His interests include black radicalism, the African diaspora, black intellectuals, theory, and social movements. Makalani is the author of In the Cause of Freedom: Radical Black Internationalism from Harlem to London, 1917-1939 (University of North Carolina, 2011). In addition to editing a special issue of Social Text on “Diaspora and the Localities of Race,” 2009 Vol. 27, No. 1 98: 1-9, his articles have appeared in the journals Souls and the Journal of African American History, as well as the collections White Out: The Continuing Significance of Racism, and Race Struggles (Routledge, 2003).