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CV

KATHLEEN F. KLAUS

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Box 514 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

+ 46 73 367 0301 / kathleen.klaus@pcr.uu.se/ www.kathleenklaus.com

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

 

Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (Jan 2022-)

Associate Senior Lecturer, Department of Peace and Conflict Research

  • Program Director, International Training on Dialogue and Mediation (2022-).

 

University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (September 2018-Fall 2021)

Assistant Professor of Politics (Term)

 

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT (Sept 2017-May 2018)

Visiting Assistant Professor

 

Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Northwestern University (2015-2017)

Postdoctoral Fellow

 

Robert S. Strauss Center for International Law and Security, University of Texas-Austin (2014-2015)

Security Studies Pre-doctoral Fellow

 

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Political Science, June 2015

  • Fields: Comparative politics, international relations

  • Dissertation: Claiming Land: Institutions, Narratives, and Political Violence in Kenya

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M.A., Political Science, May 2009

 

Smith College, Northampton, MA

A.B., in Government (High Honors), 2007

Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Puebla, Mexico, 2005

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RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS 

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Political violence and post-conflict politics, land and property rights, African politics, elections, forced migration, human rights, field research methods.

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BOOK 

 

Political Violence in Kenya: Land, Elections, and Claim-Making  (Cambridge University Press, May 2020)​

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PUBLICATIONS

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  • "Closing the Gap: The Politics of Land Formalization in Kenya." Forthcoming, World Politics (April 2023). With Mai Hassan.

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  • “Raising the Stakes: Land Titling and Electoral Stability in Kenya.” Journal of Peace Research (2020), 57(1): 30-45 | Link.

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  • “Can Politicians Exploit Ethnic Grievances? An Experimental Study of Land Appeals in Kenya,” Political Behavior (2018), 42, 35–58, with Jeremy Horowitz| Link.

 

  • “Defending the City, Defending Votes: Campaign Strategies in Urban Ghana,” Journal of Modern African Studies (2017), 55(4): 681-708, with Jeffrey Paller | Link.

 

  • “Contentious Land Narratives and the Non-escalation of Election Violence: Evidence from Kenya’s Coast Region.” (2017) African Studies Review, 60(2) | Link. Winner of the African Studies Association Graduate Student Paper Prize.

 

  •  “Land Grievances and the Mobilization of Electoral Violence: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya,” Journal of Peace Research (2015), 52(2): 622-635, with Matthew Mitchell | Link.

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Article-length works in progress

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  • "‘If You are Bitten by a Snake, you will Fear a Piece of Rope:’Individual-Level Effects of Electoral Violence in Kenya​"​

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  • "Demanding Recognition: Citizen Perspectives on Clientelism in Africa" with Jeffrey Paller &  Martha Wilfahrt. (Under review).

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  • ​“Altruistic Hosts? Refugee Settlement and the Politics of Land in Uganda” (data collection in process).

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  • Explaining the gender gap: Women and land titling in Kenya. With Mai Hassan.

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AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & PRIZES

 

  • Manuscript Revision Conference Award, Buffett Institute for Global Studies (2017)

  • Best Field Research Award, APSA Comparative Democratization Section (2016)

  • APCG-Lynne Rienner Best Dissertation in African Politics in 2015, Honorable Mention (2016)

  • African Studies Association, Graduate Student Paper Prize (2015)

  • American Political Science Association Africa Workshop Fellow, Nairobi (July 2015)

  • Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (2014-2015)

  • Security Studies Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Robert S. Strauss Center, UT-Austin (2014-2015)

  • Mellon-Wisconsin Summer Fellowship (2014)

  • United States Institute of Peace, Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Dissertation  Fellowship (2013-2014)

  • Social Science Research Council, International Dissertation Research Fellowship (2012-2013)

  • National Science Foundation (NSF) Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (2011-2012)

  • Vilas Research Travel Grant, UW-Madison (2011)

  • International Field Research Award, Division of International Studies, UW-Madison (2010)                     

  • Honored Instructor Award, UW-Madison Housing (2010)

  • FLAS Academic Year Fellowship for Swahili (2010-2011)

  • Summer Initiative, Department of Political Science, UW-Madison (2010; 2012)

  • FLAS Summer Fellowship for Swahili (2009)

  • Fulbright Fellowship (Malawi), Institute for International Education (2007-2008)

  • Fox Boornstein International Internship Fellowship, Smith College, MA (2006)

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INVITED TALKS

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2020     FBA Research Workshop: the Pursuit of Peaceful Polling (Virtual, December).

2020     Peace Science Society Workshop on Elections and Violence (Virtual, November).

2019     Cornell University, Institute for African Development (October)

2018     UC Berkley, Africa Colloquium (March)

2017     University of Iowa, African Studies Program (March)

2017     University of Florida, Baraza Lecture Series (February)

2016     Northwestern University, Comparative Politics Workshop, December

2016     Midwest Working Group in African Political Economy (MGAPE), October

2016     “Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota (Oct)

2015     Buffet Institute for Global Studies, Northwestern University

2015     Land Tenure Center, Nelson Institute, UW-Madison

2015     Strengthening Institutions and Governance Workshop, IFPRI

2013     Kenya at Fifty,” SAIS-John Hopkins University

2013     Social Science Research Council Fellows Workshop, Philadelphia

2013     Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

2012     Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Accra, Ghana

 

CONFERENCES

 

  • American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013)

  • African Studies Association Annual Meeting (2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2009)

  • International Studies Association Annual Convention (2018, 2019)

  • Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference (2017, 2016, 2010)

 

OTHER WRITING & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT 

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  • “There’s a long, troubling history behind the Capitol attack,” The Monkey Cage, Washington Post. 1/24/21. Link. 

  • "Will the US Experience Election Violence? Lessons from Kenya." Political Violence at a Glance, 10/29/2020. Link. 

  • “Why do people participate in election violence? Insights from Kenya’s 2007 elections.” The Conversation, 8/18/2020 | Link.

  • New Books Network. Interview with Susan Thompson. 8/5/2020 |Link.

  • Book review: Violence in African Elections: Between Democracy and Big Man Politics, by Mimmi Soderberg Kovas and Jesper Bjarnesen (eds) in Africa: The Journal of the International African Institute, 90(2): 424-425.

  • Ufahamu Africa. Interview with Rachel Riedl (Episode 78), 11/2/2019 | Link.

  • “What do shifting grass-roots dynamics tell us about the Zimbabwe election?” The Monkey Cage, Washington Post, 8/30/2018. Link.  

  • Ufahamu Africa. Interview with Kim Yi Dionne (Episode 28), 9/3/2017 | Link.

  • “Côte d'Ivoire’s 2015 elections: Local Interests and Prospects for Peace,” APSA Africa Workshop Newsletter, November 2015.

  • “Can an economic boom ensure peaceful elections in Côte d’Ivoire?” The Monkey Cage, Washington Post. 10/20/15 | Link.

 

BOOK REVIEWS

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  • 2022. Ambreena Manji’s The Struggle for Land and Justice in Kenya (James Currey Press), in Canadian Journal of African Studies (link here).

  • 2021. Michael Albertus’ Property without rights: Origins and consequences of the property rights gap (Cambridge University Press), in Governance (Online first).

  • 2007. Blessings Chinsinga’s Democracy, Decentralization and Poverty Reduction in Malawi. Rudiger Koppe.Verlag: Koln. Reviewed in African Studies Review. 52 (1): 201-202.​

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FIELD RESEARCH

 

Kenya: July-Aug 2017; July-Aug, 2015; May 2012-May 2013; May-August, 2010.

Uganda: July-Aug, 2019.

Ghana: September 2011-May 2012.

Malawi: September 2007-July 2008.

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

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University of San Francisco

  • Change & Conflict (Spring '21)

  • Politics Lab (Spring 2020).

  • Political Economy of Development (Spring 2020).

  • ​African Politics and Development (Fall '19; Spring '21)

  • Security and Terrorism (Fall '19; Spring '21)

  • Human Rights & Global Justice (Fall '19)

  • Politics of War & Peace (Spring 2019; Spring '20)

  • Land & Human Rights (Spring 2019)

  • International Law & Organizations (Fall 2018)

  • Research Methods (Fall 2018; Spring 2019)

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Wesleyan University

  • Democracy and Dictatorship: Politics in the Contemporary World (Fall 2017; Spring 2018)

  • Land Rights and Conflict (Fall 2017)

  • African Politics (Spring 2018)

 

Northwestern University: Land Rights and Conflict in a Global Perspective (Spring 2016, Spring 2017)

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AFFILIATIONS, PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS, AND SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

  • Coordinator: Research Development Group, Africa Politics Conference Group (APSA 2017; 2020).

  • Selection Committee, African Politics Conference Group (APCG) Best Dissertation Award (2021).

  • Research Associate, University of Nairobi, Institute for Development Studies (2012-2013).

  • Member: APSA, African Studies Association, African Politics Conference Group, ISA.

  • Reviewer: American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Peace Research, African Studies Review, Political Geography, Perspectives on Politics.

 

OTHER SKILLS

 

  • Spanish (proficient), Swahili (proficient), Chichewa (basic)

  • Stata, ArcGIS

 

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