Join USAID's Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Bureau on July 27 for a presentation and interactive discussion with Anja Osei on the different role orientations of Members of Parliament (MPs) in five African countries: Gabon, Benin, Cameroon, Uganda, and Botswana.
Anja's research asks: How well do MPs represent the electorate, both in demographic and substantial terms? Her research identifies several similarities in the behavior of MPs both across and within countries, and conflicts between their formal tasks as legislators and the often clientelistic demands of their voters. The research highlights that reform-oriented policies need to take into account how MPs perceive their roles and the constraints they face.
Anja Osei leads the Department of Comparative Politics at Freie Universität Berlin as well as the EU-funded project "Do Legislatures Enhance Democracy in Africa (DLEDA)?" Anja holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Leipzig and previously held a Postdoc position at the University of Konstanz, Department of Politics and Public Administration. Her research interests lie in the field of African politics and political sociology with a particular focus on democratization and electoral autocracies. Her current project DLEDA seeks to understand the role of parliaments across different regime types in Africa, which includes seven case studies: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
See recording here.