Dr Philani Mthembu is executive director at the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD). Prior to joining the IGD, he pursued a joint Doctor of Political Science programme with the Graduate School of Global Politics, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), and the School of International Studies at Renmin University, Beijing (China). He co-founded the Berlin Forum on Global Politics (BFoGP), a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of academic, expert and public understanding of global politics. While completing his master’s degree in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, he headed the Academic Development Programme for first-year students and was elected as the first independent candidate to the Student Representative Council (SRC). His recent publications include a single-authored book, titled China and India’s Development Cooperation in Africa: The Rise of Southern Powers, and co-edited books titled From MDGs to Sustainable Development Goals: The Travails of International Development, Africa and the World: Navigating Shifting Geopolitics and Africa-China Cooperation: Towards an African Policy on China?
