▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- M.Phil. (Political Management) [Stellenbosch University]
- D.Phil. (Development Studies) [University of Sussex]
Teaching Specialisation
- Public Policy / Policy Analysis
Research Interests
- Implementation of gender policy at the provincial government level in South Africa
- The implementation of health system transformation (District Health System) in the Western Cape
Latest Publications
- Morrison, C. Fourie, P. and Adams, UL. (2026) Mental health policy in South Africa: exploring problem representation. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Adams-Jack, UL. (2022) 'Problem representations and the National Gender Machinery in South Africa': A case of meaning in motion. In Gouws, A (ed) (2022) Feminist Institutionalism in South Africa. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.
- Adams-Jack, UL. (2021) Life in the time of COVID-19: Four-and-a half jobs, perpetual traumas and the small pleasure of not having to brave cold winter mornings. In Gouws, A and Ezeobi, O. (eds) (2021) COVID Diaries: Women's experiences of the pandemic. Imbali Academic Publishers.
Biography
Dr Ubanesia Adams is a lecturer and public policy specialist with over 20 years' experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership at Stellenbosch University. She holds an MPhil in Political Management and a DPhil in Development Studies, with expertise in gender policy, health systems, and governance.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BSocSci [UKZN]
- BSocSci (Hons) (International Relations) [UCT]
- MSocSci [UCT]
- PhD (Political Science) [UCT]
Teaching Specialisation
- International Relations
- Global Political Economy
- Africa-China Relations
- Africa: Regional Integration and Development
Research Interests
- Africa-China Relations
- Chinese Foreign Policy
- Africa's Regional Integration and Development
- Techno-geopolitics / Digital Geopolitics
- BRICS (PLUS)
- Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Resources / Commodities
Publications
Biography
Dr Mandira Bagwandeen has experience working with local and international think tanks, corporations, and government departments. At Stellenbosch University, Mandira lectures on International Relations and Global Political Economy. Before joining Stellenbosch University, she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she undertook research on Africa's Regional Integration and Development, with a specific focus on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the Political Economy of Africa-China Infrastructure Developments, specifically railways. She also taught International Relations at the post-graduate level at UCT's Department of Political Studies. Mandira has produced commentary and written several articles on African development and China-Africa issues for peer-reviewed journals and various local and international media outlets. She's been cited in the South China Morning Post, Africa Report, Le Monde, China Global South Project, BBC News, Network 24, Xinhua News, The Council on Foreign Relations, and eNCA. She holds several affiliate positions with local and international think tanks and organisations, including: The New South Institute, The African Centre for the Study of the US (University of the Witwatersrand), Conflict, Peacebuilding and Risk Unit (Stellenbosch University), the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (Foundation for Strategic Research), Foreign Policy Research Institute (2021–2025), African Studies Centre (Metropolitan University Prague), and the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR).
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BSocSc [University of Cape Town]
- MA [University of Stellenbosch]
- PhD [University of Glasgow]
- PGDip (Applied Ethics) [Stellenbosch University]
Teaching Specialisation
- International Relations
- Foreign Policy Analysis
- Political Theory
- The Political Economy of Japan
Research Interests
- Japanese diplomacy, aid and industry in Africa
- Africa's international relations
- South African foreign policy
Latest Publications
- Cornelissen, S. (2025). '"Worlds of Difference"/Different World(s) – Reading Decolonial Reconstellations within and beyond the pluriverse.' In L. Doyle; M. wa Gĩthĩnji and S. Nkandi (eds.) Decolonial Reconstellations. Routledge.
- Cornelissen, S. (2025). 'Partnership as an evolving construct and strategy in Africa-Japan diplomacy', in Zondi, S and H. Adogo (eds.) Africa's Strategic Partnerships with BRICS and other Emerging Countries. Jacana Media.
- Sato, C., Cornelissen, S. and T. Hosoi (2025). 'Risk perceptions, resilience and evaluation of government policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa: A study of the middle class,' in K. Hanai, R. G. Muchete, L. K. Kinyua and Y. Mine (eds.) Practical Wisdom and Resilience Overcoming Downside Risk: Grassroots Voices in Africa under COVID-19. Springer.
Biography
Prof. Cornelissen has been Katherine Hampson Bessell Fellow with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and Leibniz Professor at Leipzig University. Other research fellowships have been held with the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies at Kyoto University, Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo) and the Institute of Developing Economies, all in Japan. She is co-editor of the Review of International Studies and Geopolitics and serves on the editorial boards of European Journal of International Relations, Journal of Modern African Studies and Chatham House's International Affairs.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Hons [University of Stellenbosch]
- MA [University of Stellenbosch]
- PhD [University of Pretoria]
Teaching Specialisation
- Southern African politics
- South African politics
- Comparative politics and democracy
Research Interests
- South African politics
- Comparative southern African politics
- Political culture
- Religion and political development
- Dominant party systems
- Democracy
- Liberation movements
Publications
Biography
From January 2018 until December 2022 Prof. Nicola de Jager served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Commonwealth and Comparative Politics. She is a C2 rated researcher with the National Research Foundation (NRF) and was a fellow of the African-Oxford (AfOx) programme at Oxford University. Formerly a research associate of the Transformation Research Unit (TRU); a research unit focused on projects dealing with transformations from autocracy to democracy and the reverse, conditions for the persistence of democracy, and the quality of government.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Hons [University of Stellenbosch]
- MA [University of Stellenbosch]
- D Litt et Phil [University of Johannesburg]
Teaching Specialisation
- Political economy
- International relations
- Global health
- Public policy
Research Interests
- Global health governance
- Political epidemiology of development and inequality
- Politics of HIV and AIDS
Publications
Biography
Prof. Pieter Fourie was trained at the universities of Stellenbosch, Paris, London, and Johannesburg. He has worked for the United Nations, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in civil society, and has taught International Relations at universities in South Africa and Australia. His research focuses on global health governance, health diplomacy, and the political economy of development. His book The Political Management of HIV and AIDS in South Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006) was longlisted for the Alan Paton Award, and he is a former editor of Politikon: the South African Journal of Political Studies. He has received research funding from a variety of international academic funding bodies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), and the Economic and Social Research Council (United Kingdom).
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Hons [Rand Afrikaans University]
- MA [Rand Afrikaans University]
- PhD [University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, USA]
Publications
Biography
Prof. Amanda Gouws is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, where she holds a SARChI Chair in Gender Politics. Her research focuses on women and citizenship, women's representation, women's movements and gender based violence. She has published widely in these areas. Her book (Un)Thinking Citizenship: Feminist Debates in Contemporary South Africa appeared with Ashgate in 2005. In 2014 she received the Wilma Rule Award for the best paper in gender and politics from the International Political Science Association. With Daiva Stasiulis she published Gender and Multiculturalism: North/South Perspectives (Routledge, 2014).
Her edited collections appeared with Imbali Press: Nasty Women Talk Back (2017) and The COVID Diaries: Women's Experience of the Pandemic (2021). Her latest book, Feminist Institutionalism in South Africa: Designing for Gender Equality (2022) appeared with Rowman and Littlefield. In 2024 she received the Rector's Award for Excellence in Research. In 2025 she received a Life Time Achievement Award from the South African Association for Political Studies, as well as the Rector's Award for Women in Research. She chaired the Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee at Stellenbosch University for 20 years. She was a Commissioner for the South African Commission for Gender Equality from 2012–2014.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BSocSci (Hons) (International and Comparative Politics) [University of Cape Town]
- MSocSci (International & Comparative Politics) [University of Cape Town]
- PhD (Criminology) [University of Cape Town]
Teaching Specialisation
- Peace and conflict in Africa
- Political conflict
- International relations of Africa
Research Interests
- Conflict and violence analysis
- Crime and violence prevention
- Critical Terrorism Studies
- Policing
- Peacebuilding
- International and regional security
- Urban safety
Publications
Biography
Dr Guy Lamb is a National Research Foundation rated researcher and directs the Conflict, Peacebuilding and Risk Unit in the Department. Guy has undertaken research on issues related to violence, security and peace since the mid-1990s, and has led numerous prestigious multi-country research projects in this regard. He is currently a member of the Interpol Future (advisory) Council and is a Fellow of the Geneva-based UN Institute for Disarmament Research. In South Africa he serves as a commissioner on the high-level National Planning Commission where he chairs the Commission's Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Task Team, and he is part of the government's Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy Working Committee. He is also an advisor to the Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety. Guy was previously the Director of the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town and led research departments at the Institute for Security Studies and the Centre for Conflict Resolution. He has served as an armed violence expert for the UN Security Council Sanctions Branch.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Law [Stellenbosch University]
- MPhil (Political Management) [Stellenbosch University]
- DPhil [Stellenbosch University]
Teaching Specialisation
- Political Risk Analysis
- Forms of statehood and government
- Research methodology
Research Interests
- Domestic non-state actors and the interaction between such actors and the state and society
- The relationship between domestic non-state actors and local governance
- Organised criminal groups as a domestic non-state actor
- Environmental organised crime
- Theoretical frameworks of political risk
- Political security-risk
- Industry specific political risk models
Publications
Biography
Prof. Derica Lambrechts is an Associate Professor of Political Science. A political risk analyst and organised crime specialist, her work examines domestic non-state actors, state–society relations, and environmental organised crime. She has published widely in South African and international academic journals. She is also a research fellow at The Centre for Research on Democracy (CREDO).
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Hons (Politics) [School of Oriental and African Studies, London University]
- M.Sc (Democratic Governance) [University of Cape Town]
- PhD (Politics) [University of Cape Town]
Teaching Specialisation
- Political behaviour
- Political theory
- Survey research and quantitative methodologies
Research Interests
- Political and voter behaviour
- Elections and party systems
- Electoral systems
- Democratisation
- Legislative studies
- Public opinion analysis and quantitative (survey) research methods, especially in South Africa and the sub-Saharan region
Publications
Biography
Professor Collette Schulz-Herzenberg is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University. As a National Research Foundation (C1) rated researcher, Collette specializes in political behaviour and public opinion research and has contributed to the surging body of scholarship on South African electoral politics. She is South Africa's country co-investigator on several internationally recognised research projects, including the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP) and the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), and was recently invited to serve as a member of the CSES Module 7 Planning Committee from 2023 to 2028.
Collette is co-editor on several book volumes on South African elections, and has published 12 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, 13 peer-reviewed book chapters, and 14 policy and technical papers. She has successfully fundraised numerous substantial local and international grants for quantitative survey research projects in the sub-Saharan African region, and to support postgraduate students with bursaries. She teaches two large undergraduate modules and one postgraduate module, and supervises an active cohort of master's and doctoral students pursuing empirical research in political behaviour using quantitative methods.
Beyond academia, Collette collaborates with civil society, political parties and the media to ensure that her research is used to strengthen policy related decision making while also strengthening critical citizenship and knowledge among the wider South African public. She has served as a member of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Panel of Analysts for elections dating back to 2006.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA (International Studies) [Stellenbosch University]
- MPhil (Political Management) (Cum Laude) [Stellenbosch University]
- PhD (Political Science) [Stellenbosch University]
Teaching Specialisation
- Quantitative research skills (SPSS)
- Political behaviour
- African politics
Research Interests
Political behaviour; political culture; democratisation; attitudinal, public opinion, and values research; comparative studies: elite-mass studies and cross-national studies; and South African politics.
Publications
Biography
Dr Cindy Steenekamp is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University. Her research focuses primarily on the World Values Survey and several elite surveys conducted around the world, and includes research interests such as political behaviour, political culture, democratisation, attitudinal and public opinion research, comparative elite-mass and cross-national studies, and South African politics.
Dr Steenekamp is the co-Principal Investigator of the World Values Survey and Elite/opinion leader survey in South Africa, and is a member of an international research team working on a project titled Global democracy: Political institutions and cultural contexts. Her previous research collaborations include a joint project with the University of Gothenburg, Sweden (2013–2016) titled Democracy in crisis? An analysis of (the decline of) regime support, and a joint project with SARCHI-chaired ReSEP: Research on Socio-Economic Policy at the Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University (2011–2014), focusing on the emergent middle class in South Africa.
▶ Academic Profile
Qualifications
- BA Hons [Rand Afrikaans University]
- MA [Stellenbosch University]
- PhD [Dalhousie University]
Teaching Specialisation
- Comparative politics
- Comparative political economy
- Comparative political economy of development
Research Interests
- Comparing Brazil and South Africa as rising powers (and the role of domestic constituencies)
- South African foreign policy
Publications
Biography
Prof. Janis van der Westhuizen is a professor in the Department and focuses on the political economy of foreign policy in the Global South. His work has been published in Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of International Relations and Development, Third World Quarterly and a range of other journals.