African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria

The Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), Prof. Christopher Isike, was a Curtin University guest at the 2024 West African Community Awards Gala hosted by the Organization of African Community in Western Australia (OACWA Inc) in Perth.


Organisation of African Communities in WA Inc

On 03 September 2024, the Director of ACSUS-UP, Prof. Christopher Isike, presented a thematic paper titled The Complex Contestation in the Politics of Just Energy Transition at the Australian Africa University Network (AAUN) Forum on Just Energy Transition. Curtin University, Western Australia, hosted the conference.

In his presentation, Prof Isike stressed the importance of correct framing of the politics of just energy to go beyond the notion of distributive and binary conflict between supporters and opponents of energy transition to see it as dialectical tensions between multiple interests and stakeholders. In this regard, he adds, “Africa should not simply be characterised as opposing energy transition but as countries having genuine economic and development concerns that need to be addressed while transiting to the post-fossil fuels era”.

The AAUN Forum Conference on Just Energy Transition hosted over 100 expert participants from academia, government, diplomats, business and agencies. The Forum considered AAUN strategic plans, research activities and progress 2025-30.

The AAUN is a group of leading universities in Australia and Africa, connecting researchers and academics through institutional partnerships in order to address challenges facing both continents.

Join us tomorrow, 22 August 2024, as Dr Samuel Oyewole shall examine the dimensions of US-Africa space cooperation, their rationales, trajectories, challenges, and possible ways forward in the framework of their relevance to science diplomacy and geopolitical implications of technologies.

Enquiries: Ms Lerato Dube: Administrator, ACSUS-UP, +27 12 420 2034, Email: [email protected]

Read more
https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3252204-public-lecture-us-africa-space-cooperation-science-diplomacy-and-the-geopolitics-of-technologies

Click here to join
https://statedept.zoomgov.com/j/1618112305?pwd=LLK0Tb8K7EvsIoQnXL4amraBTMnp6R.1

The Director of ACSUS-UP, Christopher Isike, actively participated in the 2024 Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs), hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and led by the University of Montana. The programme lasted from 13 June through to 23 July.

SUSIs is a funded programme by the U.S. Department of Education and Cultural Affairs, whose mission is to promote understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world. SUSIs, therefore, convene scholars, professors, teachers, and administrators from different countries for intensive academic residency on a U.S. university or college campus, with educational tours to other parts of the U.S. The programme enables participants to meet with experts and scholars, interact with diverse American communities, visit civic institutions, and explore U.S. society, culture, values, diversity, and institutions.

This year, Prof. Isike and his cohorts were immersed in the study of American Politics and Political Thought, with a general focus on the political development of the American nation. The umassamherst Donahue Institute adopts political development as an approach to studying American government and politics that is historical, institutional, and qualitative in character. This approach allows the institute to bring together a wide variety of topics and consider it a “common ground” for engagement by academics from a broad array of backgrounds and interests.

Following an intensive 4 weeks of classes, the 2024 cohorts were treated to 2 weeks of inciteful study tours to New York City, Charlottesville, Virginia, and , D.C., where they visited important sites of the American polity, including a visit to the US Congress and the of Congress.

The study of American Politics and Political Thought fits perfectly into the research profile of Prof. Christopher Isike, who is a full Professor of African Politics and International Relations; and the Director of an African Centre whose mandate is to promote disciplinary, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary knowledge and theory production, research cooperation, policy engagement, cultural contact and business interactions in South Africa, between Africa and the US in areas of mutual interest that benefit the University of Pretoria in its academic project.

He aims to draw from this invaluable experience to continue to drive ACSUS-UP’s vision of becoming a top think-tank and premier African knowledge-creation hub on studies of the United States and South African/African – US cooperation in the pursuit of regional integration, scientific enquiry, and global socio-economic and geopolitical change.

Read More:
https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3247259-prof.-christoper-isike-immersed-in-the-study-of-the-united-states-

SUSI Scholars

The African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), featured as a Civil Society delegate at the 21st AGOA Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Forum was held from 24 to 26 July. ACSUS-UP was invited by the Africa Program of the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and was represented by its Director, Prof. Christopher Isike, who was already participating in the 2024 Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). The 21st AGOA Forum was hosted under the theme: Beyond 2025: Reimagining AGOA for an Inclusive, Sustainable and Prosperous Tomorrow.

Prof. Christopher Isike was in the room when the South African Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, Mr. Mpho Parks Tau, made a case to the US government not to weaponise AGOA as a political tool to influence the foreign policy of African states. He made the call on behalf of other African Trade Ministers attending the 21st AGOA Forum in Washington DC July 24 – 26, 2024.

Prof. Isike also made a similar input the day before in the civil society session and it was adopted and read out as one of the recommendations of the civil society to the Forum.

The South African delegation led by Minister Tau consisted of leaders from the private sector, civil society, and organised labour, including Zingiswa Losi, the President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or Cosatu), and they made a strong case for continued collaboration. Minister Parks Tau also led a South African delegation to persuade the U.S. Congress to extend AGOA benefits amidst recent strained relations between the two countries.

Former United States President Bill Clinton signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) into law in May 2000. It was extended in 2015 by 10 years to 2025. The objectives of the legislation include the expansion and deepening of the trade and investment relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa, to encourage economic growth and development as well as regional integration, and to help facilitate the integration of Sub-Saharan Africa into the global economy.

The Deputy Secretary, US Department of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo did the closing ceremony. He is one of the five Nigerian-Americans in Biden’s cabinet and the first person of such to occupy this position in U.S. history. Prof. Christopher Isike introduced ACSUS-UP to him and emphasised the Centre’s vision of becoming a top think-tank and premier African knowledge-creation hub on studies about the United States and South African/African–US cooperation in the pursuit of regional integration, scientific enquiry, and global socio-economic and geopolitical change.

Well attended by several government ministers from AGOA beneficiary countries in Africa, representatives of the private sector, organised labour and other civil society groups, the Forum had fruitful deliberations and concluded with very good recommendations on how to deepen the thrust of AGOA to make it more inclusive of and beneficial the working class, women and youth in Africa.

"Freedom is golden, its value inestimable" - Prof. Christopher Isike

South Africa and the United States both have the most consequential elections in their political history in 2024. For example, in South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) may, for the first time since 1994, fail to win over 50% of the votes and this would force a coalition of parties to form a government in South Africa which the ANC may not even be involved in. In the US, the November elections could go either way between the ruling Democrat Party and opposition Republican Party with the race too close to call between the presidential candidates of both parties. Either way, unless the ruling parties win the elections in South Africa and the US, any other outcome on either side would have serious consequence for relations between countries for the next 4 years. This moderated conversation between experienced both election analysts with inputs from the audience will shed light on the consequential nature of these elections for both countries and Africa broadly.

Register: https://lnkd.in/dNrczsjU

We are happy to share the photo story of our insightful 'Classroom Engagement' with Mr. Salman Ahmed, currently the Director of the US Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. The event took place at the University of Pretoria on April 17, 2024, with diplomats, undergraduates, postgraduates, postdoctoral fellows, and academics in attendance.

This 'Classroom Engagement' further demonstrates our commitment to fostering knowledge-driven engagements between South/Africa and the United States.

The African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) cordially invites students and scholars of international relations, and everyone interested in international politics to an in-person classroom engagement (Q&A session) with Salman Ahmed, Director, Policy Planning Staff, US State Department, Washington DC, USA. This forum provides a rare and excellent opportunity for the next generation of South African foreign policy makers and practitioners to engage directly with a senior U.S. official who is uniquely attuned to the need to engage South Africa and the Global South at large.

Salman Ahmed
Biography
He is the Director of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff. Prior to assuming his post as Director in January 20, 2021, Mr. Ahmed was a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he directed research and led a bipartisan task force dedicated to making U.S. foreign policy work better for the middle class. He also oversaw the review of the national security and foreign policy agencies for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. He served for 8 years in the Obama-Biden administration, including as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council, and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Before joining the U.S. government, he served for almost 15 years with the United Nations, working mainly on the management and reform of the UN’s international peacekeeping machinery; co-drafting the UN Secretary-General’s landmark report on the Fall of Srebrenica; and serving in field missions in Cambodia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq. He also taught at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. He earned an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a BS in Economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Date: 17 April 2024
Time: 10:00 - 12:00
Venue: SRC Auditorium, EMS Building (Conference Centre 1-17), Hatfield Campus
Enquiries: Mr Paseka Gaola, Tel: +27 12 420 2034, Email: [email protected]
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2yNglr5MuXqRWaAgoJPwQ5PLKkCa3AWiqfd1G32YkKoqyUQ/viewform

POLICY BRIEF 4: The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit: A Review

We are happy to share with you a 6-page policy brief from a half-day policy seminar titled "The US-Africa Leaders' Summit: A Review", held on February 27, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS-UP), and the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS), both at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa; and the Center for African Studies at Howard University in Washington D.C., United States (US). It sought to review the main outcomes of the December 2022 US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C., and to assess the historical and broader context of the relationship.

https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3221457-policy-brief-4-the-us-africa-leaders-summit-a-review

POLICY BRIEF 4: The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit: A Review | University of Pretoria A half-day policy seminar was held on 27 February 2023, hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), and the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS), both at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa; and the

We are glad to announce that we launched our 2024 Public Lecture Series by hosting Nicolas Kralev on 26 March 2024. He delivered a stimulating public lecture on "Preparing the Next Generation of Diplomats." The event took place at the Merensky Library Auditorium, University of Pretoria.

Drawing from his experience as a journalist who spent a decade travelling around the world with four U.S. secretaries of state, as well as from his new book, "Diplomatic Statecraft," Nicolas Kralev discussed the need to develop a modern curriculum in diplomatic tradecraft—by way of improving diplomacy training globally—to enable diplomats to engage efficiently in an increasingly complex world.

Nicholas Kralev is the founding executive director of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, an independent organisation providing practical training in diplomacy.

What should such a modern curriculum look like, and how should it be framed?
Kindly share your thoughts.

PUBLIC LECTURE INVITE: Preparing the Next Generation of Diplomats

Based on his new book, Diplomatic Statecraft, Nicolas Kralev will discuss the imperative of building a modern curriculum in diplomatic tradecraft and partnering with some of the most respected former career ambassadors to create and deliver practical training programs with case studies and exercises from their decades in the Foreign Services. He will also share his experience transitioning from a journalist who spent a decade traveling around the world with four U.S. secretaries of state to an entrepreneur who responded to an urgent need to improve the state of diplomacy training globally. This is instructive as countries around the world struggle to effectively train their diplomats to engage an increasingly complex world.

Nicholas Kralev is the founding executive director of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, an independent organization providing practical training in diplomacy. A former Financial Times and Washington Times correspondent, he covered and accompanied U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright on their travels around the world. He is the author of several books, including Other Army: The U.S. Foreign Service and 21st-Century Diplomacy; the first-ever textbook on how to practice diplomacy. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Date: 26 March 2024
Time: 12h00- 13h20
Venue: Main Auditorium, Merensky Library, Hatfield Campus
RSVP: Ms Lerato Dube ([email protected]) or register using the link below

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2yNglr5MuXqRWaAgoJPwQ5PLKkCa3AWiqfd1G32YkKoqyUQ/viewform?pli=1

DAY 4:

A visit to South Africa's Apartheid Museum and the legendary Vilakazi Street in Soweto, famous for being the only street in the world to have produced two Nobel Prize winners—Nelson Mandela and the Most Reverend Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Both figures are greatly remembered for their roles in South Africa's transition to democracy.

This visit exposed both students and staff from the University of Notre Dame to the similarities in the historic struggles for racial equality, global justice, human rights, democracy, and multiculturalism in both South Africa and the United States of America.

This learning tour demonstrates ACSUS-UP's commitment to fostering knowledge-driven engagement between Africa and the United States at all levels.

Day 3: Exploring South Africa’s Freedom Park and Voortrekker Monument.

Touring South Africa's Constitution Hill

Alongside their colleagues from ACSUS-UP, students and staff from the University of Notre Dame visited South Africa’s historic Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Once a prison and military fort, the site bears witness to the incarceration of countless individuals, including notable figures like Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Joe Slovo and many others who resisted the apartheid government.

The tour provided insight into the harsh realities endured within the walls of the Old Fort which has transformed into the Constitution Hill. Here, the tour team immersed themselves in the stories of those who had suffered while also examining the significance of South Africa’s post-apartheid liberal and multicultural Constitution. The Constitution Hill is currently South Africa’s highest court. The tour team had the chance to briefly observe an ongoing proceeding.

The tour was followed by a presentation at the Department of Political Sciences by McKenzie Bennett, a doctoral candidate from Notre Dame University. Bennett’s presentation, titled “The Impact of white allyship on Social Movements” seeks to interrogate the dimensions of white allyship on social movements in the United States. Drawing parallels, the presentation on white allyship within black social movements resonates deeply with the struggles endured by blacks during apartheid South Africa and the role White allies played to support black liberation.

The seminar was moderated by the Director of ACSUS-UP, Prof. Christopher Isike. The reaction by the participants affirms ACSUS-UP’s commitment to fostering ties that bind South/Africa and the United States by sharing knowledge on experiences of social justice, racial integration, and social cohesion.

DAY 1:

The African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), hosts students from the University of Notre Dame, USA, for a week-long visit. This visit is integral to an exchange program by both universities. The program was launched in 2023 to facilitate collaboration between International Relations (IR) and Global Affairs students within the Globalisation in Africa module. The first-semester module of the exchange program is titled International Political Economy/Globalisation in Africa (IPL 751), while the second-semester module is titled Black Political Thought (STL 752).

The first day of the visit featured a campus tour to offer the visiting students and staff valuable insights into the academic, cultural, and environmental landscape of the University of Pretoria. Subsequent tours will cover significant sites across the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg.

After the brief tour, the visiting students and staff were introduced to their colleagues in the Department of Political Sciences, where ACSUS-UP is hosted. This familiarisation activity featured insightful conversations covering a wide range of topics, such as the upcoming 2024 general elections in the USA and South Africa and the nature of political and IR studies in both countries.

Representatives from the US Embassy in Pretoria, James Debose, a public diplomacy officer, and Melissa Janse Van Rensburg, the professional exchanges coordinator, joined the sessions, interacted, and emphasised the significance of the exchange programme as it enables the exploration, cultivation and exchange of ideas from different perspectives across diverse backgrounds.

Day one activities concluded with a discussion on US-Africa relations, spanning from the Bush to the Biden administration. Professor Jamie Bleck and Rasheed Ibrahim from Notre Dame University facilitated the discussions that covered a wide range of themes, such as the potential role of the African diaspora in shaping US foreign policy, current perceptions of the US vis-à-vis other foreign powers and the need for robust African agency in US-Africa relations. This enlightening conversation pointed to the changing dynamics of US-Africa relations, necessitating a balanced cross-current of knowledge about each other.

This highlights ACSUS-UP’s vision of becoming a top think-tank and premier African knowledge-creation hub on studies of the United States and South African/African – US cooperation in the pursuit of regional integration, scientific enquiry, and global socio-economic and geopolitical change.

https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3194925-african-immigration-into-the-united-states-a-growing-deal
In this article, Thembelani Mazibuko, a senior researcher at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, provides a fascinating analysis of the long history of ties between people of African origin and the United States of America.

African Immigration into the United States: A Growing Deal | University of Pretoria In September 2023, President Joe Biden created a new advisory council that aims to strengthen ties between the US and Africa. The 12-member council, which includes several African-born US citizens—one of them being former US ambassador to South Afric

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, Dr. Diana Burnett, MPH, from Howard University, USA, delivered a public lecture on:

Exploring Race and Gender-Based Activism for Public Health Promotion in the United States: learnings for South Africa.

This presentation explored how examples of Black activism in the United States have created systems and structures to protect, promote, and preserve the health of their communities in the absence of public health infrastructure or a functioning or just public health system, which has provided the blueprint for the national adoption of health models. It also examined how the work of the Black Panther Party produced the Free Breakfast Program, which is the exact model that led to the United States government’s development of the Free Breakfast program.

Kindly RSVP and participate https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFsnikqGifJLHC0mmtTQ94k3NS3aqXxALOHZFNnVdVEk7AIw/viewform

For more information
https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3190737-public-lecture-exploring-race-and-gender-based-activism-for-public-health-promotion-in-the-united-states-learnings-for-south-africa

Photostory of our roundtable discussion on the theme: INTERROGATING THE US’ STANCE AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ON THE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR.

Panelists:
1. Prof Anthoni van Nieukerk, Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, University of South Africa
2. Prof John Stremlau, Emeritus Professor, Department of International Relations, Wits University
3. Prof Jo Ansie van Wyk, Research Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa

Moderator:
Prof Christopher Isike, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP)

Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Time: 14:00–15:30
Venue: Auditorium, Javett-UP Art Centre, University of Pretoria

In line with our mandate of promoting US literacy in Africa for the mutual benefit of both Africa and the US, this roundtable discussion brings together experts and scholars on a transdisciplinary platform to interrogate the US’ stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Click here to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei2xAfdGXkRh7xtI3xvJt9_ZCh9KdmxGttfUpKoOyMGMEi7g/viewform

Read/download the full invite:
https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/post_3189416-roundtable-discussion-interrogating-the-us-stance-and-global-leadership-on-the-israelhamas-war

https://lcp.live/registration-leadup-alumni-thought-leadership-event-2/

RSVP
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJepnmmObzQuAeUUhch2SdM39j-MHs19BJ5m8BXV56R-busQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

ACSUS-UP Research Indaba

The African Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) held its first Research Indaba on August 10, 2023, at the Future Africa Campus, University of Pretoria. This event was organised to achieve the following:

1. Stock-taking of what UP has in terms of researchers/academics who have done and or doing research related to the US.
2. Coordinate and align UP research that are Africa-US and US-Africa related with a view to promote US literacy in South Africa/Africa.
3. Leverage on our existing research capacities at UP to carve out research niche areas on Africa-US and US-Africa studies.

Participants were drawn from different Faculties at the University of Pretoria.

The full report of the Research Indaba will be published on the ACSUS-UP website soon.

Happy 247th Independence Day to the United States of America!!!

A Virtual Conference on Farooq Kperogi, the Digital Age and US-African Diaspora Diplomacy | University of Pretoria A Virtual Conference on Farooq Kperogi, the Digital Age and US-African Diaspora Diplomacy

Ongoing:
1st ACSUS-UP US-Africa Diaspora Diplomacy Biennial Conference

Theme: Farooq Kperogi, the Digital Age and US-African Diaspora Diplomacy

Join the conference on Zoom
ID: 960 2832 3144
Passcode: 404148

Call for papers: 17th BIENNIAL AAPS CONFERENCE 2023 AND 50th ANNIVERSARY OF AAPS

Call for papers 17th BIENNIAL AAPS CONFERENCE 2023 AND 50th ANNIVERSARY OF AAPS | University of Pretoria “Geopolitics of knowledge in the COVID-19 era: a window for epistemic tension and self-determination in Africa?”

Registers to attend: https://up-ac-za.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItdeGrrDgrHtC5lehXae9GTCovgWfxzguB

See the final programme on the website.