Mandira Bagwandeen

Visiting Fellow, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, LSE

Dr Mandira Bagwandeen has experience working with local and international think tanks, corporations, government departments, and universities. During her tenure at Stellenbosch University, Mandira lectured on International Relations and Global Political Economy. Before joining Stellenbosch University, she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she undertook research on Africa’s Regional Integration and Development, with a specific focus on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Political Economy of Africa-China Infrastructure Developments, specifically railways. She also taught International Relations at the postgraduate level at UCT’s Department of Political Studies.

Mandira has produced commentary and written several articles on African development, China-Africa issues, and Global Affairs-Africa developments, for peer-reviewed journals and various South African and international media outlets. She’s been cited in the South China Morning Post, Africa Report, Le Monde, China Global South Project, BBC News, Network 24, Xinhua News, The Council on Foreign Relations, and eNCA. She holds several affiliate positions with South African and international think tanks and organisations, including: The New South Institute, The African Centre for the Study of the US (University of the Witwatersrand), Conflict, Peacebuilding and Risk Unit (Stellenbosch University), the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (London School of Ecnomics and Political Science), the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (Foundation for Strategic Research), Foreign Policy Research Institute (2021–2025), African Studies Centre (Metropolitan University Prague), and the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR).