African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria

30/01/2026

The African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) cordially invites you to a Public Lecture titled:

'Ambition Counteracting Ambition: Constitutional Design and the Practice of American Foreign Policy.'

Speaker: Daniel Gibson, University of Pretoria

American foreign policy is often seen as personalised around presidential leadership, yet its formulation and ex*****on are embedded within a complex constitutional architecture that distributes authority across multiple institutions. This presentation examines the relationship between the United States Constitution and the conduct of American foreign policy, highlighting how foreign policy outcomes emerge from the interaction among the Presidency, Congress, and the executive bureaucracy, particularly the State Department.

Drawing on American political and diplomatic history from 1775 to 1918, the presentation argues that the Constitution does not merely codify legal competencies but generates a dynamic system of governance in which ambition is deliberately set against ambition. This structural separation of powers both constrains and enables executive action, compelling presidents to negotiate, contest, and at times circumvent congressional oversight in the pursuit of foreign policy objectives.

The analysis further demonstrates that presidential assessments of congressional power - whether perceived as assertive, divided, or acquiescent - play a critical role in shaping foreign policy strategies and decision-making processes. By situating contemporary debates within their historical and constitutional foundations, the presentation provides an interpretive framework for understanding the evolving balance of authority between different actors in U.S. foreign policy, with particular relevance to the era of Trump 2.0 and beyond.

Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Time: 11.00 - 13.00 (SAST)
Venue: Room 1-56, Graduate Centre, Hatfield Campus, University of Pretoria
RSVP: https://forms.gle/hH56oc4xPCh6tyR16
Enquiries: ACSUS-UP Administrator, Ms. Herminah Mmako ([email protected]).

25/01/2026

📘 New Book Release | Scholarly Contribution to Global Affairs

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new edited volume titled 'African Perspectives on Trump 2.0: United States Foreign Policy and the New World (Re)order' (Vol. 1), co-edited by Professor Christopher Isike and Dr Samuel Oyewole.

This timely book brings together critical African perspectives on the evolving dynamics of United States foreign policy and its implications for global order, particularly in the context of a renewed Trump presidency. The volume offers rigorous, multidimensional analyses that foreground African voices in debates that continue to shape international politics.

This important book project was proudly sponsored by the African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), South Africa, whose continued support advances cutting-edge scholarship that promotes US literacy in Africa.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all the contributors whose intellectual depth, commitment, and collaborative spirit made this volume possible. Their chapters collectively enrich scholarly and policy conversations on global governance, power shifts, and Africa’s place in a changing world order.
Congratulations to the editors and contributors on this significant academic milestone. We look forward to the conversations and impact this volume will inspire while awaiting the second volume.

Click here to access the book https://upmonographs.up.ac.za/index.php/ESI/catalog/book/58

09/01/2026

We are pleased to share the conference report from the two-day academic conference titled “Africa, the United States, and the Geoeconomics of the Seas,” jointly organised by the African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), and the Ocean Regions Programme (ORP), Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria.

Held on 3–4 November 2025, the conference brought together scholars, policy experts, and practitioners to critically examine maritime geopolitics, ocean governance, blue economy dynamics, and Africa–US relations within an evolving global geoeconomic order.

The report captures key discussions, insights, and policy-relevant reflections that emerged from the engagements.

This joint conference marked the second biennial conference of ACSUS-UP and the fourth annual conference of ORP.

📄 Access the full conference report below.

https://www.up.ac.za/acsus/news/acsus-and-orp-conference-report

27/11/2025

16/07/2025

At the 28th International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress on 'Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies' held in Seoul from 12-16 July 2025, the African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria organised a successful panel titled 'African Sensemaking and Perspectives on the US Elections and Politics'.

The panel presentations focused on African experiences and perspectives on the US elections, democracy, and politics with the aim of understanding the weaknesses and strengths of these ideas and systems, their global and regional appeal, as well as the prospects and challenges of their adoption and adaptation in Africa and the world.

Panelists:
1. Dr. Samuel Oyewole
2. Dr. gbeke adenuga
3. Dr. Richard Ogunnubi
4. Mr. Ihembe Martin & Prof. Christopher Isike

Specifically, these panelists provided African sense of (1) American political thought, electoral processes and actors, including issues of party politics, election administration, judiciary, media, transparency, and security, (2) how events around the US politics and elections would be understood if they were in Africa, and (3) the implications for the desirability, adoption, adaptation, application, operationalisation and effectiveness of American political thought and systems in Africa.

16/07/2025

I N V I T A T I O N 🎯
The Institute for the Future of Knowledge University of Johannesburg (IFK) and the African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), invite you to part three of the webinar series on The United States and the World.

Opening Remarks:
Dr Tella, Head of the Future of Diplomacy, University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge, South Africa.

Chair:
Prof. Christopher Isike, Director, University of Pretoria’s African Centre for the Study of the United States, South Africa

Speakers:
1. Prof. William C. Wohlforth, Department of Government, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, United States;
2. Prof. Zhiqun Zhu, Department of Political Science, Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, United States;
3. PD Dr. Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, Managing Director of the Center for Global Studies (CGS), The University of Bonn, Germany;
4. Prof. Layla Dawood, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Closing Remarks:
Dr Samuel Oyewole, University of Pretoria’s African Centre for the Study of the United States, South Africa

DATE Thursday, 17 July 2025
TIME 17:00 - 18:45 (SAST)

Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97020891455

For more information about the event, please contact Ms Lerato Motsau at [email protected] / tel: +27 (0)11 559 7213

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

04/07/2025

The African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria wishes all Americans a happy 249th Independence Day anniversary. 🎄 🎈

03/07/2025

I N V I T A T I O N
The Institute for the Future of Knowledge University of Johannesburg (IFK) and the African Centre for the study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) invite you to a three-part webinar series on The United States and the Emerging World Order:

Part 1: The United States and South
3 July 2025, 17:00-18:30 (SAST)

Part 2: The United States and Africa
10 July 2025, 17:00-18:30 (SAST)

Part 3: The United States and the World
17 July 2025, 17:00-18:30 (SAST)

Zoom: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-Q6m6eUFQW-ckEdKZUTnHw

Enquiries: Ms Lerato Motsau at [email protected] / tel: +27 (0)11 559 7213

Part 1: The United States and South Africa

20/05/2025

On May 19, 2020, the African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) hosted a Workshop on the theme: ‘African Perspectives on Trump 2.0: US Foreign Policy and the New World (Re)Order’. The event was held at the University of Pretoria Graduate Centre, Hatfield (Main) Campus. The workshop featured in-person and virtual paper presentations, with constructive feedback.

Prof. Tawana Kupe, Higher Education Strategy Adviser, Michigan State University, USA, delivered the keynote on the topic “Significant vulnerabilities: The soft power institutions at risk in the Trump 2.0 era”. With a focus on the media and institutions of higher learning in both Africa and the United States, Prof. Kupe explored factors that affect their role in promoting developments during Donald Trump's second administration.

Prof. Kupe applauded ACSUS-UP for conceiving this research project within the first 30 days of the second Donald Trump administration. He considers this an agile move to pay close attention to events as they unfold, as it helps to deepen public understanding of the United States.

16/05/2025

INVITATION
The African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP), invites you to a book workshop.

Theme: African perspectives on Trump 2.0: U.S. foreign policy and the new world (re)order.

Keynote: Prof. Tawana Kupe
Higher Education Strategy Adviser, Michigan State University, USA

This workshop is for a book that seeks to critically examine the US foreign policy under Trump 2.0. and implications for world order, disorder and reorder. It is designed to inspire critical African reactions and reflections on recent changes in different aspects of international relations from economics, politics, technology, administration, and culture to environment as it concerns the continent, other regions of the world, and the global community, focusing on the centrality of Trump’s second coming in this context.

Date: Monday, 19 May 2024
Time: 09:00 – 16:30 (SAST)
Venue: University of Pretoria Graduate Centre, Hatfield Campus
To register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/yiYaPvOnSzaYpiymrRmQKg
Enquiries: ACSUS-UP Administrator, Ms. Herminah Mmako ([email protected]).

13/03/2025

The African Centre for the Study of the United States, University of Pretoria (ACSUS-UP) invites you to a Public Lecture by Dr. Philani Mthembu, Executive Director, Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD):

South Africa – US Relations during the 2025 G20 Presidency: Navigating Complex Geopolitical Storms

Having recently hosted the first G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, and the finance track meetings in February 2025, South Africa’s diplomacy is once again being tested with the world’s attention firmly fixated on the country as it navigates geopolitical storms in the midst of growing pressure on multilateral institutions. Notably absent from the two meetings was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. Their absence was not a boycott as they were represented by officials, however it did send a message that the United States may not be prioritising the G20 as it pursues an ‘America First’ policy and reviews its international commitments and partnerships. The manner in which this relationship is managed will be important to the outcomes of South Africa's G20 presidency and contribute to shaping the contours of an emerging geopolitical landscape. Dr Mthembu’s talk, based on deep insights from his secretariat role as a co-convener of the T20 Engagement group, is designed to share knowledge on the key issues in South Africa’s G20 presidency and agenda.

Date: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Time: 12h30 – 14h00 (SAST)
Venue: Main Auditorium, Merensky Library, Hatfield Campus
To register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUTfCkvzHPnfdgbwZBnnpwSc5dutwmzTghcnMeq3m07MDuWA/viewform?usp=header
Enquiries: Ms Herminah Mmako: Administrator, ACSUS-UP, Email: [email protected]

05/03/2025

To register, click https://content.henleysa.ac.za/dac-webinar-series-registration-page-06-03-25

PANEL DISCUSSION 📍

The Dunning Africa Centre, Henley Business School - Africa, in collaboration with ACSUS-UP, invites the general public to a panel discussion on the theme: How can African businesses respond to Trump's provocative agenda?

The Director of ACSUS-UP, Prof. Christopher Isike, will feature as a panellist in this timely and thought-provoking discussion.

Date: 6 March 2025
Time: 17:30 - 19:00 SAST
Format: Zoom (link shall be shared subsequently)