Great Decisions In-Person / Online
We hope these discussions will provide a wide breadth of timely and valuable information. The library provides a safe and welcoming space for learning, listening, and exchanging ideas.
Join us at 5:30 for a half hour video, followed by a presentation from 6:00pm-7:30pm.
U.S. Engagement of Africa
Africa’s geopolitical role is growing. What lessons can the U.S. learn from China’s presence there, and how might it strengthen ties, especially with leading nations like Nigeria? What tools of statecraft might the U.S. bring to its engagement with Africa?
- Date:
- Tuesday, March 17, 2026
- Time:
- 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
- Time Zone:
- Central Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- McLane Meeting Room
- Location:
- Main Library
- Audience:
- Adult
- Categories:
- Library Event
Sedef Topal specializes in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Their research centers on civil conflict processes, rebel group behavior, and Middle East and African politics. Topal’s work has been published in Political Psychology, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Civil Wars, and the Afrobarometer Working Papers Series. Their research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Carnegie Foundation of New York, and Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy. Topal has conducted fieldwork in Zimbabwe, focusing on ethnic communities to examine whether external interventions can reshape post-conflict social trust in southern Africa. They have also worked on a USAID-funded project regarding armed group recruitment and mobilization in northern Ghana. Topal is currently working on several co-authored and solo-authored manuscripts for publication and am developing their dissertation into a book project.
