Assis Malaquias
Associate Professor of Government

Assis Malaquias has been a member of the faculty since 1996, having earned his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and his Master’s of Development Economics and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He coordinates the African studies program at St. Lawrence and is on the African Studies Advisory Board.
Malaquias specializes in international relations, African politics and development economies, and is working on a manuscript for publication that analyzes the prospects of peace in Angola. According to Malaquias, “A peace is not just the absence of war but the absence of a structural violence.” He also spoke about the peace process in Angola during a public lecture at Cornell University in February. The author of the internationally influential article Diamonds Are a Guerrilla’s Best Friend: the impact of illicit wealth on insurgency strategy, he serves on several committees at St. Lawrence and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English. He will direct the St. Lawrence program in Spain during the 2003-2004 academic year.
Malaquias has enjoyed his teaching experience at St. Lawrence. “I have a multinational background; I was born in Africa and raised in Canada,” he says. “Being at St. Lawrence is great because of its closeness to Canada, where I have many contacts. This University is also amazingly nurturing of both teaching and learning. They really go out of their way to make it highly rewarding to teach here. I’ve always been amazed at the quality of teaching we have, for our size.”