Austine Okere an academic with the Department of History and International Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria. His is currently a PhD candidate at Shandong University, China where his research area is the Politics of Sustainable Development in Africa. Austine is interested in evaluating state-led processes for trade and integration while exploring their potential and impact on achieving the SDGs. He holds Masters Degrees in Development Studies and Economic History from University of Nigeria and Nnamdi Azikiwe University respectively.