Namhla Thando Matshanda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria, and was previously at the University of the Western Cape (2014-2025). She is an interdisciplinary scholar with an interest in the political history of the Horn of Africa. She holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh, an MA in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a BA Honours degree from the University of the Western Cape. Prof Matshanda is a C2 NRF-rated researcher (2025-2030). Her research is primarily concerned with the late colonial period, specifically in how the legacies of this period influence present-day processes of state and nation building in the Horn of Africa.

Her work disrupts dominant narratives of state and nation-building in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa and explores new perspectives for understanding this African region. She has published widely in this area and her work appears in several leading journals. She contributed a chapter to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mahmood Mamdani’s Citizen and Subject in the edited volume On the Subject of Citizenship: Late colonialism in the world today. In the field of borders, migration and mobilities she is interested in how intra-African migrations are challenging and transforming traditional meanings of national identity on the continent. Since 2022, Prof Matshanda has served as 2nd Assistant Editor of Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies.

She sits on the editorial board of the journal Social Dynamics (University of Cape Town) and previously sat on the editorial board of African Solutions journal (Addis Ababa University). She is an Advisory Board member at Africapols, an NPO that brings citizens and governments together to ensure better political outcomes in Africa.