Professor Andreas ('Dries') Velthuizen

	Name	Andreas ('Dries') Velthuizen
	Highest qualification	DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
	Position	Professor
	Contact details	velthag1@unisa.ac.za
	Research interests/expertise	His primary academic interest is teaching and developing new theories for conflict resolution, peace, and security in Africa, informed by the African way of knowing (epistemology), following a trans-disciplinary approach. As an NRF-rated researcher (C2), his preferred research approach is to develop community sites of knowledge by means of communityengaged participatory research, together with social communities and communities of practice. He is also the co-Editor-In-Chief of the Af rican Security Review, a journal accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa.
	Teaching	Prof Velthuizen is an engaged scholar who shares his research through the supervision of postgraduate students, in addition to lecturing and facilitating seminars/workshops at institutions in South Africa and abroad. He also teaches the module on Decision-making for Conflict Resolution in Africa as part of the Thought Leadership Programme at the TM-School (Unisa) – a programme he designed.
	Current projects	Publishing on the African Peace and Security Architecture from an African knowledge systems (AKS) perspective. Member of the Steering Committee and Vocational Training Team (VTT) of the Africa Rotary Community Mediation (Arcom) programme, training mediators for communities in Africa. Community engagement and outreach to communities, with the purpose of contributing to peace and security in Africa.

Short biography

Dries Velthuizen is a full professor in the TM-School (Unisa), specialising in the field of African Conflict Studies. His qualifications include a DLitt et Phil degree in Politics from Unisa, for a thesis titled “The management of knowledge: A model for the African Renaissance”, an MA degree in Strategic Studies and a BA in International Politics. He has published extensively and presented his work at academic conferences and workshops around the world and participates in several international collaborations. Prof Velthuizen joined the TM-School in 2020 after his tenure at the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Africa (IDRA) as a Senior Researcher (2011-2018) and as Acting Head (January 2017- August 2018). He then served as Head of the Institute for African Renaissance Studies (IARS) from September 2018 to August 2019.

Apart from his family and academic life, he serves society as a member of the Rotary, appropriately focusing on peace and conflict prevention. In this capacity he is a Paul Harris Fellow (Sapphire) of Rotary International.

Selected publications

• Velthuizen, A. (2020). The flexibility of democratic elections in Africa: Manipulation in the interests of factional protection or people-oriented security? LitNet Akademies, 17(3).
• Velthuizen, A. (2020). Beyond silencing the guns: China and a new metaphor for peace and security in Africa. Africa Focus, 33(2).
• Velthuizen, A. (2019). Stabilization or disruption: Managing security forces for democratic elections in Africa. In A glass full or half-empty: The challenges of political succession and elections in Africa, edited by M. Rupiya, L. Teffo, S. Gutto & R. Gray.
• Velthuizen, A. (2019). African knowledge as a system: Towards global parity in knowledge production for democratization, socio-economic growth and human development. Indilinga: International Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 18(2).
• Velthuizen, A. (2019). Spiritual knowledge and the military landscape: The !Kun soldiers of Namibia and Angola. Journal of War & Culture Studies, 12(4).
• Velthuizen, A. (2018). The phenomenology of communities in conflict: Research for peaceful solutions with the San of South Africa. In Peace and conflict resolution in Africa: Lessons and opportunities, edited by E. Uwazie. Newcastle on Tyne: Cambridge Scholar.
• Velthuizen, A.G. & Ferguson, K. (2018). The poetics of peace: From aesthetic knowledge to reconciliation. TD – Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 14(1).
• Boniface, A. & Velthuizen, A.G. (2017). Beauty or the beast: An exploration of the usefulness of online mediation for family disputes in South Africa. Littnet Akademies (Regte), 14(2).
• Velthuizen, A. (2017). Engaging with the African ground: Towards a new research paradigm for conflict studies in Africa. In Decolonizing knowledge for Africa's renewal, edited by B.T. Msila. Stellenbosch: Sun Press.
• Velthuizen, A. (2016). The quest for great heart leadership to activate and promote the ending of violent conflict in Africa. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, AJCR 2016/1.
• Velthuizen, A. (2016). Surviving the past, coping with the present, hoping for a future of justice: The dispute resolution practices of the Marrons of Suriname. African Identities, 15(2).