Juste Codjo

Dr. Juste Codjo is an Assistant Professor of Professional Security Studies and Director of the Doctoral Program in Civil Security at the New Jersey City University. A scholar-practitioner with 20+ years of international military experience, Dr. Codjo holds a Ph.D. in Security Studies from Kansas State University and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He specializes in national and international security with a regional focus on Africa. His teaching, research, and policy interests revolve around political violence, U.S.-Africa relations, France-Africa relations, peace operations, as well as governance and stability in the developing world. Dr. Codjo previously taught security studies and political science at the American University, the University of Kentucky, and Kansas State University.

Prior to joining academia, Dr. Codjo served as an army officer for more than 20 years in the Benin Armed Forces, from which he retired at the rank of Major. He is a graduate of the German Offizierschule des Heeres and of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. While on active duty in Benin, he participated in a U.N. peacekeeping operation in 2004 that helped restore peace in Liberia. Dr. Codjo is fluent in six languages, including French and German.

Dr. Codjo is a Co-Founder and the President of Echelle-Benin, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering high school students in Benin through after-school programs in Mentorship, Career Development, Tuition Assistance, and Training in leadership and entrepreneurship. He is also the promoter of Consencracy, a consensus-based model of democracy designed to improve governance and stability in Africa.