Reclaiming Africa’s International Relations Space: Echoes of Kemet

Abstract

Abstract
The repositioning of Africa within the international relations debate is the responsibility of
African intellectuals. Regrettably, the continent has been dispossessed of its position as the home
of international relations theory. The study assumes that Ancient Egypt (Kemet), which was the
cradle of civilization, is, by extension, the motherland of international relations theory. The
Westphalian narrative is only suitable for Euro-centric explanations of the development of
international relations in Europe and not any other continent. Afro-centricity informed this study
because it has the intellectual vigor to bring sanity to the contemporary international relations
discourse. Qualitative research methods were employed to gather data through secondary sources
like books, magazines, online and print journals and articles. The study found that the traits of
international relations concepts in Ancient Egypt clearly demonstrate that modern civilization and
international relations practice started in Ancient Egypt. It concluded that the attribution of the
evolution of international politics to a Euro-centric narrative is a deprivation of Africa’s rightful
position in the discipline.