News Archive

Professor Philip C. Aka, LL.M. '08; S.J.D. '16, has won the 2017 Cecil B. Currey Book Prize from the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS) for his book Human Rights in Nigeria’s External Affairs: Building the Record of a Moral Superpower, which was published by Lexington Books in 2017.

The work is a broad-ranging argument for thorough reforms at home and abroad in Nigeria as the only antidote to the nation-building dilemmas the country confronts in the first quarter of the 21st century. Set around six issues of application embedded in Nigeria’s human rights foreign policy, the book shows how internationally agreed-upon ethical standards embedded in human rights can save Nigeria. The book is a revision of Aka’s S.J.D. dissertation he completed at IU McKinney.

Formerly known as the Association of Third World Studies, AGSS is the largest professional organization of its kind in the world, with a global membership and chapters in South Asia and Africa. Members include academics, practitioners in the area of Third World development, employees of government agencies, and diplomats who reside in the U.S. and 21 other countries around the globe. The Cecil B. Currey Book Award is a prestigious award presented to the author of the best book published on an issue relating to the developing world during an annual competitive round.

Professor Aka is a professor of political science at Chicago State University and adjunct professor at IU McKinney.