The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 19 March 2024 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by Dr. Alecia Ndlovu.

About the Seminar:

On Brown Envelopes and Party Systems Researching the Politics of Resource-based Development in Africa

Much is written about the general challenges researchers, especially PhD students, face conducting multiple case studies and on-the-ground research in political science, specifically in Africa. These challenges, which impact the researcher’s experience and data collection, often revolve around positionality, access, ethics, and technical or logistical difficulties. However, more reflections are needed on how political conditions, such as differences in political institutions in these countries, impact the research experience and analysis of findings. Drawing from a compelling anecdote involving a young man holding a big brown envelope outside Ghana’s parliament, I examine how variations in party systems influenced my PhD research experience and data collection on political accountability and development in Africa’s resource-rich economies. The case studies of Ghana, Zambia, Namibia, and Mozambique were selected based on cross-national statistical analysis. They balanced competitive and dominant-party systems with differing levels of institutionalisation and underscored the importance and challenges of undertaking a systematic comparative case study analysis. This presentation is valuable for students and researchers interested in mixed-methods research, especially for studying the political conditions necessary for translating resource wealth into sustainable and inclusive patterns of development in Africa.

Speakers

Dr. Alecia Ndlovu is a lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her research and teaching interests include political economy (comparative and international), the governance of Africa’s natural resources and quantitative methods. Ndlovu is also the academic lead for a Worldwide Universities Network project focusing on the political and institutional determinants of human development in Africa's resource-rich economies.

 19 March 2024
 12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29 Robert Leslie Social Science Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa