Brigadier General, Dr Emmanuel Kotia spoke to International Relations students about the importance of understanding the dynamics of conflict – an issue he feels is crucial towards understanding International Relations.

He said: “The area of peace and security lacks people who have knowledge to intervene in various areas. To be able to get that number of people means getting more peacekeepers, getting more people who understand peace and security, more people who can mediate and prevent conflicts.

“Dealing with people from various nations, such as at the University of Bedfordshire means that we’re building a whole category of people that are knowledge based and can assist so far as peace and security is concerned.”

Brigadier General Kotia, who currently serves as Commander of the Western Sector of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been visiting the University as a Guest Lecturer since 2014. His published book titled, Ghana Armed Forces in Lebanon and Liberia Peace Operations (2015) has been introduced as a textbook for International Relations students at Bedfordshire.

With a PhD in Political Science, Brigadier General Kotia is passionate about passing on his knowledge. “What keeps bringing me back to the University of Bedfordshire is the opportunity to share knowledge and experience with the students.

“The issue of peace and security is dynamic and must be steady so we may be able to have more mediators, more peacekeepers and more diplomats who would be able to assist in mitigating for peace.”

Senior Lecturer in Business Communication at Bedfordshire, Leszek Wypych expressed the relevance of the Brigadier General’s work. “Brigadier General Kotia draws on the latest developments in the area of global peace operations from the practitioners’ points of view. He adds to the uniqueness of the course making it more relevant to those who want to work in the field of conflict peace and security.”