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Makulilo, Prof. Dr. Alexander

Portrait of Prof. Alexander Makulilo
Position at ABI:
Senior Research Fellow
E-mail:
alexander.makulilo [at] abi.uni-freiburg.de
Areas of research:
Democracy, Constitutionalism, Elections, Gender, Peace and Conflicts, Development, Public Opinion, Political Institutions, Political Behavior, and Comparative Politics
Regional focus:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Education:
2011 - 2015
LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws), The Open University of Tanzania
2008 - 2010
Doctorate (Dr. phil.) in Political Science (Summa cum Laude), Leipzig University
2004 - 2007
M.A. in Political Science, University of Dar es Salaam
2001 - 2004
B.A in Political Science, University of Dar es Salaam
Professional experience:
Since 2023
Georg Forster Research Fellow (Alexander von Humboldt), Anold Bergstraesser Institute, Freiburg, Germany
Since 2022
Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
2019 - 2022
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic, Research and Consultancy), University of Dodoma, Tanzania
2021 - 2022
Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dodoma
2019 - 2021
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dodoma
2017 - 2019
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
2016 - 2019
Principal, College of Social Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2015 - 2016
Head, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
2014 - 2017
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
2013 - 2019
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Country Expert for Tanzania
Since 2012
Visiting Lecturer, National Defence College - Tanzania
2010 - 2014
Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam
Since 2010
Research Fellow, The French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA)
Additional information:

Honors and Awards:

  • 2023 - 2025: Georg Forster Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (Alexander von Humboldt), Germany
     
  • Since 2023: Judge of the Routledge Area Studies Awards in Impact and Interdisciplinarity
     
  • 2019: Edinburgh Catalyst Fellowship (University of Edinburgh)
     
  • 2018 - 2019: University of Dar es Salaam Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation Grant
     
  • 2017 - 2018: Interdisciplinary Research Fund (Tanzanian-German Centre for Eastern African Legal Studies)
     
  • 2008 - 2010: Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) scholarship, Germany
     
  • 2004 - 2007: Research for Education and Democracy in Tanzania scholarship (University of Dar es Salaam)
     

Professional Membership:

  • Editor-in-Chief - The African Review (Brill)
     
  • Member of Editorial Board - SN Social Sciences (Springer)
     
  • Member of Editorial Board - The East African Review (IFRA)
     
  • Member of Editorial Board - Journal of Politics and Law (Canadian Center of Science and Education)
     
  • Member of Editorial Board - UTAFITI Journal (Brill)
     
  • International Political Science Association (IPSA)
     
  • American Political Science Association (APSA)
     
  • Society of African Journal Editors (SAJE)
     
  • International Society for Development and Sustainability (ISDS)
     
Presentations:
  • “Continuity and Discontinuity in Tanzanian Elections: The Role of the Incumbency”, during the 119th American Political Science Association Annual Meeting & Exhibition (August 31 – September 3, 2023 Los Angeles, California).
     
  • “Does Technology Curb Electoral Rigging? Evidence from Kenya” during the 27th World Congress of Political Science (15-19 July 2023, Buenos Aires, Argentina).
     
  • “Interparty Dialogue in Africa: Theory and Practice” during the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation (CMI) “High-Level Peer Exchange on Perspectives on the Development of Interparty Dialogue - Experiences from Tanzania and Burundi” (10 – 15 July 2023, Bujumbura, Burundi).
     
  • “The Resilience of Authoritarianism in Africa” during the 3rd Tsinghua Area Studies Forum (3-5 July 2023, Tsinghua University, Beijing).
     
  • “Challenges and Dynamics of Democratic Consolidation in Africa”, Keynote address during the 14th Mwalimu J.K. Nyerere Intellectual Festival (26-27 June 2023, University of Dar es Salaam).
     
  • “The Future of Elections in Africa: Critical Issues and Perspectives” during a workshop (12-13 June, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany).
     
  • “The Future of Authoritarianism in Africa” during the 9th European Conference on African Studies (31 May - 3 June 2023, University of Cologne, Germany).

An overview of these and other conference contributions can be found here.

 

 

Selected publications:

  • (2023). “Interrogating the ‘Spiritual Puzzle of Silence’ on Religion and Gender Inequality in Tanzania”. In Ezra Chitando, Loreen Maseno, & Joram Tarusarira, Religion and Inequality in Africa, Bloomsbury Publishing.
     
  • (2022). “Cultural Imperialism and the Struggle over Kiswahili as the Medium of Instruction in Tanzania”, Utafiti, 17(1), 59-80. 
     
  • (2021). Handbook of Research on Nurturing Industrial Economy for Africa’s Development, IGI Global Publishing, USA.
     
  • (2020). “Electoral Violence in Zanzibar: Drivers and Early Warning Mechanisms,” Utafiti, 15 (2), 214-235.
     
  • (2017). “Rebooting democracy? Political data mining and biometric voter registration in Africa”, Information & Communications Technology Law, 26:2, 198-212.
     
  • (2017). “The future of elections in Africa: Critical Issues and Perspectives”, Tanzania Journal of Sociology Vol. 2 &3, pp. 103-115.
     
  • (2016) Election Management Bodies in East Africa: A comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy, African Minds, Cape Town, South Africa.
     
  • (2013). “Poll-"pollution"?: The politics of numbers in the 2013 elections in Kenya”. The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs, 40(2), 1–32.
     
  • (2013). The Annual State of Constitutionalism for the year 2011 in East Africa, Fountain Publishers, Uganda.
     
  • (2012). “Beyond polarity in Zanzibar? The ‘silent’ referendum and the government of national unity”, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 30:2, 195-218.
     
  • (2011). “‘Watching the watcher’: An evaluation of local election observers in Tanzania”. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 49(2), 241-262.
  • (2011). “Why do Ruling Parties lose? Taking Stock of the United National Independence Party in Zambia,” The African Review, 38 (1&2): 36-71.
     

Special Assignments/Consultancies:

  • (2023). Women’s Political Leadership (WPPL) Tanzania – National Opinion Research Centre (NORC), University of Chicago.
     
  • (2021-2022). Member of the Task Force of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania on “Multiparty Democracy in Tanzania” (United Republic of Tanzania).
     
  • (2020-2021). Assessment of Participation of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities in Nomination Process during 2020 General Election in Tanzania (National Democratic Institute – Tanzania).
  • (Since 2019). Member of the Constitutional Experts Team representing the United Republic of Tanzania on drafting a Constitution for the EAC Political Confederation (United Republic of Tanzania).
  • (2019). Institutional Response to Gender-Based Violence: The Case of Police Gender and Children’s Desk in Tanzania (Oxfam – Tanzania).
  • (2015). National Expert to the Netherlands Institute of Multi-Party Democracy on the Capacity Building of Political Parties Project prior to the 2015 general elections in Tanzania (UNDP – Tanzania).
  • (2013-2014). Member of the Special Committee on the New Constitution in Tanzania (Legal and Human Rights Centre – Tanzania).
  • (2013). Expert report to the Tanzanian Constitutional Review Commission on the “Review of Various Aspects on Electoral Systems and the Electoral Commission in Tanzania” (United Republic of Tanzania).

You can find an overview of all publications here.