Jesse Salah Ovadia

Scholar | Author | Researcher

Dr. Jesse Salah Ovadia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Windsor, Canada. Prior to this, he served as a Lecturer in International Political Economy at Newcastle University in the UK. Dr. Ovadia holds a PhD and MA in Political Science from York University and a BA(Hons) in Development Studies and Politics from Queen’s University, both in Canada.

My Research Projects

An Academic and Practitioner with International Ties.

A native of Toronto, Jesse has an extensive international background, having lived and worked in Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Tanzania, Guyana, India, France, and the United Kingdom. He speaks English, French (intermediate), and Portuguese (basic). Combining his roles as a researcher and development practitioner, Jesse collaborates with international organizations, donor agencies, and private companies.

His research blends international and comparative political economy with African politics and development theory. Currently, Jesse focuses on the political economy of oil and development, examining the connections between petroleum resources and capitalist development, and exploring sustainable energy transitions in Canada and Africa.

From the Niger Delta in Nigeria and coastal communities in Ghana to the enclave of Cabinda in Angola, and his classrooms in the UK and Canada, Jesse is dedicated to understanding and teaching the local, national, and global impacts of oil and gas. He investigates the unique challenges and opportunities presented by natural resource-based development.

Jesse’s work emphasizes local content policies and their significance in linking oil extraction to industrial development and economic growth outside the oil sector. He explores the evolving domestic and international contexts that support state-led development approaches. His research also delves into the management of petroleum resources, global value chains, new imperialism, civil society and new social movements, capitalist development through oil, local and community participation, and natural resource governance.

I am motivated to see my work benefit a variety of academic and non-academic users. As part of my continuing engagement with policy makers, I have spoken at several petroleum industry events, including the Global Local Content Council’s Annual Summit (2014 & 2015), World NOCs Local Content Conference (2015), and the Global Local Content Summit (2014 & 2015) as well as the Practical Nigerian Content Conference in Yenagoa, Nigeria (2013 & 2015). I have also had impact on these events through taking an informal advisory role in their planning and design.

In the spring/summer of 2016, I was an expert in the ELLA Programme South-South Online Learning Alliance on Local Content in Oil and Gas. More information can be found here or through the welcome video available here.

My research has been cited in several reports by international and non-governmental organisations such as the United Nations, Natural Resource Governance Institute and Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment. Additionally, I am aware of over a dozen academic courses where my work is required reading. As part of my non-academic engagement, I am a member of the advisory group of the World Bank’s Community of Practice on Extractives for Local Content Development, and facilitated an eDiscussion for the group in October 2015 on ‘Local Content Legislation: Challenges, Opportunities and Country Cases’. I am also a member of Transparency International’s Anti-Corruption Research Network and Global Expert Network and an Extractive Industries Consultant on the UNDP Experts Roster.

In order to open up new pathways for research impact, I have participated in several meetings of the OECD Policy Dialogue for Natural Resource-Based Development and had a demonstrable impact on the final draft of the Framework on Public-Private Collaboration for In-Country Shared Value Creation from Extractive Projects as well as on the Typology on Corruption Risks in Extractives.