Dr. Karen Smith is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town. She holds a PhD in International Relations (IR) from the University of Stellenbosch, where she taught for ten years. She has published on the topics of African contributions to IR, international organisations, IR theory, and the role of soft power in India and South Africa’s foreign policy. Her current research interests centre on South Africa and India as regional and emerging powers, and the impact of new groupings such as the G20, BRICS and IBSA on global governance.