Dr Susan Dodsworth

Researcher biography

Susan is currently a Lecturer at the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Relations. Prior to this, she worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s International Development Department.

The focal point of Susan’s research is the relationship between democratization and development. She is particularly interested in the role of political institutions (especially parliaments) in both of these processes, and the extent to which external or international actors affect democratization and development – both intentionally and unintentionally. Her current research focusses on two topics related to these themes: the impact of women in African parliaments, and the practice of election observation in Africa and beyond.

In 2019, Susan was part of a research team that won both the UK ESRC’s Celebrating Impact Prize for Outstanding International Impact and the Market Research Society President’s Medal. These prizes were awarded in recognition of the team’s work on safeguarding elections and strengthening accountability in new democracies.