Conference Speakers
Michael Wahman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University - Cheerleaders for Autocracy: Parliamentary Speech Making During Democratic Backsliding in Malawi and Zambia
Mamoudou Gazibo, Professor of Political Science at the Université de Montréal. - Democracy as Common Good and the Role of Institutional Commoners: Regime Breakdown and Resilience in Niger and Senegal
Erin Hern, Associate Professor, Political Science, Syracuse University - Partisanship, Party Systems, and Understandings of Democracy across Africa
Jaimie Bleck, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame & Lauren Honig, Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College - The Political Determinants of Agricultural Policy in the Sahel: Comparing State Apparatus and Urban Bias Frameworks in the 21st Century
Peter Lewis, Warren Weinstein Chair of African Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
Nicholas Kerr, Assistant Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida. - Assessing the Strategic Motivations of Parliamentary Post-Election Petitions in Africa: Evidence from Nigeria
Grieve Chelwa, Associate Professor of Political Economy, The Africa Institute - External Forces and Zambia’s Permanent Debt Crisis
Lise Rakner, Professor of Political Science, Department of Government, University of Bergen
Panel Discussion: Rachel Beatty Riedl, Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Center on Global Democracy, Brooks School of Public Policy, and Professor, Brooks School and Department of Government, Cornell; Oumar Barr, Assistant professor, Government, Cornell; and, Sabrina Karim, Associate Professor, Department of Government, Cornell.
Our cherished friend and colleague Nic van de Walle has shaped the field of political science, and African politics in particular, in substantial and important ways. His insights into the politics of economic policy making and “permanent crisis”, the driving forces of regime dynamics, electoral politics, and democratic transitions continue to underpin the foundations of comparative politics. Beyond his written work, Nic’s legacy is firmly anchored in how he treated his fellow scholars, at home at Cornell, and around the world. His kindness, generosity of spirit, intellectual curiosity, and joy in the ongoing process of learning from others - these are the characteristics that define him to so many who were lucky enough to know him and interact with him. He has served as a mentor to hundreds: offering support, incisive feedback, advice, and conversation to think through the politics of our time. We honor him as a brilliant scholar, and a gentle soul who lifted others up and made our collective humanity richer.
Nic is perhaps best known for his foundational books in two major subfields of the discipline: electoral politics and political economy. Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective, co-authored with Michael Bratton and published in 1997, produced a roadmap for understanding electoral politics in Africa—a field that has expanded dramatically in the ensuing 20 years. The book has been cited nearly 4,000 times and is a core text for both undergraduate and graduate courses in African politics. In 2001, Nic published African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999, a book that went on to heavily influence the subfield of political economy in its analysis of the strengths as well as limitations of neopatrimonial rule in Africa. This book is arguably the most important text for understanding the structural adjustment period of African political history. Additionally, his 2014 co-edited volume with Muna Ndulo on Problems, Promises, and Paradoxes of Aid expounds on the paradoxes of economic aid and examines the evolving and varied approaches by presenting a comprehensive assessment on its impact on development on the African continent.
The implications of these findings for political accountability, citizen engagement, improved service delivery, and development across Africa set a research agenda for the next generation that this conference will take up. We welcome colleagues to submit proposals on these core themes of African political economy, regimes, and modes of electoral and social participation and contestation. We also welcome the extension of these foundational principles into new domains that they shine light on, but did not take up directly, such as the security challenges and roles of international organizations. The papers should not serve as a review of van de Walle’s works, but rather demonstrate what this foundation provides to catalyze new theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions to these core areas of African politics.
Note that there will be a half-day mini-conference, co-organized by colleagues at Sciences Po, on the Sahelian conflicts with a focus on the impacts on people and communities. We hope that some scholars may decide to attend both conferences. Please contact Rachel Beatty Riedl rbeattyriedl@cornell.edu if you are interested in participating in this pre-conference event.
Credits:
UN