Some call him tata, the Xhosa word for father, but all know him as the icon of the struggle to bring down the apartheid system in South Africa.

As former South African president Nelson Mandela lies in a Pretoria hospital, at times in critical condition, well-wishers and media outlets from around the world are considering his place in history.

A West Virginia University professor is available to speak about Mandela’s role in African politics.

Cyanne Loyle is an assistant professor of comparative politics in the Department of Political Science and the International Studies Program. Her research focuses on conflict studies, African politics and transitional justice, including how justice can be used for good or evil through political consolidation, political exclusion, social reconciliation, narrative construction and for economic gain. She has studied these issues primarily in Rwanda and Uganda, but also Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.

She can be reached at Cyanne.Loyle@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-9600.

-WVU-

dm/06/28/13

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