Research Groups

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.

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.