Chipo Dendere
Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
I am a Zimbabwean born scholar of political science. I study factors that influence party survival and democratization in the developing world. I completed my Bachelor of Science Degrees in Political Science and Psychology at Linfield College, OR. I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science, 2015 at Georgia State University under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Young. My doctoral dissertation and subsequent book manuscript is on the impact of voter exit (via emigration or withdrawal from politics) on the survival of dominant parties.
I study democratization, elections and voting behavior in Africa as well as the impact of social media on politics. My research drawn from interviews with migrants in four countries shows that emigration plays an important role in shaping the politics of poor countries. When people emigrate their exit often bolsters undemocratic regimes. New work on social media shows a complex relationship between online behavior and support for democracy.
It is a rare opportunity to have a job that one absolutely loves. I can not do good research without teaching and I can not teach without engaging in rigorous research. When I teach my goal is get students excited about the complexity that is Political Science. When I teach African politics, my goal is to get students to challenge previously held assumptions about Africa. At the end of semester students should at the very least understand that Africa is not a country. They should understand that political institutions began before colonialism and that pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial politics influence contemporary African politics. I challenge students to think critically about methodology and theory.
I am engaged in a lot of service- I am on the African Politics Conference Group committee, NEWSA Program committee and blog often for the Washington Post's Monkey Cage as well as the Mischiefs of Faction. I also share political analysis on BBC, Al Jazeera and CNN among other media outlets.
I love doing yoga, walking/jogging, reading a lot of fiction, watching TV, blogging about personal finance and thinking about entrepreneurship.
Current and upcoming courses
This course offers an introduction to contemporary African politics. The primary goal is to introduce students to the diversity of challenges and development issues facing African countries since independence. Questions motivating the course include: (1) Why state institutions weaker in African than in other developing regions? (2) What explains Africa's slow economic growth? (3) What can be done to improve political accountability on the continent? (4) Why have some African countries been plagued by high levels of political violence while others have not?
In answering these questions, we will examine Africa’s historical experiences, its economic heritage, and the international context in which it is embedded. At the same time, we will explore how Africans have responded to unique circumstances to shape their own political and economic situations.
As we address the core themes of the course, we will draw on a wide range of academic disciplines, including political science, history, economics and anthropology. We will study particular events in particular African countries, but we will also examine broad patterns across countries and use social science concepts and methods to try to explain them.
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Why is it that although the majority of cocoa is grown in Africa the most expensive chocolate is made in Europe? Why is it that the average cocoa farmer lives in poverty or earns just $2,000/year when the wealthiest chocolate and candy families are worth more than $10 billion? During the course of this semester, we will study the supply chain from natural resource extraction to final project and investigate the politics that allow for inequalities as well as the progress that has been made. Therefore, this course will examine the sociohistorical legacy of chocolate, with a delicious emphasis on the eating and appreciation of the so-called “food of the gods.” Interdisciplinary course readings will introduce the history of cacao cultivation, the present-day state of the global chocolate industry, the diverse cultural constructions surrounding chocolate, and the implications for chocolate’s future in terms of scientific study, international politics, alternative trade models, and the food movement. Assignments will address pressing real-world questions related to chocolate consumption, social justice, responsible development, honesty and the politics of representation in production and marketing, hierarchies of quality, and myths of purity. (AFR 304 and POL3 302 are cross-listed courses.)