Campbell seeks to continue the traditions of scholarship and activism of the Dar es Salaam School of History and Philosophy.
He has been a Visiting Distinguished Professor in China (at Tsinghua University), South Africa, Ireland, and Uganda.
Presently, within Syracuse University, Campbell serves as a mentor for younger scholars and teaches courses on politics in Africa, African International Relations, Militarism and Transformation in Southern Africa, Introduction to Pan-Africanism and the Caribbean Society since Independence, Caribbean Intellectual Thought, and Introduction to African American Studies.
The initiative aims to focus on Africa as an essential source of knowledge, highlighting work on the continent by Syracuse University scholars.
Situated in the context of the agency of new social forces galvanized in the 2008 electoral season, the book developed a theory of politics starting with the humanist principles of Ubuntu, healing, and reparations for the 21st century, arguing that key ideas like quantum politics and a “network of networks” move away from old forms of vanguardism during a period in history that can be characterized as a revolutionary moment.
[citation needed] Campbell has contributed more than 40 chapters to other edited books and has published numerous articles and reviews in scholarly journals.
As a commentator on peace and transformation, he is actively involved in the opposition to the establishment of the US Africa Command and the militarization of African politics.
In the Global Pan-African movement he worked with the late Tajudeen Abdul Raheem to articulate a more inclusive and internationalist concept of Pan African emancipation in the 21st century.
It was his interaction with the youth, especially the radical African feminists that influenced his book Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation.
In the summer of 2001, he conducted research on peace in Central Africa and was based at the Global Pan African Movement in Kampala, Uganda.
Campbell was a presenter on Globalization at the NGO Forum of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa.