SOAS Alumni Receptions in North America

Africa and the New Global Order

Professors Adam Habib and Leslie Vinjamuri will join international affairs expert Frances Brown to explore how African countries are navigating shifting geopolitical dynamics and building new strategic partnerships. This event is organised by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in partnership with SOAS.

Africa’s role in global affairs is evolving as countries across the continent navigate an increasingly competitive and multipolar world. With a growing range of economic and diplomatic partners, African countries are diversifying their relationships to create more choice and potentially more leverage. But engagement with great powers—including China, the United States, and Russia—may create as much constraint as opportunity.

How are African countries navigating this changing landscape? Can they leverage multilateral institutions to their advantage, or is this a lost cause? And is there a shared African vision for the future international order, or is the continent more divided than aligned? Join Frances Brown and Adam Habib in conversation with Leslie Vinjamuri on Africa’s place in a changing global order. 

About the Speakers

Frances Z. Brown: Frances Z. Brown is vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she oversees programs on Africa, American statecraft, democracy, conflict, and governance, and Carnegie California.

Adam Habib: Adam Habib is vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London and a professor of political science. Previously, he served as vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and as deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg.

Leslie Vinjamuri: Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She is Professor of Practice in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.

Sign up here.

Join fellow SOAS alumni for an evening exploring the social and economic implications of the conflict in the Middle East. 

About the Speakers

Mushtaq Khan is a Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London. He is a leading thinker on political settlements (an analytical framework he developed for assessing why institutions perform differently across countries), effective policy implementation, governance, industrial policy, institutional economics, political economy, and anti-corruption. 

Professor Adam Habib is vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London and a professor of political science. Previously, he served as vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and as deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg.

Sign up here.

Join fellow SOAS alumni for an evening exploring the social and economic implications of the conflict in the Middle East. 

About the Speakers

Mushtaq Khan is a Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London. He is a leading thinker on political settlements (an analytical framework he developed for assessing why institutions perform differently across countries), effective policy implementation, governance, industrial policy, institutional economics, political economy, and anti-corruption. 

Professor Adam Habib is vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London and a professor of political science. Previously, he served as vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and as deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg.

Sign up here.

Join fellow SOAS alumni for an evening exploring the social and economic implications of the conflict in the Middle East. 

About the Speakers

Mushtaq Khan is a Professor of Economics at SOAS University of London. He is a leading thinker on political settlements (an analytical framework he developed for assessing why institutions perform differently across countries), effective policy implementation, governance, industrial policy, institutional economics, political economy, and anti-corruption. 

Professor Adam Habib is vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London and a professor of political science. Previously, he served as vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and as deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Johannesburg.

Sign up here.