The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy is pleased to announce two prestigious appointments of its Director, Professor Shalini Randeria. The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto just appointed her Distinguished Fellow for 2019-2021. The Munk School, with which the Graduate Institute has a cooperative agreement, is an internationally renowned centre for interdisciplinary research. It is also a platform for policy dialogue that brings together researchers, practitioners, and community members in order to contribute to policy debates across many areas of expertise. Distinguished Fellows contribute to mentor students and to build international networks.

Within the framework of the Munk School’s Distinguished Lecture Series 2019, Shalini Randeria will give a public talk titled “Population Panics, Ethno-Nationalism, and the Anti-Feminist Backlash” on May 14th.

Shalini Randeria has also been nominated to the Chair of Excellence at the University of Bremen for the period 2019 - 2022. The U Bremen Excellence Chair-holders are outstanding scholars in their disciplines, who will establish a research programme at the University of Bremen as well as further its collaboration with leading academic institutions worldwide. Shalini Randeria's interdisciplinary research group will study the phenomenon of "soft authoritarianism" in comparative perspective. Her Excellence Chair is established as part of the research platform on "Worlds of Contradiction", which includes the humanities, social sciences, cultural sciences and law.

Through these two appointments Shalini Randeria will further develop, jointly with scholars from partner institutions, the research agenda on democratic practices launched by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy.