Professional Affiliation

Center for Politics and Research

Expert Bio

Mzukisi Qobo is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Politics and Resesarch (CPR). He is also affiliated to the University of Pretoria as Research Associate in the Department of Politics. In his last position at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Dr Qobo was head of a programme that focused on emerging economies and global policy challenges, where his main responsibility was to provide strategic and policy advice on the commercial and diplomatic involvement of emerging powers such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in Africa. Accordingly, he provided briefings at a very senior level to government officials and the business community. In his previous role as Chief Director responsible for Trade Policy, at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), he led a team that drafted South Africa’s trade policy, and was in charge of research and policy development in the International Trade Division. Mzukisi holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. He obtained his MA International Relations and BA from the Universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town, respectively. His range of experience spans policy and strategy development in the public sector; political risk advisory for private clients; and academic roles.