Mandira Bagwandeen

Affiliate Researcher in the South-South Dialogues Programme

Dr. Mandira Bagwandeen is a lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Political Science, where she teaches courses on International Relations and Global Political Economy. She also collaborates with local and international think tanks, corporate companies, and government agencies in a consulting and advisory capacity. 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, focusing on the AfCFTA, as well as the political economy of Africa-China infrastructure developments, especially railways. Mandira has provided commentary and authored several articles on African development and China-Africa issues for peer-reviewed journals and various South African and international media outlets. She has been featured 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 local and international think tanks and organisations, including: The African Centre for the Study of the US (University of the Witwatersrand), Conflict, Peacebuilding and Risk Unit (Stellenbosch University), the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (Foundation for Strategic Research), the Foreign Policy Research Institute, African Studies Centre (Metropolitan University Prague), Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO), and the Afro-Sino Centre of International Relations (ASCIR).

Publications

Scholarly Articles

Bagwandeen, M. (2023) ‘Africa’s Railway Renaissance: Continental Aspirations vs National Realities, A Case Study of Kenya’s Mombasa-Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway’, African Studies Quarterly, 22(1), pp. 1–21. Available at: https://asq.africa.ufl.edu/news/2023/bagwandeen-2023/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2023) ‘The China Factor in Africa’s Pursuit of Digital Sovereignty’, African Governance Papers, 1(3), pp. 108–135.

Bagwandeen, M., Edyegu, C. and Otele, O. (2023) ‘African Agency, COVID-19 and Debt Renegotiations with China’, South African Journal of International Affairs, 30(1), pp. 1–27. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10220461.2023.2180083 (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2022) ‘Changing Realities: China-Africa Infrastructure Development’, Asia Policy (The National Bureau of Asian Research), 17(2), pp. 18–29. Available at: https://www.nbr.org/publication/expanding-engagement-perspectives-on-the-africa-china-relationship/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Book Chapters

Gambino, E. and Bagwandeen, M. (2024) ‘A global sense of workplace: labour relations in Sino-African construction sites’, in Hönke, J., Cezne, E. and Yang, Y. (eds) Africa’s Global Infrastructures: South-South Transformations in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://infraglob.eu/2021/12/14/edited-volume-in-the-making-south-south-infrastructure-globalities-how-transnational-practices-are-remade-in-africa/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Zajontz, T. and Bagwandeen, M. (2023) ‘Infrastructure’, in Engle, U. (ed.) Yearbook on the African Union, Volume 3. Leiden: Brill.

Bagwandeen, M. (2023) ‘Chinese railways and African development: developing railways or railing development?’, in Zajontz, T., Carmody, P., Bagwandeen, M. and Leysens, A. (eds) Africa’s Railway Renaissance: The Role and Impact of China. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at: https://www.routledge.com/Africas-Railway-Renaissance-The-Role-and-Impact-of-China/Zajontz-Carmody-Leysens-Bagwandeen/p/book/9781032077413 (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Policy Documents

Bagwandeen, M., de Carvalho, G. and Murithi, T. (2025) Principles with Pragmatism: Insights for African Foreign Ministries’ UN Strategies. Johannesburg: South African Institute of International Affairs, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and Stellenbosch University. Available at: https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Principles-with-Pragmatism_22September.pdf (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2025) India-South Africa Cooperation on Education and Skill Development. Special Report: Charting a Future for India-South Africa Relations in a Changing World Order. New Delhi: Observer Research Foundation. Available at: https://www.orfonline.org/public/uploads/posts/pdf/20250827113931.pdf (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. and Joseph, A. (2025) The Art of the Deal: How Should Africa Play its Cards in a New Era of Minerals Diplomacy. Johannesburg: South African Institute of International Affairs. Available at: https://saiia.org.za/research/the-art-of-the-deal-how-africa-should-play-its-cards-in-a-new-era-of-minerals-diplomacy/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2024) Developing a Common African Approach to China in a Divided World. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies. Available at: https://issafrica.org/research/africa-report/developing-a-common-african-approach-to-china-in-a-divided-world (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2022) Development of Smart Ports in Africa: An Opportunity for Singapore to Step In. Singapore: NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies. Available at: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/cas/news-events/news/details/development-of-smart-ports-in-africa (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Editorials

Bagwandeen, M. and Vidojević, J. (2025) ‘At a crossroads: Is the AU-EU relationship nudging Africa closer to the East?’, Brave New Europe / News24, 11 December. Available at: https://www.news24.com/opinions/analysis/analysis-at-a-crossroads-is-au-eu-relationship-nudging-africa-closer-to-the-east-20251218-0840 (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Bagwandeen, M. (2026) ‘How Standard Bank’s CIPS move advances de-dollarisation in Africa’, Business Day, 2 February. Available at: https://www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026-02-02-mandira-bagwandeen-how-standard-banks-cips-move-advances-de-dollarisation-in-africa/ (Accessed: 4 March 2026).

Vidojević, J. and Bagwandeen, M. (2026) ‘Analysis | Walking the tightrope: SA must master strategic ambiguity in a fractured world’, News24, 4 March. Available at: https://www.news24.com/opinions/analysis/analysis-walking…r-strategic-ambiguity-in-a-fractured-world-20260303-0695 (Accessed: 4 March 2026).