Research Groups
The IFK focuses on seven themes, each championed by a research group: Blockchain and the Cryptoverse (BC), Data Science across Disciplines (DSAD), Decentralised Artificial Intelligence and Control Systems (DAICS), the Future of Diplomacy (FoD), the Future of Health (FoH), Green Futures (GF) and Work of the Future (WoF).
The Future of Diplomacy
Dr Oluwaseun Tella
The Future of Diplomacy Research Group seeks to promote the understanding of diplomacy, negotiation and statecraft in contemporary international politics. The Group aims to support research in modern diplomatic practice by redefining diplomacy in contemporary and futuristic contexts in an increasingly complex and globalised world.
Events
The GNU and the Future of South Africa’s Domestic and Foreign Policy
The Future of Diplomacy 15h00 – 18h00 9 October 2024 Join here This seminar will examine the significant implications of South Africa’s newly established
Democracy and Development in Africa: How Far, How Well?
The Future of Diplomacy 12h00 – 13h30 21 May 2024 Register here As we mark Africa Day and anticipate the upcoming general elections in South
Unpacking South Africa’s Role in the Ongoing Israel-Palestine Conflict
The Future of Diplomacy 17h00 – 18h45 27 February 2024 Register here The Israel-Palestine conflict remains one of the most enduring and contentious geopolitical issues
Jabulani Sibande
Research Assistant
Jabulani Sibande is a Research Assistant at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge. He holds a bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand and an honours degree in African Studies from the University of Johannesburg. His honours project was on the Democratic Development State Model in African States focusing on Rwanda and South Africa. Mr Sibande is interested in the African debate on political economy and development, as well as policy-making processes on the continent.
Jabulani Sibande
Research Assistant
Oluwaseun Tella
Head of the Future of Diplomacy
Dr Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge in South Africa. He holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has authored a book entitled Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports (Routledge, 2021); edited three books entitled Nigeria-South Africa Relations and Regional Hegemonic Competence (Springer, 2019), From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa and African-American Studies (Jacana, 2020), and A Sleeping Giant? Nigeria’s Domestic and International Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Springer, 2021); and published over 30 mostly single-authored book chapters and journal articles in Politikon, Social Dynamics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Black Studies and elsewhere. His research interests include soft power, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics and knowledge production in Africa. Email: otella@uj.ac.za.
Oluwaseun Tella
Head of the Future of Diplomacy
Jabulani Sibande
Research Assistant
Jabulani Sibande is a Research Assistant at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge. He holds a bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand and an honours degree in African Studies from the University of Johannesburg. His honours project was on the Democratic Development State Model in African States focusing on Rwanda and South Africa. Mr Sibande is interested in the African debate on political economy and development, as well as policy-making processes on the continent.
Jabulani Sibande
Research Assistant
Oluwaseun Tella
Head of the Future of Diplomacy
Dr Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge in South Africa. He holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has authored a book entitled Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports (Routledge, 2021); edited three books entitled Nigeria-South Africa Relations and Regional Hegemonic Competence (Springer, 2019), From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa and African-American Studies (Jacana, 2020), and A Sleeping Giant? Nigeria’s Domestic and International Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Springer, 2021); and published over 30 mostly single-authored book chapters and journal articles in Politikon, Social Dynamics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Black Studies and elsewhere. His research interests include soft power, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics and knowledge production in Africa. Email: otella@uj.ac.za.
Oluwaseun Tella
Head of the Future of Diplomacy
Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa
This book focuses on southern Africa by engaging with ‘norms’ from various perspectives and how they have proliferated within a neo-liberalising context since the 1990s.
The Breakfast Club with Prof Arthur Mutambara
[embedpress]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4dnaZq26eGA[/embedpress] Professor Mutambara speaks on his new volume: Ideas and Solutions – In Search of the Elusive Zimbabwean Dream: An Autobiography of Thought Leadership Vol.
The Diaspora’s Soft Power in an Age of Global Anti-Nigerian Sentiment
Commonwealth & Comparative Politics Volume 61, 2023 – Issue 2 Abstract The global anti-Nigerian sentiment that has engendered the state’s image crisis cannot be denied.
Ideas and Solutions – In Search of the Elusive Zimbabwean Dream: An Autobiography of Thought Leadership, Vol. III
Why West African states do not go to war with each other: ‘Pan-West Africanism’ and constructivist international relations
African Security Review ABSTRACT Realism and liberalism theories have had the most significant influence on the analyses for international relations. While the theories have proven
Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis and the Question of the Right to Self-Determination
The Round Table The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs Volume 111, 2022 – Issue 5 Abstract Is Southern Cameroons entitled to self-determination under international law?
COVID-19 and South Africa-China’s Asymmetric Relations
World Affairs Volume 185, 2022 – Issue 3 ABSTRACT While South Africa–China relations were only formalized in 1998, relations between these states date back to
Apartheid Racism and Post-apartheid Xenophobia: Bridging the Gap
Migration in Southern Africa Rugunanan, P and Xulu-Gama, N. (Eds) Cham: Springer Abstract Media images of Africa seems to suggest that the continent is characterised
First Comes Love, then Comes Marriage? Exploring the Narratives and Experiences of South African Partners of Nigerian Male Immigrants in South Africa’.
Conflict and Concord Isike, C and Isike, EM. (Eds) Singapore. Palgrave Macmillan Abstract Xenophobic policies and violence have marred South Africa’s experience with immigrants. While
International Collaboration from an African Perspective: Strengthening Partnerships for our Common Goals
Higher Education in the World Report 8 Special Issue: New Visions for Higher Education towards 2030 Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) Abstract Immediately after
Nigeria’s Space Programme and Counter-Terrorism: Tracking Boko Haram with Nigerian Satellites
Peace Review A Journal of Social Justice Volume 34, 2022 – Issue 3 Abstract Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaign against the dreaded Boko Haramsect has relied heavily
Nigeria’s Democracy Promotion in Africa: Hard, Soft or Smart Power Stratagem?
Journal of Asian and African Studies Volume 57, 2022 – Issue 6 Abstract Democracy promotion is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s most important foreign policy objectives
South Africa’s Curriculum Transformation: Insights from Post-Independence Africa and the era of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
Strategic Review for Southern Africa Volume 43, 2021 – Issue 2 Abstract The #MustFall campaigns, student-led protests that began at the University of Cape Town
Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports
This book investigates the ways in which soft power is used by African countries to help drive global influence. Selecting four of the countries most
A Sleeping Giant? Nigeria’s Domestic and International Politics in the Twenty-First Century
This edited volume explores Nigeria’s domestic and international politics and its implications for the country’s national development and international status. Coinciding with the twenty year
Soft Power Individuals in Nigeria and South Africa: An Appraisal of Olusegun Obasanjo’s and Thabo Mbeki’s Power of Attraction
The Round Table The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs Volume 109, 2020 – Issue 5 ABSTRACT Despite the increasing influence of non-state actors in international