University of St Andrews

Faculty Member, International Relations

Professor

Thesis Title: Hegemony, “Common Sense” and Compromise: A Neo-Gramscian Analysis of Multilateralism in South Africa’s Post-Apartheid Foreign Policy

Supervisor: Professor Philip Nel

About

I am a Professor in International Relations at the University of St. Andrews’ School of International Relations and a Professor Extraordinary in Political Science at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. I am also Honorary Professor in the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China and Joint Professor in the Centre for European Studies, Renmin University of China.

My citation ranking (h-index), measuring research output and academic impact, is 14 - the highest in the entire School of International Relations.

I hold a DPhil from the University of Stellenbosch and an MPhil from the University of Hong Kong. I also hold a teaching certificate from the International Language Institute, Cairo, Egypt, where I taught Somali and Sudanese refugees.

Prior to joining St Andrews I taught African politics at the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Botswana for four years.

I have taught at Dalhousie University in Canada; the University of Hong Kong; Mbarara University of Science and Technology (Uganda); Renmin University of China; and the University of Stellenbosch.

Prior to entering academia, I worked for the UNHCR in Hong Kong on the Vietnamese Boat People issue.

I am interested primarily in the Global South and emerging powers, Africa's political economy and its international relations and in Chinese foreign policy. These last two strands come together in an extensive body of work, conducted since 1994, on China's emerging relationships with Africa. I have just finished a second book on Sino-African ties, published in 2009. This book is based on fieldwork and interviews in 13 African countries as well as three research visits to China and visits to London and Washington DC.

I have just finished a new book on Africa's international relations, to be published in 2010.

I am also interested in theoretical work involving the ideas of Antonio Gramsci and neo-Gramscian scholars and its application to IR theory, particularly in the developing world. Utilising this framework, I have published a substantial body of work on post-apartheid South Africa's foreign policies. 

I have visited 29 African countries plus Reunion island (a little outpost of la gloire française).

I am the co-editor of the academic journal "African Security", published by Taylor & Francis, and also of the "Review of International Studies", the journal of the British International Studies Association.

Contact Information

Email:

Address: School of International Relations,
University of St. Andrews,
St Andrews KY16 9AL,
Scotland
UK

Telephone: +44 (0)1334 462926