Xolela Mangcu, Ph.D. (Cornell) – Professor of Sociology and History, George Washington University, writes on the evolving political situation in South Africa, and his writings signal his interest in how political pluralism, if managed well, could open up not only the democratic process but entry points for different ideas and ways of doing things from the one dominant party era of the ANC.

He says ” People with real skills might now be employed in areas of government without having to pay political dues. If that could be replicated around the country, we would inch a bit closer to the ultimate goal of a corruption-free public service ” and on South Africa’s foreign policy; “The world is now at another inflection point with focus now on the United States, whose politics I think I know pretty well, having spent, on and off, half my life over there. Relatedly is the question of the overall rightwing shifts in Europe, but also the victory of Labour in the UK and potentially in the US.”

Academic Qualifications and Fellowships

2023: Oxford University, Center for Life Writing, Wolfson College
2017-2018: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Resident Fellow
2017-2018: Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (offered but I declined)
2017 Institute for Commonwealth Studies, University of London, Emeka Anyaoku Visiting Chair
2017: Harvard University – after winning the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship, Africa’s biggest and most prestigious fellowship
2014: Harvard University, Fellow, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research

2008 Brookings Institution, Non-Resident Fellow
2005-2006: Harvard University, Non-Resident W.E.B. du Bois Fellow
1998-1999: Harvard University, Resident Scholar, John F. Kennedy School of Government
1996-1997: Rockefeller Foundation, Warren Weaver Fellow
1991-1992: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Special Program in Urban Studies (SPURS), Fellow

1992-1997: Cornell University, Ph.D. (City and Regional Planning)
1987-1988: University of the Witwatersrand, MSc (Development Planning)
1983-1986: University of the Witwatersrand, BA Law and Sociology

Employment since 2000

2018 – The George Washington University, Professor of Sociology and Director of Africana Studies

2012 – 2018: University of Cape Town, Associate and Full Professor, Department of Sociology

2008 – 2011: University of Johannesburg, Research Fellow

2006 – 2008: University of the Witwatersrand, Research Fellow

2004 -2005: Human Sciences Research Council, Distinguished Fellow and Executive Director

2000- 2004: Steve Biko Foundation, Founding Executive Director

COLUMNIST: Sunday Independent (2000 – 2003); Business Day (2003 – 2008); The Weekender (2007 – 2008) | currently a regular contributor – Sunday Times, City Press, Sowetan

BOOKS:
Currently in process –

• Mandela: The Aristocrat and the Revolution (Bloomsbury Press, 2024/25) – the first African authored biography of Nelson Mandela
• Biography of Desmond Tutu (Yale University Press, 2025)
• Harold Washington’s Transformation of Chicago (Cornell University Press)

2015: The Colour of Our Future: Does Race Still Matter in Post-Apartheid South Africa (NYU Press)
2014: The Arrogance of Power: South Africa’s Leadership Meltdown (ed.) (Tafelberg Press)
2013: Biko: A Life (London and New York: IB Tauris)
2011: Becoming Worthy Ancestors: Archive, Identity and Public Deliberation in South Africa – essays by Benedict Anderson, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martin Bernal (NYU Press)
2009: The Democratic Moment (Jacana Media, Johannesburg)
2008: To the Brink: The State of Democracy in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Some of the clients who have engaged Prof. Mangcu for Private Sector Speaking Engagements (Political Risk Analysis) include : Old Mutual | Liberty Group | Vodafone | Sappi | Shell | BP | Primedia | Aveng | ABSA | McCarthy Group and the World Bank