Keenan is an Early Career Scholar with the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), researching China – Africa military cooperation, and a former African Leadership Centre Peace and Security Fellow based at King’s College London where he obtained a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Global Leadership and Peacebuilding, with distinction. His dissertation, titled “Coup Leaders as Emergent Leaders: A Case Study on the Legitimisation of Andriy Rajoelina’s Leadership in Madagascar,” investigated the process of leadership legitimisation and the broader implications for leadership emergence in post-unconstitutional change of government scenarios. Additionally, Keenan holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree from the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN), where he also served as a street law instructor to offenders incarcerated at the Westville Correctional Centre.
Before pursuing his postgraduate studies in 2022, Keenan worked as a Programme Officer in ACCORD’s Research Department from July 2020 to July 2022. Keenan also has extensive experience as a research assistant and consultant supporting prominent academics across various areas of focus including policy development, organisational transformation, and peace studies.
His research interests focus on the intersections of leadership, governance, and conflict resolution, particularly in the African context, and the role of international law and diplomacy in mediating political crises and supporting peacebuilding initiatives.
