Towards the Decolonization of Intelligence Studies in Africa: The Role of Academia

Abstract

This is a critical review of the Western-centric epistemology dominance in the intelligence studies in the African academic discourses which does not feature adequate African contributions and adjustments. Though intelligence is a relatively new subject in the world and especially in Africa, its teachings and presentation are more inclined towards western values and systems. This work, therefore, is a questioning body of the past and present inferences of the Western intelligence systems on African security studies and management. The research based a lot on historicist content analysis and determined the prevalence of American and Eurocentric models of intelligence studies within Africa. This fact has blurred the meaning and essence of the field on the continent. It is thus a call to completely decolonise the discipline and adopt models and modules of Afrocentricism. Based on a critical discourse analysis, this paper tries to reveal how academia can contribute to the emergence of indigenous knowledge/ information production, give alternatives to dominant hegemonic discourses, and develop certain African-grounded intelligence theories. In turn, the work suggests to maintain the curriculum reformation, productive and outcome-driven cooperative research, and sharing the knowledge, which will help to emphasize the decolonization of intelligence research in Africa.