Dr. Anja Osei is an independent researcher (Unabhängige Nachwuchswissenschaftlerin) at the Department of Politics and Public Adminstration/University of Konstanz. She received her PhD from the University of Konstanz/Department of African Studies. She is currently working on the project “Do Legislatures Enhance Democracy in Africa?” which is funded by the European Research Council as an ERC Starting Grant under the Horizon 2020 framework. Her research interests include democratization, political institutions, political elites and political parties in Africa, as well as Social Network Analysis. The fields of interest straddle Political Science, Area Studies, and Sociology. She has done field research in Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Gabon. Anja Osei has published in leading journals like Comparative Politics, Democratization, Party Politics, and African Affairs.

Selected Publications:
2018. “Elite Theory and Political Transitions: Networks of Power in Ghana and Togo”. Comparative Politics 51(1): 21–42.
2018. “Like Father, like Son? Power and Influence across Two Gnassingbé Presidencies in Togo”. Democratization 25(8): 1460–80.2018.
with Thomas Malang. “Party, ethnicity, or region? Determinants of informal political exchange in the parliament of Ghana”, Party Politics, 24(4), 410–420.
2016. “Formal Party Organisation and Informal Relations in African Parties: Evidence from Ghana”, The Journal of Modern African Studies 54(1): 37-66.
2015. “Elites and Democracy in Ghana: A Social Network Approach”, African Affairs 114 (457): 529–54.