News & Events

President Zuma of South Africa and President Putin of Russia attended China’s victory parade in September 2015. Zuma’s visit reflected a broader shift in South Africa’s foreign policy in favour of China and Russia. The clear pivot towards China and Russia during Zuma’s presidency (2009-present) differs sharply from the more balanced multipolar approach under Nelson Mandela’s presidency (1994-1999), writes Heinrich Matthee in the latest ASC Infosheet.

ASCL senior researcher Benjamin Soares has been named professor by special appointment of The Anthropology of Islam in Africa and its Diaspora at the University of Amsterdam. The chair was established on behalf of the African Studies Centre Leiden. Soares, an anthropologist, is a scholar of Islam and Muslim societies in Africa. His research focuses on religious life from the early 20th century to the present. As professor by special appointment, Soares will join the Globalizing Culture and the Quest for Belonging programme of the UvA's Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR). He will stimulate research in the anthropology of Islam and Muslim societies in Africa and elsewhere (photo: Julie Gawron).

This conference report is the result of a half-day conference that was organized in support of the scoping study held on 27 January at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), and organized by the ASCL, the Agro-Economic Research Institute of the Agricultural University of Wageningen (LEI, Wageningen UR) and the European Centre for Development Policy Management.

The best Master's thesis based on research related to Africa will be awarded with € 500 and will be published in the ASCL's African Studies Collection. Any final-year student who has completed his or her Master's thesis with distinction (80% or higher or a Dutch rating of at least an 8) at a university in Africa or the Netherlands may apply. The thesis must be based on independent empirical research related to Africa and must have been examined in the twelve months prior to the deadline of 10 July 2016.