Dêlidji Eric Degila

Prof. Degila has advised sovereign states, regional bodies and international organizations on matters of governance, foreign policy, security and dispute settlement for over fifteen years.
Since 2009, he supports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration of the Republic of Benin, where his expertise covered territorial dispute settlement, governance and security issues.

He has acted as a Political and Diplomatic Analyst and consultant to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs - Africa Division since 2019, advising on geopolitics, African regionalism and foreign policy, and as a Legal and Political Analyst to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie since 2017, advising on rule of law and electoral processes in Africa. He is a pro bono advisor to the African Group and the Permanent Mission of the African Union to the United Nations Office in Geneva since 2015, and has advised the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), the African Union and the World Health Organization on governance and policy matters.

He was a member of the Panel of Experts that drafted the Pan-African Investment Code (PAIC) for the African Union Commission's Economic Affairs Department, and sits on the Panel of Experts for the African Union's 9th Pan-African Congress.

Prof. Degila's research and advisory work address dispute settlement and international arbitration law, alongside broader public international law questions of statehood, borders, sovereignty and global governance. 

He has written on the right to a hearing in international arbitration law, including a national report on Benin for the ICCA Survey on that topic, and on the evolution of the law of war crimes and the implementation of the Rome Statute and international criminal justice in Africa. His doctoral research, awarded summa cum laude by Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, examined post-Cold War regional conflictuality in West Africa, and his broader scholarship engages with international peace and security architecture, norms and global governance. He is active in the International Law Section of the International Studies Association.

Prof. Degila trains international civil servants, diplomats and legal experts worldwide and has acted as mediator in diplomatic and policy circles.  

Africa, and its place in global governance are at the center of Prof. Degila's academic and policy work. He is a past Chair of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association, an Advisory Board member of the African Union's 9th Pan-African Congress, and a scientific resource person to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Since 2019, he has been the academic advisor and resource person for the francophone United Nations high-level training programme to Enhance Conflict Prevention and Peacemaking in Africa, delivered in Addis Ababa to African diplomats and civil servants of African regional organizations. He has taught African politics, security and governance as a Visiting Professor at universities and institutions across Japan, Morocco, Argentina, Singapore, Mexico, Oman, and France, and has advised the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss Confederation on governance, rule of law and migration programmes in Benin, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Iraq.

Native of Benin and trained as a diplomat at Benin's National School of Administration (ENA), he is a member of the African Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Public International Law & International Arbitration

“Does the Right to a Hearing Exist in International Arbitration Law? The Case of Benin”, in G. Rojas Elgueta, Y. Lahlou and J. Hosking (eds.), ICCA Survey: Does the Right to a Hearing Exist in International Arbitration Law?, New York, 2021 (with Cassius J. Sossou)
“Le Statut de Rome et la mise en œuvre de la justice pénale internationale en Afrique”, Cahiers de la Faculté de Droit et Science Politique de l'Université Africaine de Technologie et de Management, No. 15, Cotonou, 2018“Évolution jurisprudentielle du crime de guerre”, in V. Chetail (dir.), Permanence et mutation du droit des conflits armés, Bruylant, Brussels, 2013

Sovereign Representation & Africa

“African Peace and Security Architecture: A Response to Regional Challenges”, in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Approaches to Peace, Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2026 (with Charles Amegan)
“African Union, Pan-Africanism and Regional Solutions to African Security Challenges”, in Handbook of African Defence and Armed Forces, Oxford University Press, 2025 (with Mustafa O. Elamin)
“The Healthcare System in Benin”, in Social Policy Country Briefs, University of Bremen, 2024 (with Georgia B. Damien)
“Senegal: A New West African Leader in a Globalized World?”, in J. Braveboy-Wagner (ed.), Diplomatic Strategies of Nations in the Global South: A Search for Leadership, Palgrave, New York, 2016 (with Charles Amegan)
“Pan-Africanism as a Lever for African Development”, Keynote, 9th Pan-African Congress, African Union and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Togo, Lomé, December 2025“Reflections on Methodological Issues in Conducting Evidence-Based Research for Shaping Policy in a Changing World: A Perspective from Africa”, Keynote, APDD 2026 Africa Workshop, Social Science Research Council, Porto-Novo, August 2026

Global South & Global Governance

“Thinking Global Governance in A World of Multiples” National Defence College of Oman, Muscat, September 2024

“In From the Periphery: How Africa can contribute to the making of a Pluriversal World”, Global Challenges, 2024

 “Governing Migration for Development from the Global Souths”, Waseda Institute of Asian Migrations, Waseda University, Tokyo, 2023.
“Multilevel Governance of Migration for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from the Global Souths”, International Development Policy, Vol. 14, Geneva, 2022 (with Valeria M. Valle)
“Neopatrimonialism in Africa and Beyond”, African Affairs, Vol. 113, Issue 453, London, 2014.