Sebastian Paalo is an active early-career scholar with publication experience and policy-oriented engagement in governance, peace and conflict, and international relations. He is a lecturer in the Department of History and Political Studies at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Queensland in Australia. Sebastian serves on the Board of Directors for the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) Foundation, is the Assistant Director for Research at the Institute for Research and Policy Integration in Africa (IRPIA), and is a Fellow in energy policy research at the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre at KNUST. He has contributed to several projects, the latest including his collaborative policy research with Chatham House on Forest Governance in Africa, an APN Individual Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), and collaborative projects on lithium mining in Ghana funded by the University of Florida, and the political economy of West African Power Pool (WAPP) funded by the University College-London (UCL).