Leila Demarest is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science and Director of Undergraduate Studies.

More information about Leila Demarest

Leila Demarest is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, specialized in the study of Sub-Saharan African politics. She is also Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Bachelor ‘Politicologie’.

Her research interests include democratization, peace and conflict dynamics, and intergroup relations. Her current research projects focus on:

• Democratization, diversity, and parliamentary politics in Africa
• Political attitudes and participation of young people in the Global South.

Her teaching activities focus on African politics and research methods.

Dr. Demarest joined Leiden University in 2018. Previously, she worked at the Centre for Research on Peace and Development (CRPD) at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium. She also obtained her PhD in Social Sciences (2017) from the KU Leuven as a doctoral fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).

PhD supervision

Leila Demarest is available to supervise PhD students and invites PhD research proposals in the areas of:

• Conflict and mobilization processes in the Global South
• Parties and parliamentary politics in the Global South
• Democratic attitudes and political behavior in the Global South

See for more information on PhD positions:

› Institute of Political Science: PhD