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Nigeria's Fourth Republic has managed to survive since its creation in 1999. However, it is wracked by institutional decay, economic fragility, extremist violence, and poverty. A familiar statement is: "As Nigeria goes, so goes Africa." In his talk, Joseph will discuss the impasse throughout the continent in state and governance. He will draw on his experiences, in academia and policy circles, in tackling its causes and consequences.  

Richard Joseph matriculated at Dartmouth College in fall 1961. Two years later, he enrolled in the course "Political Ideas" that altered his life's trajectory. He returned in 1979 to join the Dartmouth faculty where he wrote his celebrated book, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic. 

Joseph has also taught at Northwestern University, Emory University, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and the University of Khartoum (Sudan). He has held research fellowships at Harvard University, Boston University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex, UK), Chr. Michelsen Institute (Norway), and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (France). He directed the African Governance Program at the Carter Center (1988-1994) and coordinated elections missions in Zambia (1991), Ghana (1992), and peace initiatives in Liberia (1991-1994). He has been a longtime member of the Council of Foreign Relations. Joseph is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including a Rhodes Scholarship, a Kent Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2002-03, he held visiting fellowships at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy. He was a Fulbright Scholar in France and a Fulbright Professor in Nigeria.