Ian Karusigarira

Contact: karusigarira.ian(at)tufs.ac.jp

Visiting Fellow, Adjunct Lecturer, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Ian Karusigarira is a Political Sociology scholar in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies. He holds a Ph.D. (Humanities), majoring in Area and International Studies, Tokyo Japan. His areas of focus include, and are not limited to, Political Sociology, Relational Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Security Studies, Revolutionary Regimes, Memory of War, African Sexualities, and Youth Studies. He has dedicated his career to understanding the dynamics and complexities of contentious and socio-political conflicts.

Throughout his academic journey, Dr. Karusigarira has contributed publications in his multidisciplinary approach to social conflicts.  His dissertation, titled “Victims of Violence or Heroism? A relational Historical Analysis of Revolutionary Regime Culture and Survival Apocalypse in Uganda” attempted to elucidate the “paradox of the regime change” and “political power transition” as an indicator for the concomitant difficulty in the articulation of the fundamental political processes that constrain dissent from taking steps towards changing the existing ordering of politics. His study has been influenced by both academic and policy-making environments. He is currently co-editing the collaborative work on African Sexualities.

In addition to his research, Dr. Karusigarira has taught different courses related to Political Sociology at graduate-level at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan (GRIPS). He currently teaches Conflict and Social Change at The Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan (TUFS).

Dynamics of Authoritarian Resilience and Opposition Evolution: A Study of Regime Survival and Political Contestation in Uganda

There is a growing interest in the evolving nature of authoritarian rule across much of Africa. This proposal seeks to elucidate two major aspects: first, the dynamic changes occurring within opposition parties; and second, the persistence of authoritarian regimes. Specifically, the proposal examines how authoritarian rule in Uganda has been reinforced by historical events, civic perceptions, and mobilization. Drawing on recent scholarly advancements in the study of authoritarianism, my practical experiences as a police detective, my lived experience within an authoritarian system, and my Ph.D. research on the relational historical analysis of revolutionary regime culture and survival in Uganda, this proposed postdoctoral project aims to: (1) analyze the dynamics of authoritarian regime survival, with a focus on the underlying mechanisms of exclusionary and violent regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa, and (2) investigate the changing dimensions of opposition forces and their implications for conceptual and epistemological questions regarding research on authoritarianism in Africa. The study will examine the contingent events, interactions, and outcomes occurring within the historical and real-world contexts of authoritarian rule in Africa, particularly Uganda. It will explore the relational dynamics between repression (both physical and online), ideological apparatus, the history and memory of violence, identity politics, neopatrimonialism, the co-optation of prominent opposition figures, and the contentious relations among dissenting voices.