Renske Doorenspleet is associate professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Warwick University, in the United Kingdom. Previously, she worked as assistant professor at Leiden University (2004-2006), as postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University (2003-2004), and as postdoctoral researcher for NWO (2001-2003).

She has published on concepts of democracy, worldwide regime transitions, political institutions in divided societies, and African politics. Her articles appeared in leading international journals such as in World Politics, Democratization, Acta Politica, the International Political Science Review, Ethnopolitics, Government and Opposition and the European Journal of Political Research. She has also contributed with chapters in edited books for academic publishers. She edited two books on Africa, and wrote two books on the explanations and effects of democratic political systems. Her most recent academic monograph is ‘Rethinking the Value of Democracy’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).

At Warwick University, Renske Doorenspleet currently teaches ‘Core Issues in Comparative Politics’ (BA-level) and the modules ‘Democratisation and Development’ (MA-level) and ‘The Value of Democracy’ (MA-level). At the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom (Swindon), she taught at the Higher Command and Staff Course.

So far, Renske Doorenspleet has supervised 13 PhD projects across a wide range of topics in Comparative Politics. These studies focused on countries all over the world, comparing England and Belgium, Colombia and Venezuela, Hong Kong and Singapore, Egypt and Tunisia, Burkina Faso and Uganda. Case studies included Iraq, Turkey and Algeria. Ten PhD students have successfully defended their research and are now working at universities in Austria, Czechia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Iraq, and of course England. Renske has also acted as an external examiner for PhD theses in the UK and internationally (i.e. in Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and South Africa).

Based on her work, she was asked to advise a.o. the UK’s Foreign Office. She was selected to do the Leadership Course for Higher Education ‘Aurora’ (Leadership Foundation for Higher Education UK, London). She also worked with theatre groups to create new shows, around nation-building after a civil war, and creating utopia & dystopia. She received an academic fellowship of the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning, for innovative teaching which links theatre and film with teaching and research, all around the themes of democracy and freedom.

Her current research plans focus on 1) the appeal of authoritarian leaders 2) initiatives around democratic innovation 3) the relationship between religion, society and politics.

NEWS: her literary non-fiction book ‘Apostle’s Child’ (Balans, 2020) has just been published (in Dutch). Click here for a translation into English, just the back cover/ blurb of the book.