Mmamashilo Herminah Mmako is a doctoral scholar at the University of Pretoria (UP). Her research is focused on maritime security, global geopolitics and foreign policy. Herminah serves as a Researcher at the University of Pretoria’s African Centre for the study of the United States (ACSUS-UP). Her master’s thesis titled: A Critical Analysis of the United States-China Geopolitical Contest in the Indo-Pacific Region: Implications for Africa’s Regional Inclusion was dedicated to ACSUS-UP as part of her contribution to the centre.

The study sought to highlight and critique Africa’s exclusion from the Indo-Pacific construct and debates, advocate for a US-led and China-led regional inclusion of Africa in the regional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific, while observing other regional players such as India and Japan whose regional outlooks include Africa
and establish strategic pathways that present opportunities for Indo-Pacific-Africa cooperation. Her proposed doctoral study will examine the emergence of BRICS and the BRICS+ nations in the maritime security architecture of the Western Indo-Pacific region and its potential role as a maritime power. Herminah seeks to contribute meaningfully to ACSUS-UP through publications on areas of foreign policy, US-China geopolitical rivalry, geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region and Africa-US relations.