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Department of Political Science

Goran C. Hyden

hydengDistinguished Professor Emeritus

Ph.D, Lund, 1968

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My own research in political science, which now spans over four decades, has generally focused on the interface between politics and development. My research agenda has evolved from a structural-functionalist approach to the study of political development (my dissertation) via organization theory-inspired studies of both rural cooperatives and public administration, on to studies of the political economy of the peasantry in Africa, and in recent years research on democratization and governance. The latter includes studies of elections in Africa, how to study social capital and civil society, and comparative work on governance, as defined in a political process perspective, including select developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. I currently have graduate students working, for example, on governance issues in natural resource management in Botswana, social capital in urban development in Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa and the U.S., human rights and transition to democracy in Kenya, and public sector reform in Argentina.