Frank Lekaba is an Associate Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs and a Visiting Fellow at the Wits School of Governance. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Peace Studies and International Relations and a Master of Social Sciences in International Relations from the North-West University, and a DLitt et Phil in Politics from the University of Johannesburg. He previously worked as a Senior Lecturer at Wits School of Governance, a Lecturer at the North-West University, and a researcher in the Human Sciences Research Council’s Africa Institute of South Africa. His research interests include the role of civil society in peacebuilding in Africa, Nation-Building and State-Building in Africa, and South Africa’s foreign policy in Africa and in multilateral institutions. He publishes, supervises and conducts research in these areas. He has further presented papers at national and international conferences on these specific themes. He is a Treasurer of the African Association of Political Science (2025-2027), a member of the North-West University’s Faculty of Humanities Research Ethics Committee, and a member of the Gauteng Chapter of the South African Association of Public Administration. He is a reviewer of various national and international journals. He has been an associate of Democracy Without Borders since 2022 and since 2024 serves as the founding chair of the South African chapter.