Staff Members

Dr. Cherrel Africa, PhD (UCT), Senior Lecturer, Head of Department
Cherrel Africa is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Political Studies. She holds a PhD in South African politics from the University of Cape Town. Her thesis focused on the relationship between election campaigns and the quality of democracy. Dr. Africa worked at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa from 1995 to 2003. She has a wide range of interests, including South African politics, democracy and governance, voting behaviour, elections and election campaigns, as well as political strategy and communication. Dr Africa also specialises in research methodology and design, with a particular emphasis on public opinion and survey research.

Mr. Mlungisi Bafo, M Candidate, Associate Lecturer
[to be completed]

Mr. Keith Gottschalk, BA Hons. (UCT) Extraordinary Senior Lecturer, Emeritus, former Head of Department
Keith Gottschalk came to UWC from UCT in 1984. With over forty scholarly publications, his current research interests include South African political party politics and the African Union (AU). As Head of Department, he hosted the biggest and best South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) to date at UWC. He was a council member of SAAPS. Keith also studies Space Policy and was the only UWC academic who served on the Advocacy Committee of the Space Affairs Council of South Africa, a statutory entity within DTI. A former political prisoner and struggle icon, Keith is also a published poet. Although he retired in 2010, he is still very closely involved in the activities of the Department as an emiritus staff member.

Mr. Mark Hoskins, LLM (UWC) & PhD Candidate, Associate Lecturer (ALDO programme)
[to be completed]

Ms Nadia Jansen, Departmental Administrator and Receptionist
[to be completed]

Dr. Thierry Luescher-Mamashela, PhD (UCT), Extraordinary Senior Lecturer
Thierry Luescher-Mamashela holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Cape Town. His doctoral research looked at the dynamic interaction between student politics, university governance, and national politics, with special reference to the changing participation of students in university decision-making. Thierry teaches in the Department of Educational Studies as well as in the Department of Political Studies and conducts most of his research as Senior Researcher in the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA), which is coordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET ). He has previously worked as researcher of the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) (2002 - 2008). 

Prof. Laurence Piper, PhD (Cambridge), Professor
Laurence Piper is Professor of Political Studies at the University of the Western Cape. With a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2000, he has published extensively on Zulu nationalism, the Inkatha Freedom Party and electoral politics in South Africa. His current research concerns new democratic theory and innovations, particularly new forms of participation in local governance and development in the global South Africa. Prof Piper is an NRF-rated scientist.

Dr. Joelien Pretorius, PhD (Cambridge), Associate Professor
Joelien Pretorius holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Cambridge. Her thesis focused on the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) and how it informs South African defence thinking. Having previously worked at the centre coordinator at the Centre for International Political Studies (CIPS) at the University of Pretoria, she is is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Western Cape. She has published widely in various international and South African journals (including Security Dialogue, Defense and Security Analysis, Militaria Scientia, Strategic Review for Southern Africa and Politikon) and has edited two books. Her academic fields of interest include Security Studies and Foreign Policy. She is a member of the Pugwash movement (1995 Nobel Peace Prize laureate) and has attended its conferences on Sciences and World Affairs since 1999. Dr Pretorius is an NRF-rated scientist.

Mr Garth van Rooyen, Associate Lectuerer (M Candidate)
[to be completed]