Liesl Louw-Vaudran is a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). She is the editor of the ISS’ monthly publication on the African Union Peace and Security Council, the PSC Report, and project leader for Southern Africa. She is also a non-executive board member of In Transformation Initiative, a South African not-for-profit organization focused on peacemaking.
Liesl has travelled and worked in many countries in Africa over the past 25 years. These include Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She is a regular commentator on African issues in local and international media. Her latest research includes: ‘Coordination: key to the success of African solutions for Mozambique’ (ISS Policy Brief April 2022) ‘Leading through consensus: South Africa chairs the AU’ (ISS Policy Brief, December 2019), ‘Fair elections key to stability in Mozambique’ (ISS Southern Africa Report, 19 September 2019), ‘Power and influence: identifying champions of change in SADC’ (ISS Policy Brief, 19 April 2019), ‘The meaning of Morocco’s return to the AU’ (ISS North Africa Report, January 2018) and ‘Can South Africa regain its gravitas in Africa?’ (Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa – University of Stellenbosch, Policy Paper December 2017). Her book on South African foreign policy, South Africa in Africa: Superpower or Neocolonialist? was published by Tafelberg in 2016.
Liesl has a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Pretoria. She was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by French president Emmanuel Macron in 2019.
