UCT Research Assistants

Current UCT Research Assistants

Dustin Kramer is an Honours student in Political Science. His research interests lie in political theory and comparative politics. His current focus is on the relationship between informal political institutions and governance in Africa.

Moletsane Monyake is a first year Masters student in political science and a research assistant in DARU for Module Three of the African Legislatures Project

Nasiphi Moya’s research seeks to identify the centralization in South Africa by testing indicators such as legal (constitutional), financial autonomy, human resource, public participation and functional areas of local government. Literature suggests that local government is getting weak in these areas.
Thesis topic – Towards centralization: an overview of South African Local Government

Erica Penfold is a Masters student in Political Science and a Research Assistant for Robert Mattes and the Democracy in Africa Research Unit. Her chief responsibilities include coordination of research tasks for Robert Mattes – other studies include project work for Per Strand and Robert Cameron, which involves research on the influence of HIV/AIDS on internal capacity for local government.
Thesis topic – Monitoring the influence of HIV/AIDS on political participation in South Africa.

Michelle Romo is an MA Candidate in Political Science.
Thesis topic – National Identity in Post Apartheid South Africa. By using systematic analysis of Afrobarometer survey data, her research seeks to identify what informs national identity in South Africa.

Alexandra Searle is an MA Candidate undertaking an exploratory project in a comparative, cross national study of African Parliamentary responses to HIV/AIDS, with particular focus on Eastern and Southern Africa. The project will establish basic indicators for monitoring and evaluating Parliamentary responses to HIV/AIDS and explore contextual reasons for the differing levels of response.

Carlos Shenga is a PhD Candidate in Political Science.
Thesis topic – Legislative Recruitment and Institutionalization, Committee Performance and Public Support for Legislature in Mozambique: A Comparative Case Study over Three First Multiparty Legislatures.

Dadisai Taderera’s research investigates the extent to which citizens in the new South Africa extend legitimacy to the state. Under apartheid, the state governed [mainly] by coercion rather than widely shared state legitimacy. When citizens regard the state as legitimate it increases their compliance with laws and overall stability. This allows the state to concentrate on delivering governance and services. Using mass public opinion survey data by Afrobarometer from 1999 to 2008, this study examines trends in public perceptions of state legitimacy over time and across racial/ethnic groups. Preliminary analyses suggest that South African institutions may be declining in legitimacy with the biggest declines being found among black South Africans.
Thesis topic – Assessing state legitimacy in South Africa post 1994

Past UCT Research Assistants

Leah Shearman completed her Masters in Democratic Governance in June 2010. As a research assistant with ALP between 2008 -2009, Leah worked on a number of Modules, including Module 1 (collecting data about national backgrounds and national political institutions), Module 3 (individual attributes of MPs) and Module 5 (civil society’s perception of Parliament and legislators in South Africa and Namibia).  Leah also utilized data from Module 3 in her thesis which focused on quality of political representation in five Southern African countries by examining electoral competition and levels of reported constituency service.