Sebastian is a lecturer at the Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST (Ghana). He is also the Assistant Director for Research, at the Institute for Research and Policy Integration in Africa (IRPIA) based at Northern Illinois University (USA) and Freetown-Sierra Leone, and a Research Fellow for grant proposals and project coordination, at the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, KNUST. Sebastian’s publications and policy engagements focus on peace and conflict, African governance and politics, and international relations.

Editorial and peer review experience

Regular journal peer reviews:

• African Affairs
• African Security
• African Security Review
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review
• African Journal on Conflict Resolution
• Peace and Development Studies
• Politics & Policy
• Journal of Student Affairs in Africa
• Contemporary Journal of African Studies (CJAS)
• Cogent Arts & Humanities etc.

Regular grant application reviews:

• The International Peace Research Association Foundation (IPRA Foundation) Grants.
• KNUST Research Fund (KReF)

Selected post-doctoral research grant awards and projects

2024/2025   The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN): Individual Research Fellowship, for the project, “Ambiguous Empowerment? A Feminist Critical Peace Reading of Women’s Empowerment in Peacebuilding, Ghana and Sierra Leone”. PI.

2023  Chatham House Africa Porgramme on Forest Governance in Africa, project titled, “Net-zero’s nature knot: A tug of war with rural realities”. Project completed. Co-investigator.

2022/2023   7th KNUST Research Fund (KReF) Award for the project, “Enhancing inclusive local governance through economic interventions for women: A case of Ghana”. Project completed. Co-investigator.

Selected recent conferences, seminars, and workshops

Paalo, S. A. (2024). Conference on Re-imagining Africa: Prospects and Opportunities, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, paper presented: “Optimising youths' contribution to sustainable peace in Africa: A decolonial reading of youth peace-building in Northern Ghana”, April 18-20, 2024.

Paalo, S. A. (2023). Research Workshop: Annual Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, Certificate acquired, June 20-30 2023.

Banchani, S. J-P. and Paalo, S. A. (2023). Workshop on The Evolution of African Regional Organizations, Georgetown University Qatar, Paper presented: “The Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)”, January 29-30, 2023.

Paalo, S. A., Adu-Gyamfi, S., and Arthur, D. D (2021). Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference, “unilateralism, nationalism, and globalism—the ‘isms’ these schisms create.” Paper presented: “Nationalism, separatism and the pursuit of international peace: A comparative study of nationalist movements in Africa and Europe”, February 10, 2021, Nova Southeastern University, Florida, United States.