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Type about:config in Firefox address bar and hit Enter to open Settings. Search for the image.animation_mode flag and change its value from Normal to None. Once you restart Firefox this will disable animations.

Dr Olayinka Ajala

Senior Lecturer

Olayinka Ajala is a senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He previously worked for the Universities of York and Newcastle.

Olayinka holds a doctorate degree in Politics from the University of York and a Masters degree in Globalisation and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

In working with communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Olayinka has analysed how insurgencies are formed and how addressing human security issues could reduce violent conflicts. More recently, he has investigated counter-insurgency mechanisms such as drone warfare and the importance of interorganisational cooperation.

Olayinka consults for the Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom. He was previously a visiting fellow/lecturer at the Combating Terrorism Centre, United States Military Academy, West Point where he taught final year cadets. He has consulted for local and international organisations including the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Government of Belgium and was a lead panel analyst on ‘Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa’, a round table discussion at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He is also a regular analyst for media organisations such as the BBC and Aljazeera.

Olayinka is currently working on a GCRF funded project titled ‘Catalyzing participation through innovation to strengthen rural-urban climate resilient futures in Namibia’. He is also a principal investigator on a CeASR funded project titled ‘Sustainable agriculture in Nigeria: Understanding the link between conflict (and terrorism) and climate change in farmers’ displacement and livelihood transformation’.

Olayinka teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules at LBU and is interested in accepting PhD students in the areas of peace and security, terrorism and counter-terrorism, formation of insurgent groups, climate change and sustainable development especially in West Africa and the Sahel.

Current Teaching

Rethinking diplomacy
International human rights
Theorising human rights
International peacekeeping

Research Interests

Olayinka’s research interests include rural development, resource conflict, human security, peace and security, terrorism and counter-terrorism, formation of insurgent groups, internal displacement, climate change and sustainable development.