JAIMIE BLECK
2130C Jenkins-Nanovic Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
jbleck@nd.edu
EDUCATION
2011 PhD, Government, Cornell University
2008 MA, Government, Cornell University
2003 BA, Political Science, University of Chicago
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
2018-Present Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
2011- 2018 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
2016-Present Senior Research Advisor, Ford Program for Integral Human Development
PUBLISHED BOOKS
2019. Electoral Politics in Africa, 1990-2015: Continuity in Change , with Nicolas van de Walle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reviewed in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage Blog, African Studies Review
2015. Education and Empowered Citizenship in Mali . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Finalist for African Politics Conference Group Book of the Year
Reviewed in Foreign Affairs, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Journal on Education in Emergencies, Political Studies Review, the Journal of Global South Studies, Teachers College Record, and the Comparative Education Review
PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS
2021. “Social Interaction and Technology Adoption: Experimental Evidence from Improved Cookstoves in Mali,” with Jacopo Bonan, Pietro Battiston, Philippe LeMay-Boucher, Stefano Pareglio, Bassirou Sarr, and Massimo Tavoni. World Development, Forthcoming.
2021. “Service Provision, Citizenship and Governance: Exploring the Role of Islam in Mali,” with Alexander Thurston. The Oxford Handbook on Politics in Muslim Societies. Eds. Melani Cammett and Pauline Luong Jones. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2021. “What Stymies Action on Climate Change? Religious Institutions, Marginalization, and Efficacy in Kenya” with Amy Erica Smith and Lauren Honig, Perspectives on Politics, Forthcoming.
2020. “Migration Aspirations from a Youth Perspective: Focus Groups with Returnees and Youth in Mali,” with Ali Lodermeier. Journal of Modern African Studies, 58 (4): 551-577.
2020. “Who leads? Village Development Committees and Local Governance in Southern Malawi,” with Emily Maiden and Danice Guzman. Governance: https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12544
2020. “Challenges of Research in a Conflict Environment: Experiences in Northern and Central Mali,” with Boukary Sangare. In Doing Fieldwork in Areas of International Intervention: A Guide to Research in Violent and Closed Contexts. Eds, Berit Bliesemann de Guevara and Morten Boas. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
2019. “Change and Continuity in African Electoral Politics since Multipartyism,” with Nicolas van de Walle. Encyclopedia of African Politics. Ed. Nicolas Cheeseman. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2018. “Making North–South Research Collaborations Work,” with Chipo Dendere and Boukary Sangaré. PS: Political Science & Politics 51.3 (2018): 554-558.
2018. “Is Women’s Empowerment Associated with Political Knowledge and Opinions? Evidence from Rural Mali,” with Kristin Michelitch. World Development 106: 299-323.
2018. “Weak States and Uneven Pluralism: Lessons from Mali and Kyrgyzstan,” with Igor Logvinenko. Democratization, 25(5), 804-823.
2017. “Capturing the Airwaves, Capturing the Nation? A Field Experiment on State-Run Media Effects in the Wake of a Coup,” with Kristin Michelitch. Journal of Politics, 79 (3): 873-889.
2016. “The Malian Crisis and the Lingering Problem of Good Governance,” with Abdoulaye Dembele, and Sidiki Guindo. Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, 5 (1): 1–18.
2015. “The 2012 Crisis in Mali: Ongoing Empirical State Failure,” with Kristin Michelitch. African Affairs, 114 (457): 598-623.
2013. “Islamic Schooling in Malian Democracy: Disaggregating Parents’ Political Behavior.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 51 (3): 377-408.
2013. “Valence Issues in African Elections: Navigating Uncertainty and the Weight of the Past,” with Nicolas van de Walle. Comparative Political Studies. 46 (11): 1394–1421.
2013. “Education for All? Education for Whom? Education for What?” with Mody Bouboucar Guindo. Development in Practice, 23 (8): 1004–1017.
2011. “Parties and Issues in Francophone West Africa: Towards a Theory of Non-Mobilization,” with Nicolas van de Walle. Democratization. 18 (5): 1125-1145.
HONORS/FELLOWSHIPS/AWARDS
2014-2015
American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship
2012
Lynne Rienner Best Dissertation Award in African Politics 2011
2010
Houston I. Flournoy Graduate Fellow
2009
APSA Africa Workshop Fellow
Boren Fellow, National Security Education Program
Cornell Peace Studies Fellow, Institute for Social Science Fellow
GRANTS
2019
Office of Research Grant and Kellogg Institute Grant ($20,000) for Study of Governance, Accountability, and Civil Society in Mali
ISLA Grant for Citizenship and Secondary Education in Kenya ($10,000)
Youth Futures in the Sahel Conference Grant ($10,000), Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame
2018
Catholic Relief Services: Youth and Electoral Violence in Ghana ($140,000)
Kellogg Institute: Youth and Migration in Mali and Spain ($9,900)
2017
Provost’s Insider Project, University of Notre Dame ($15,000)
2016
Notre Dame Keough School Goal 16 Grant ($5,000)
2015
Notre Dame Kellogg Institute Research Grant ($8,143)
2014
Notre Dame ISLA Subvention Grant ($5,000)
USAID DRG Innovation Grant ($90,000)
Notre Dame Kellogg Institute Research Grant ($19,860)
2013
Notre Dame Kellogg Institute Research Grant ($9,880)
2012
National Science Foundation Seed Grant ($24,999)
Spencer Foundation Research Grant ($39,999)
Honorable Mention 2011 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics ($500)
USAID contribution of equipment for Good Morning Timbuktu Research Project ($4,500)
ISLA Large Biennial Grant ($8,375.00)
ISLA Small Research Grant ($2,500)
2011
Notre Dame Kellogg Institute Research Grant ($9992)
ISLA Small Research Grant ($2,500) APSA Study of Women and Politics Research Grant ($1,114)
2010
LaFeber Grant for Co-authored Paper with Nicolas van de Walle
2009
Cornell Einaudi Institute Summer Travel Grant
Cornell Graduate School Travel Grant
APSA Africa Workshop Fellow Research Grant
2008
LaFeber Grant for Africa and Central Asia Conference
2007
Contentious Politics Pre-Dissertation Research Grant
POLICY-ORIENTED PUBLICATIONS
2020. “Mali’s Persistent and Fragile Democracy,” with Marc-Andre Boisvert and Boukary Sangare. American Political Science Association Newsletter, Fall 2020, “Autocracy and Democracy,” Eds. Hanisah Binte Abduallah Sani, Pauline Luong Jones, and Dan Slater.
2018. “I Joined to Save my People: Children and Non-State Armed Groups in Mali,” with Marc-Andre Boisvert and Boukary Sangare, Cradled by Conflict: Child Involvement with Armed Groups in Contemporary Conflict. Eds. Siobhan O’Neil and Kato Van Broeckhoven. United Nations University.
2015. “This is what citizens say is needed to end Mali’s insecurity,” with Sidiki Guindo and Abdoulaye Dembele. Washington Post, Monkey Cage Blog, November 27, 2015.
2015. “Can Indigenous Associations Foster Trust, Tolerance, and Public Goods? Exploring the Role of Grins in Rebuilding Civil Society and Democracy in Post-Conflict Mali.” with Philippe LeMay-Boucher, Jacopo Bonan, and Bassirou Sarr. USAID Democracy Fellows and Grants Program Final Report.
2015. “Mali: The Mali Crisis,” In Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts. Ed. Joseph R Rudolph. Santa Barbara: ABC LIO Greenwood.
2015. “On the primacy of weak public service provision in rural Africa: Malians redefine ‘state breakdown’ amidst 2012 political crisis ” with Kristin Michelitch. Afrobarometer Working Paper Series 155, www.afrobarometer.org
2013. “Voices from Fragile States: The Resilient Problem of Human Development.” with Kristin Michelitch. UN University World Institute for Development Economics Research: WIDER ANGLE MARCH 2013. (Another version appeared on the Monkey Cage Political Science Blog)
2012. “Mali,” In Analysis of Democratic Governance: Countries in the Crossroads 2011, Ed. Jake Dizard, Freedom House: 383-404.
BOOK REVIEWS
2019. Ethnic Politics and State Power in Africa. The Logic of the Coup-Civil War Trap. By Philip Roessler. African Studies Review.
2018. Beyond Ethnic Politics in Africa. By Dominika Koter. Canadian Journal of African Studies: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00083968.2018.1558730
2016. Bargaining for Women’s Rights: Activism in an Aspiring Muslim Democracy by Alice Kang. International Feminist Journal. 18 (3), pp. 511–512.
2013. Multi-ethnic Coalitions in Africa: Business Financing of Opposition Election Campaigns by Leonardo Arriola. Journal of Modern African Studies 51 (3): 533-534.
WORKING PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPTS
“Personality, Community, and Politics Assessing the Five Factor Model in a Collectivist Setting,” with Paul Friesen and Kevin Fridy
“Drinking Tea with the Neighbors: Social Capital and Social Trust in Mali,” with Jacopo Bonan, Philippe LeMay-Boucher, and Bassirou Sarr
“Youth in West and Central Africa: Quests for Inclusion and the Future of Governance,” with Trevor Lwere and Boukary Sangare
“Can Student Body Diversity Foster Inter-ethnic and Inter-religious Trust and Tolerance?” with Robert Dowd, Danice Guzman, Jackie Oluoch-Aridi, and John Mugo
“Youth Patterns of Political Attitudes and Engagement: Lessons from Northern Ghana,” with Kevin Fridy and Paul Friesen
“Indigenous Associations and Public Goods Provision: Experimental Evidence from Grins in Mali,” with Jacopo Bonan, Philippe LeMay-Boucher, and Bassirou Sarr
“Exploring the Rally Effect in a Weak States: Citizens’ Attitudes Towards Leaders and Foreign Interveners in Mali,” with Lauren Honig, Sidiki Guindo and Andrea Pena-Vasquez
“Dressing for Success: An Evaluation of a Local Governance Training and Uniform Distribution in Malawi,” with Tushi Baul, Emily Maiden, Juan Valdez, and Boniface Dulani
“Out of Africa: Electoral failure and the future of political Islam in West Africa” with David Siddhartha Patel
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
American Political Science Association, Women’s Mentoring Workshop, 2021
American Political Science Association, Comparative Politics Dissertation Prize, 2021
American Political Science Association, Powell Prize for Outstanding Graduate Mentoring, Committee Member, 2020
National Science Foundation
African Politics Conference Group Book Award Committee Chair, 2020
MPSA Section Chair, Politics of Developing Countries, 2020
Political Behavior, Editorial Board, 2018- Present
MPSA Program Committee, Comparative Politics Poster Chair, 2014
Education Section Chair, African Studies Association, 2012
African Politics Conference Group Best Article Committee 2012
Reviewer: British Journal of Political Science, The Canadian Journal of African Studies, Lynne Rienner Press, World Development, National Science Foundation, Comparative Political Studies, Electoral Studies, the Journal of Modern African Studies, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, World Politics
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Faculty Athletic Board, 2017- Present
Kellogg Faculty Advisory Board, 2018 – Present
Ford Family Program Senior Research Advisor, 2016-Present
Notre Dame Initiative on Race and Resilience Advisory Council, 2021-Present
International Development Studies Minor Advisory Committee, 2011- Present
INVITED TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS
“Drinking Tea with the Neighbors: Informal Clubs, Social Trust, and Trustworthiness in Mali,” University of Georgia
“Keeping Faith with the Sahel: The Role of Religious Leaders in Justice & Peace in the Sahel,” CRS and USAID Panel, March 2021
“Democratic Survival in the Muslim World: Mali,” University of Michigan, September 2020
“Islam and Politics in Mali,” Pomona College, March 2020
“Social Clubs as Social Capital?” University of Milan, October 2018
“Social Clubs as Social Capital? Exploring Trust and Tolerance in Mali,” with Jacopo Bonan, Philippe LeMay-Boucher, and Bassirou Sarr, Northwestern Conference on the Sahel, May 2017
Invited Mali Briefings: African Symposium 2020, Institute for Defense Analysis, March 2020; Mali Briefing, November 2018; George Arnold Symposium for Education, Conflict, and the State, the New School, October 2015; Governance and Security in the Sahelian States Roundtable, July 2014; Johns Hopkins SAIS, April 2013; Institute for Defense Analysis, March 2013; USAID, April 2012; “Malian Elections Roundtable,” Columbia University Institute for African Studies, April 2012; The World Bank, May 2012; The State Department, October 2011 and October 2012.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Field Research Methods (Grad, Undergrad)
Globalization in Africa (Undergrad)
Democracy and Citizenship in Africa (Undergrad)
Education, Citizenship, and Democracy (Undergrad)
African Elections (Undergrad)
GRADUATE THESIS ADVISING
Andrea Peña-Vasquez (Co-Chair)
Paul Friesen (Co-Chair)
Shana Scogin (Co-Chair)
Emily Maiden (Co-chair), 2019 PhD, Assistant Professor University of Northern Florida
UNDERGRADUATE THESIS ADVISING
2012: Adam Cowden, Selected for Gates Cambridge Scholarship
2013: Tara Lucian
2014: Will Miller and Robert “Beau” Dolan
2016: Meghan Gallagher
2019: Nicole Waddick
2021: Patrick McCabe, Selected as Truman Scholar
LANGUAGES
French – Highly Proficient; Bamana – Proficient; Portuguese – Beginner
RESEARCH SKILLS
Computer: Stata, Excel, Powerpoint, LaTex, Causal Map Ap
AFRICA COUNTRY EXPERIENCE
Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South
Africa, South Sudan, and Uganda
