• The University of California Irvine
  • Ph.D. in Political Science
  • Master of Arts in Social Science (Mathematics and Behavioral Science)
  • Master of Arts in Political Science
  • Master of Arts in Social Science (Demographic and Social Analysis)
• The Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo, California
  • Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Societal Change
• Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Master of Science in Global Studies and International Affairs
• University of Ghana, Accra
  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Study of Religions 

Selected Additional Training 

• Columbia University, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
  • Summer Workshop on the Analysis of Military Operations & Strategy
• University of California, Irvine
  • Certificate in Digital Learning and Teaching
  • Certificate in Teaching Excellence
  • Certificate in Course Design
  • Certificate in Improv for Teaching
• Claremont Graduate University, Evaluation Center
  • Certificate in Evaluation and Applied Research Methods
• United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland
  • 51st Graduate Study Program
• Soka University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Certificate in Japan Asia Studies (Development Economics)
  • Certificate in Japanese

• Program Development, Management, and Evaluation
• Societal, Organizational, & Institutional Change
• Democratic Theory & Organizational Change
• Distinguished Practitioners Series
• Ed Leadership & Societal Change: A Comparative Perspective
• History & Philosophy of Education & Leadership
• History & Philosophy of Education
• MA Thesis

• Education
• Societal, Institutional, & Organizational Change
• Political Economy
• International Trade
• Sustainable Development
• International Security

Book & Book Chapters

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2025. "Re-examining commerce’s impact on peace." In Political process: New perspectives on the Virginia and Bloomington Schools, edited by Donald Boudreaux, Christopher J. Coyne and Brian Kogelmann, 205 - 233. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2024. "Africa’s geoeconomics and economic statecraft." In The Oxford handbook on geoeconomics and economic statecraft, edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Tai Ming Cheung. Oxford University Press.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2022. Student engagement: A vehicle for preventing high school dropout in the coastal urban regions of Guyana. In Brooks, J., Normore, A. H., Brooks, M.C., & Sum, N. Globalization and education: Teaching, learning, and leading in the world schoolhouse. Information Age Publishing.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2021. Global supply chains and great power competition in Africa. In Solingen, E. (eds). Geopolitics, supply chains, and the international relations of East Asia. Cambridge University Press.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi, Masumi Hashimoto Odari, and Wyse Sunu. 2020. "Different schools, different cultures." In Handbook on promoting social justice in education, edited by Rosemary Papa. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi and Henry Indangasi (ed.) (2020). Soka approaches in education. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education 9 (SI).

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2018. What does it mean to be a value-creating (Soka) leader? In Indangasi, H., Mwangi, A. P., & Odari, M. (Ed.) Value creating education in Kenya: Building a humane society. Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau.

Journal Publications

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2025. "Conceptualizing rationality. Review of John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato's How states think: The rationality of foreign policy, Yale University Press. 2024. 280 pp." Political Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.70001.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2024. "(Mis)perception, institutions, humanism. Review of Blair Sackett and Annette Lareau's We thought it would be heaven: Refugees in an unequal America (Oakland: University of California Press, 2023)." Political Psychology. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12957.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi, and Takako Mino. 2022. "(Dis)continuity of African indigenous knowledge." AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples 19 (1): 71 - 79. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221138304.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi, and Henry Indangasi. 2020. "Mindset, Heartset, and Skillset." Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education 9 (SI): 1 – 13.

Mino, Takako, and Paa-Kwesi Heto. 2020. "Educating humans." Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education 9 (SI): 33 - 55.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi, Masumi Hashimoto Odari, and Wyse Sunu. 2020. "Kenya’s 2017 basic education curriculum framework: A comprehensive review." Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education 9 (SI): 192-210. https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.v9iSI.1853.

Blogs & News Articles

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. (2024, November 13) "Why the ‘Nostradamus’ of U.S. Presidential Elections Got His 2024 Call Wrong." The Habari Network. https://www.thehabarinetwork.com/why-the-nostradamus-of-u-s-presidential-elections-got-his-2024-call-wrong.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. & Ngugi wa Thiong’O. (2023, August 11). Ghana’s international airport name: A normalized abnormality. The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa. Retrieved from https://www.cihablog.com/ghanas-international-airport-name-a-normalized-abnormality/

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. (2022, May 16). "Ukraine series: How the war in Ukraine is affecting African economies," in Talking Policy episode, 29:23, https://ucigcc.org/podcast/how-the-war-in-ukraine-is-affecting-african-economies/.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. (2022). A new United States policy for Africa. The Habari Journal (Canada/US-based Pan-African journal), 5(1): 74 – 76.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. 2022. Maximizing the benefits of trade for Africa. The University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Policy Brief.

Heto, Paa-Kwesi. (2015, January). An AGOA with even more teeth. The Habari Network Magazine, Special Edition. Accessed February 10, 2015, from http://www.thehabarinetwork.com/author/pheto

Academic

• The Institute for Peace & Security Studies, Addis Ababa Univ., Ethiopia
  • Facilitator (equivalent to Course Instructor in USA), Fall 2024
• University of California, Irvine (UCI), Ethics Center, Irvine, CA, USA
  • Tobis Fellow, 2023 – Present
  • Instructor, 2018 – Present
• Soka University of America (SUA), Graduate School, Aliso Viejo, CA, USA
  • Visiting Professor, 2022 – Present
• UCI, CA, USA
  • Teaching Associate, 2022
  • Teaching Assistant 2017, – 2023
• Methodist University College of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  • Instructor, 2010 – 2011
• Saddleback Community College
  • Tutor, English Grammar & Writing, 2016 – 2017
  • Embedded Tutor, Intermediate English as a Second Language Grammar, 2016 – 2017
• Soka University, World Language Centre, Japan
  • Facilitator, English Forum, 2008 – 2009

Policy & Administration

• The Institute for Meaningful Engagement, Univ. of California, Irvine, CA, USA
  • Project Policy Analyst 3, 2024 – Present
• INDIE Education Initiative
  • President/CEO, 2017 – Present
• Morgenthau Stirling LLC, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
  • Vice President, 2013 – 2024
• Manchester Trade Ltd. Inc., Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
  • Director, 2013 – 2015
• U.S.A. Presidential Inauguration Committee
  • Media Relations Volunteer, Jan 2013
• BOLDIN International, Washington, D.C., USA
  • Global Strategy Consultant, Jan – Sept 2013
• Government of Ghana, Ministry of Information, Accra, Ghana
  • Research Analyst, 2010 – 2011
• MDG Team Leader, Young People We Care, Accra, Ghana 2007 - 2008

• Fulbright Fellowship, 2021 – 2022
• Dissertation Completion Grant, International Studies Association (ISA), 2022
• Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, 2022
• Book Conference Grant, Institute for Humane Studies, 2024

• Easton Family Mentors of Distinction, Ethics Center, 2023
• Chief Graber Scholar, journal of Political Psychology, 2023 – 2024
• Searle Fellow, The Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason Univ., 2022
• Adam Smith Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason Univ., 2018 – 2023
• UCI Inclusive Excellence Ambassador, 2020 & 2021
• Kugelman Research Fellow, The Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, 2019 – 2022
• Joseph L. White Award, the African American Alumni Council, 2021
• The Etel Solingen Award for Outstanding Paper in Int. Relations, 2020
• Certificate of Assistance, XVII World Congress of Comparative Education Society, 2019
• Certificate of Commendation, UCI Police Department, 2019
• Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, 2019
• The Global Citizens Award, Global Connect Program, 2018
• Graber Scholar, journal of Political Psychology, 2018 – 2020
• Academic Excellence Award, Northeastern Univ., 2013
• Certificate of Honor, Methodist University College of Ghana, 2011
• Makiguchi Scholarship, Makiguchi Scholarship Foundation, Japan, 2008 – 2009
• Member of Parliament Brilliant Student Award, North Dayi Constituency, Ghana, 2007
• Certificate of Honor, Red Cross Society of Ghana, 2004
• Certificate of Honor, Bishop Herman College, Ghana, 2004