnikpo is fluent in English and French and has a working knowledge of Spanish.