Urban Politics in the Global South
Virtual Conference Series
Virtual Conference Series
Urban Politics in the Global South is an annual virtual conference series that brings together the growing community of social scientists conducting research on urban politics in low- and middle-income countries in different world regions. We seek to facilitate exchange among scholars within political science, related disciplines, and practitioners.
We are pleased to announce the 2025 conference on November 6-7, 2025. The conference will be fully virtual and is being convened by Jeffrey Paller, Manuela Muñoz, and Emily Rains.
Register for the conference using the following Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Urban Politics in the Global South Virtual Conference 2025 (All times EST)
Thursday, November 6
12:00-1:00 PM Opening panel: Urban Politics across Disciplines
Participants:
Lisa Björkman (University of Louisville)
María José Álvarez Rivadulla (Universidad de los Andes)
Brenda Chalfin (University of Florida)
Moderated by Jeffrey Paller and Manuela Muñoz
1:00-1:50 Lightning talk panel 1 (7 minutes each)
Ghada Rafai (Rutgers): “Post-War Reconstruction as a Defining Political Project: Shaping Power, Identity, and Urban Futures in Syria”
Ella Henninger (ETH Zurich): “Contextual Factors Shape Stakeholder Dynamics in Air Pollution Control - Insights from Six Majority World Cities”
Raksha Balakrishna (Arizona State University): "Collective Action for Solving Resource Dilemmas in a Rapidly Urbanizing Context: An Institutional Analysis of Shared Groundwater Governance in Peri-Urban India"
Moderated by Alison Post
1:50-2:00 Break
2:00-3:00 Paper discussion 1 (15 minutes each)
Marcela Alonso Ferreira (Sciences Po Paris): “When Policies Collide: Institutional Intercurrence and Policy Outcomes in Urban Land Governance”
Isabella Montini (Berkeley) and Jesse Trudeau (Syracuse): “Under the Radar: Estimating Underreporting of Gender-based Violence to the Police”
Moderated by Manuela Muñoz
Discussant: Maureen Donaghy
Friday, November 7
12:00-1:00 PM Paper discussion 2 (15 minutes each)
Shagun Gupta (American): “An Associational Advantage? Public Trust and Urban Governance in Delhi, India”
Sofia Vidotto (Brown): “From the Streets to the State: How Social Movements Bureaucrats Affect Public Service Provision in Argentine Slums”
Moderated by Alicia Cooperman
Discussant: Emily Rains
1:00-1:50 PM Lightning talk panel 2 (7 minutes each)
Fizzah Sajjid and Umair Javed (LSE): “Gated Out/Cordoned Off: Urban Villages, Infrastructure Transformations, and Socio-Spatial Segregation in Lahore, Pakistan”
Smith Ouma & Diana Mitlin (University of Manchester): “The shifting policy landscapes of informal settlements in African cities”
Vidhu Priya Mukundan (Boston University): “ Contesting Leadership and Legitimacy at the Grassroots: Women’s Self-Help Groups and Political Intermediaries in Urban India”
Motasem Abuzaid (Oxford), “Strong Bonds, Weak Bridges: Revolutionary Networks in the Syrian Uprising”
Moderated by Alicia Cooperman
1:50-2:00 PM Break
2:00-3:00 PM Paper discussion 3 (15 minutes each)
Yunhan Wen (Princeton): “Local State Capacity and Strategic Alliances under Party-State Urbanism: How Indigenous Villages Make the Local State in Shenzhen”
Lois Matthew (Cornell): “Grievance-Rich, Protest-Poor? Variation In Youth Mobilization Across African Democracies”
Moderated by Noah Nathan
Discussant: Paige Bollen
2025 Conference Co-Chairs: Manuela Munoz, Jeffrey Paller, and Emily Rains
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Urban Politics in the Global South is led by a steering committee. Please contact a steering committee member if you have additional questions about the conference series.
Steering Committee:
Header photo: Adam Auerbach