My name is Daniel Banini. I was born and raised in Ghana, a culturally vibrant nation. My academic journey has taken me across continents, starting in Africa, Europe, and North America. After completing my undergraduate studies in Europe, I pursued higher education in the United States and obtained my master’s and Ph.D. degrees.
My research examines security problems broadly construed at the national and regional levels. My ongoing work focuses on environmental security by exploring the intricate dynamics of climate change’s micro effects on societies in West Africa. The analysis of farmer-herder conflict in Ghana from climate stress and conflict perspectives reveals that ecological scarcities now pit the most vulnerable groups (farmers and herders) against one another. While ecological stress threatens traditional livelihood sources, evidence suggests that effective local institutions can moderate this relationship. Thus, we must pay close attention to local institutions’ roles and how they are constituted and managed. The novel and wider implications of my work within the context of West Africa is that it is impossible to provide security at the regional, national, and substate levels without some underlying legitimacy and governance effectiveness.
Methodologically, my research uses fieldwork, detailed interviews, comparative case studies and mixed methods approaches. The analysis probing farmer and herder conflicts from climate change perspectives has employed fieldwork as the primary means of data collection in Ghana (in 2020 and 2022). My other works have used interview data gathered in Liberia or comparative case studies drawing on cases from Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. Beyond individual research using qualitative approaches, my work cuts across disciplinary boundaries. I have ongoing collaborations with colleagues from the economics and public affairs departments, where we use rigorous quantitative methods for causal inferences. My works have appeared in or are forthcoming in the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, the Journal of Legislative Studies, Defence Studies, African Security, and Small Wars & Insurgencies.
Daniel Banini 