I am a Full Professor of African Politics and International Relations in the Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. I have an uninterrupted 22-year university teaching and research experience. I am the current President of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS) haven just completed my term as Vice President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA). I serve as Editor-in-Chief of Africa’s foremost political science journal, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies, and have been Editor of Ubuntu: Journal of Conflict and Social Transformation since 2017. I also serve on the editorial board of several reputable international journals, such as International Political Science Review and the Canadian Journal of African Studies. I conduct research from an Africanist lens, and teach international relations theory, strategic and security studies, and security theory at the University of Pretoria. My research interests include African soft power politics, women, peace and conflict studies, women and political representation in Africa, rethinking state formation in Africa, human factor development and politics in a digital era. A C2 rated researcher by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, I have over 80 publications in top national and international peer-reviewed journals including chapters in books published by reputable publishing houses globally. In my spare time, I consult for the UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government on gender equality and women empowerment issues in the South Africa. In 2020, I was appointed by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture as a Social Cohesion Advocate of South Africa.