Maxi Schoeman
Maxi Schoeman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 November 1954 |
| Died | 14 September 2025 (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | South African |
| Occupations | Political scientist, Social Scientist, Academic |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Aberystwyth University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | International relations, Security studies, African politics |
| Institutions | University of Pretoria |
Maxi Schoeman (29 November 1954 – 14 September 2025) was a South African political scientist and a scholar of African international relations, peace and security studies.[1] She held senior academic and leadership roles at the University of Pretoria and was recognised for her work on South African foreign policy, African security, feminist international relations, and peacebuilding.[2][3]
Education
Maxi Schoeman was born on 29 November 1954.[1] She earned her doctorate at Aberystwyth University, Wales.[4]
Academic career
After completing her doctorate at Aberystwyth University, Schoeman returned to South Africa and joined the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2000, where she worked as a researcher and professor. From 2000 to 2019, she served as Head of the Department of Political Sciences and later as Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Humanities.[4][5]
Schoeman's scholarship covered African peace and security, South African foreign policy, feminist approaches to international relations, African political economy, and human security.[3] She also worked with institutions such as the African Leadership Centre, contributing to the establishment of a joint PhD awarding programme between King’s College London and the University of Pretoria.[5] She contributed to research on the preservation and sustainability of world's oceans through her work with Institute for Security Studies (ISS).[1][2] Dr. Ruth Murambadoro described her as “a great teacher of both life and practice”.[6]
Schoeman co-edited The Texture of Dissent: Defiant Public Intellectuals in South Africa with Narnia Bohler-Muller, Vasu Reddy, Gregory Houston, and Heather Thuynsma. In African Studies Review, Alex Lichtenstein described it as a collection of 74 critical biographies of South African public intellectuals shaped by apartheid, post-apartheid inequality, and struggles for social change, while noting that the editors' definition of the “public intellectual” potentially underplays “class, gender, and other crosscutting categories of analysis.[7]
Death
Schoeman died on 14 September 2025 at the age of 70.[1][2][8][9]
Selected publications
- Reddy, V.; Bohler-Muller, N.; Houston, G.; Schoeman, M.; Thuynsma, H., eds. (2022). The Texture of Dissent: Defiant Public Intellectuals in South Africa. Cape Town: BestRed. ISBN 978-1-928246-57-2.
- Schoeman, M. (2010). South African Female Peacekeepers on Mission in Africa: Progress, Challenges and Policy Options for Increased Participation. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.ISBN 978-91-7106-664-0.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Professor Maxi Schoeman (1954–2025): Distinguished scholar of Security Studies and International Relations". University of Pretoria. 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Maxi Schoeman: A guiding voice in African international relations". Institute for Security Studies. 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Professor Maxi Schoeman". University of Pretoria. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Obituary: Professor Maxi Schoeman (University of Pretoria)". Labmundo. 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- 1 2 "Obituary Announcement – Professor Maxi Schoeman, Visiting Professor at King's". African Leadership Centre. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ↑ "Remembering Prof Maxi Schoeman: A Teacher of Life, Love and Humanity". Kujenga Amani (SSRC). 7 October 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ↑ Lichtenstein, Alex (2 October 2024). "Narnia Bohler-Muller, Vasu Reddy, Gregory Houston, Maxi Schoeman, and Heather Thuynsma, eds. The Texture of Dissent: Defiant Public Intellectuals in South Africa". African Studies Review. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Condolences on the passing of Professor Maxi Schoeman (1954–2025)". SAIIA. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ↑ "Prof Maxi Schoeman Tribute" (PDF). NIHSS. Retrieved 25 February 2026.