Dr Mills Soko is a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town’s graduate school of business. He holds an MA in international studies (University of Stellenbosch), an MA in international political economy and a PhD in politics and international studies (both University of Warwick). He has worked previously for the Institute for Democracy in South Africa as a researcher on parliamentary affairs, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as a researcher to the select committee on trade and industry, foreign affairs and public enterprises, and later as head of policy and legislative research in the NCOP, where he oversaw and coordinated the work of committee researchers. He has also published widely in the area of international, African and South African trade over the last decade. Dr Soko is currently founding director of Mthente, a research-driven consulting firm servicing public, private and non-governmental sector clients.