Maxi Schoeman is professor emeritus at the University of Pretoria where she leads the Ocean Regions Programme in the Department of Political Sciences. She holds a PhD (International Relations) from Aberystwyth University and specialises in South African foreign policy and Security Studies. She is a visiting professor at the African Leadership Centre at King’s College, London and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Security Studies. Prior to retirement she served as head of the Department of Political Sciences and as deputy dean: postgraduate studies and research of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria. Her most recent publications include: 2024. ‘The rise of multiplicity and a future of world order/s’(co-authored with Chris Alden) in Loots, E (ed.) Economic Shocks and Globalisation, Routledge. 2023. ‘Group hegemonic leadership as an analytical tool for understanding regional hegemony in Africa’ (co-authored with C Isike), African and Asian Studies, 22, pp8-38. 2022, ‘Fighting more than pirates: Security in the Western Indian Ocean’, co-authored with Chris Alden, in Kumar, A (ed), Synergizing Indo-UK Strategic Vision for the Western Indian Ocean. Council for Strategic and Defense Research (India).  2022, ‘The evolving Indo-Pacific region: An introduction to external perspectives on Africa’s role and position’, co-authored with Yu-Shan Wu. Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 44 (2).