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Abstract
This paper revisits the literature on regional power-hood and its application to Africa with a view to answering two key questions: one, whether we can talk of regional hegemons in the continent in real terms, and two, whether group hegemonic leadership better explains regional hegemonic behavior in Africa. It uses Sandra Destradi conceptual framework and Miriam Prys' typology of regional power-hood to answer these questions, with South Africa and Nigeria as case studies. Using Prys' typology which distinguishes between regional detached powers, regional hegemons and regional dominators as an analytical framework, the paper confirms what already exists in the literature, viz. that neither South Africa nor Nigeria neatly fit the conception of regional hegemons in Africa. However, it uses both countries as empirical cases to argue that they already act as hegemonic leaders and in cooperative ways that suggest group or shared leadership, using specific Common African Positions they have led in Africa. The analysis concludes by laying out the normative basis for a Group Hegemony composed of not only South Africa and Nigeria, but also other sub-regional leaders in the continent. This is based on the hard power shortfalls and internal weaknesses of both our case studies including their relative soft power resources which have utility in an increasingly intersocial international system.

Terrorism is increasingly becoming a major threat to global peace and security given the changing geopolitical terrain on which it is enacted. This has given rise to new metageographies of geopolitics characterised by intricate operational networks used by terrorists to achieve their goals. Closely linked to the growing problem of terrorism is globalisation, which has altered our understanding of the geopolitical behaviour of states in the international system. Although it has not removed state boundaries, globalisation has also opened states up for flows and exchanges. Terrorist groups are part of these flows and they have been able to exploit this new geopolitical situation through the recruitment of migrants and the development of terrorist networks across state boundaries. Boko Haram in Nigeria is a typical example of a terrorist group that has evolved into a sophisticated terrorist sect with illegal migrant recruits and transnational networks through the changing geopolitics brought on by globalisation. This article therefore explores the metageography of Boko Haram in Nigeria and how this is aided by migration and social networking occasioned by globalisation. It does so by examining the various structures of the sect, and the nature of its networks. By using the mutual or collective interest theory, the article attempts an explanation of how Boko Haram operates as a group with linkages to diverse transnational terrorist groups bound by a common group interest; anti-Westernisation and global Islamisation. It concludes that Boko Haram has developed a decentralised but sophisticated transnational network which makes it even more difficult for the Nigerian government to deal with its spread.

Since 1994 when South Africa emerged from the doldrums of apartheid isolation, there has been much contention about the hegemonic profile of South Africa as well as its Nigerian counterpart whose continental leadership have reputedly held sway in Africa prior to this time. Clearly, both Nigeria and South Africa have been widely bandied as Africa's hegemonic leaders on the strength of their Afrocentric foreign policy aspirations and material as well as ideational capabilities. Specifically, this article focuses on examining how the soft power attributes of South Africa have helped to advance its hegemonic aspiration on the continent ahead of Nigeria. The article argues that although both Nigeria and South Africa have some degree of soft power attributes, South Africa has nevertheless been able to extract greater benefits from its soft power resources than its Nigerian counterpart. In doing so, it submits that the soft power assets of both countries appear asymmetrically skewed in favour of South Africa and demonstrates why this is responsible for the global preference and increasing regional recognition of South Africa as Africa's hegemonic power.

Ubuntu is an African philosophical worldview that has increasingly gained prominence since South Africa's democratic transition in 1994. It places emphasis on the world's common humanity and its consequent interdependence. Through content analysis, the article examines the soft power that is inherent in South Africa's foreign policy, as codified in the 2011 White Paper on South African Foreign Policy–Building a Better World: Diplomacy of Ubuntu. In its findings, the article established a distinction between Joseph Nye's original conceptualization of soft power, formulated from a United States realist foreign policy perspective, and the one inherent in South Africa's humanist foreign policy guided by the philosophy of Ubuntu. This distinction is premised on the geopolitical disparities between the two nations. The article further examines South Africa's wielding of soft power within the African continent, the first audience of the country's diplomacy of Ubuntu.

This paper investigates increasing claims that the ANC as South Africa's dominant party is losing its popularity and facing political decline. This is against the backdrop of growing disenchantment with the ruling party over a series of corruption cases, perceived poor service delivery and mal-governance characterizing the Jacob Zuma-led government. However, it is argued in this paper that there are no clear signs of the ANC losing the 2019 elections. Nevertheless, the party risks disintegration — as experience shows in other countries — if it does not effectively address issues relating to corruption, mal-governance and factionalism. The study is based on a careful reading of qualitative data from secondary sources including previous studies in journal articles and books, credible newspaper and magazine reports and institutional documents.