Sarah A. Brierley

Sarah A. Brierley

Assistant Professor

London School of Economics and Political Science

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

I work in comparative politics, with a regional focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. My research investigates state development, governance, corruption, and parties and campaigns in new democracies. In my book project, I investigate politicians’ decisions to invest in state development and their strategies to enhance bureaucratic competence while retaining loyalty. Methodologically, I adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining data from surveys and experiments with analysis of administrative data and qualitative information from in-depth interviews.

In other ongoing projects, I investigate the influence of traditional leaders during elections, the role of party brokers, and public attitudes toward anti-corruption pledges and reforms.

My research has been published or is forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Annual Review of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, British Journal of Political Science, among other outlets.

Interests

  • Bureaucracy
  • Corruption
  • Party organization
  • Elections

Education

  • PhD in Political Science, 2017

    UCLA

  • MSc African Studies, 2009

    University of Oxford

  • BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2008

    University of Oxford

Publications

(2023). Chiefs’ Endorsements and Voter Behavior. Accepted at Comparative Political Studies.

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(2021). Combining Patronage and Merit in Public Sector Recruitment. Journal of Politics 83.1 (2021): 182-197.

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(2020). Unprincipled Pricipals: Co-opted Bureaucrats and Corruption in Ghana. American Journal of Political Science 64: 209-222.

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Teaching

London School of Economics and Political Science

Undergraduate:

Graduate

  • GV4N2: Introduction to Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies

Contact