In this talk, Aili Mari Tripp will discuss her latest book Why African Autocracies Promote Women as Leaders (Oxford University Press, 2025) with Rama Salla Dieng. The event will be chaired by Sung Min Rho.

The book examines why authoritarian regimes in Africa promote women to leadership positions. Drawing on cross-national research and 188 interviews across eight African countries, the book argues that autocracies use women's leadership to strengthen regime legitimacy, expand political support, and improve their domestic and international image. The book recently received the 2026 Leon Epstein Outstanding Book Award from the Political Organizations and Parties section of the American Political Science Association.

About the speaker

Aili Mari Tripp is Vilas Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has focused on gender/women and politics, women’s movements in Africa, transnational feminism, authoritarian politics in Africa, and the informal economy in Africa. She is author of several award-winning books, including Why African Autocracies Promote Women as Leaders (Oxford University Press, 2025), Seeking Legitimacy: Why Arab Autocracies Adopt Women’s Rights (2019), Women and Power in Postconflict Africa (2015), African Women’s Movements: Transforming Political Landscapes (2009) with Isabel Casimiro, Joy Kwesiga, and Alice Mungwa, and Women and Politics in Uganda (2000).  She has served as the President of African Studies Association, Vice President of the American Political Science Association, and a co-editor of the American Political Science Review.