I'm honoured to have been awarded the Nelson Mandela Visiting Professorship in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Rhodes University in South Africa for 2025-26.

African politics in the spotlight: Professor Rita Abrahamsen appointed as Nelson Mandela Visiting Professor at Rhodes University

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The Department of Political and International Studies is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Rita Abrahamsen as the Nelson Mandela Visiting Professor for the 2025/26 academic year. A distinguished scholar of African politics and international relations, Prof. Abrahamsen brings a wealth of expertise on the political dynamics of the continent.

Currently a Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, Prof. Abrahamsen has built an international reputation for her work on African domestic politics, governance, security, and global power structures. She is the co-editor of The Oxford Encyclopaedia of African Politics(Oxford University Press, 2020) and the author of Disciplining Democracy: Development Discourse and Good Governance in Africa (Zed Books, 2000). Her scholarship has profoundly shaped debates on African political economy, statehood, security and international relations.

Her editorial leadership in African Studies further underscores her influence. From 2009 to 2014, she served as joint editor of African Affairs, the leading journal in the field, and from 2000 to 2008, she was co-editor of the Review of African Political Economy.

Prof. Abrahamsen’s research also examines the global private security sector, particularly its impact on African states. Her widely cited book, Security Beyond the State: Private Security in International Politics (co-authored with Michael Williams, Cambridge University Press, 2011), offers an in-depth analysis of private security in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. Her work bridges International Relations and African Studies, highlighting how global security networks shape and interact with African states.

More recently, she has turned her attention to the global rise of the radical right, exploring its consequences for international politics. Her co-authored book, World of the Right: Radical Conservatism and Global Order (Cambridge University Press, 2024), critically examines the implications of this movement for the liberal international order.

As Nelson Mandela Visiting Professor, Prof. Abrahamsen will visit Rhodes University in August/September 2025 and April 2026. During her tenure, she will teach a postgraduate course and deliver a public lecture. In 2025, she will lead a course titled Pan-Africanism: Past, Present, Future, exploring this influential political tradition as a lens for understanding international politics.

We look forward to welcoming Prof. Abrahamsen and engaging with her critical insights on African politics and global affairs.

https://www.ru.ac.za/latestnews/africanpoliticsinthespotlightprofessorritaabrahamsenappointedasnelson.html

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