The University of Namibia Political Science or UNAM Political Science Department, is a department within the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

's Faculty of Economic and Management studies in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

Namibia. It is responsible for directing research and teaching programs in the fields of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

. The department was first established in 1992 at the founding of the university. It offers

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degrees level in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

some of which are interfaculty linked.

Recognition and research

The department has been the centre of key Namibian policy shift since its formation. It has also produced several notable political leaders to its ranks. Its Professor Emeritus

André du Pisani André du Pisani (born 15 January 1949) is a Namibia, Namibian political scientist, author of several books, articles and journals, he has written several conference papers for SADC, the Namibian government and several ministries, he is a professor ...

has published over 50 research projects in mapping the future of Namibia since 1990. Phanuel Kaapama who heads the department has also at the appointment of President

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (born 3 August 1941) is a Namibian politician, serving as the third president of Namibia since 21 March 2015. Geingob was the first Prime Minister of Namibia from 1990 to 2002, and served as prime minister again from 2012 ...

been a chairperson or deputy chairperson of committees set up to revive the Namibian economy. The department has also been a "training ground" for many political office leaders. Since its formation, it has contributed most members to the

UNAM SRC University of Namibia Student Representative Council (also known as the UNAM SRC) was founded on 20 February 1992, and is recognised as the legal representative body for the students of the University of Namibia by the University of Namibia Act 1 ...

than any department of the university with both

Job Amupanda Job Shipululo Amupanda (born 28 August 1987 in Omaalala, Oshana Region) is a Namibian activist and politician who served as Mayor of the City of Windhoek, in office from 2 December 2020 to 1 December 2021. He is an academic at the University of N ...

and Joseph Kalimbwe going on to elected Presidents of the 25 000 member student union in 2009 & 2017. Others include David Nangolo and Nahus Angula. Amupanda went on to become the youngest Deputy dean in the history of the

at the time of his appointment in 2016. In his book Kalimbwe described the department as "a highly competitive academic atmosphere, an absolute training ground for future political battles". In April 2019, deputy president of

Landless People's Movement (Namibia) The Landless People's Movement (LPM) is a political party in Namibia. It is led by former deputy minister of lands and resettlement Bernadus Swartbooi, who serves as its president and chief change campaigner, and Henny Seibeb, the party's deputy ...

Henny Seibeb Henny Hendly Seibeb is a Namibian politician and Member of Parliament who serves as Deputy Leader and Chief Strategist (DLCS) of the Landless People's Movement (Namibia), Landless People's Movement political party which he formed alongside Bernadu ...

graduated from the department.

Notable alumni

Peya Mushelenga Samuel Abraham Peyavali "Peya" Mushelenga (born September 01, 1975 in Oshigambo, Ovamboland) is a Namibian politician and poet. He is broadly educated, holding twelve academic qualifications from six different universities. A member of SWAPO, ...

- Minister of Urban and Rural development *

- Deputy President of the

- Youth Activist and leader of the

Affirmative Repositioning Affirmative Repositioning (AR) is a leftist political movement in Namibia mainly focused on land reform, youth empowerment and social reform. Founded in 2014 by Job Amupanda, Dimbulukeni Nauyoma and George Kambala, the AR uses social media platf ...

* Joseph Kalimbwe - Youth Activist and Author o
The Pain of An Empty Stomach
*

Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari (born 8 December 1974 in Windhoek) is a Namibian who serves as the presidential press secretary to President Hage Geingob. Hengari schooled at A. Shipena High School in Katutura and enrolled for B.A. in political scien ...

- Presidential Spokesperson of president

Tangeni Amupadhi Tangeni Amupadhi is a Namibian journalist. He is the Editor-in-chief of ''The Namibian'', Namibia's largest English daily newspaper. In 2011 he took over from founding and long-serving editor Gwen Lister, who has been in the position for 26 year ...

- Editor of

The Namibian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* Utaara Mootu - youth politician *

Inna Hengari Inna Koviao Hengari (born 2 February 1996) is a Namibian politician, student leader and youth activist. A member of the Popular Democratic Movement, she became a member of the National Assembly on 20 March 2020, the youngest since McHenry Venaan ...

- youth politician

References

{{Reflist University of Namibia