Richard Joseph, John Evans Professor of International History and Politics, Northwestern University, previously taught at Emory University, Dartmouth College, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and the University of Khartoum (Sudan). He has held research fellowships at Harvard University, Boston University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex, UK), Chr. Michelsen Institute (Norway), and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (France).

Joseph has devoted his scholarly career to the study of African politics and governance Africa with a special focus on democratic transitions and political economy. He directed the African Governance Program of the Carter Center (1988-1994) and coordinated elections missions in Zambia (1991), Ghana (1992), and peace initiatives in Liberia (1991-1994). He has been a longtime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Board Member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a non-resident Fellow of The Brookings Institution.

Joseph is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including a Rhodes Scholarship, a Kent Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2002-03, he held visiting fellowships at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy. He was a Fulbright Scholar in France and a Fulbright Professor in Nigeria. He has written and edited dozens of scholarly articles and books including Radical Nationalism in Cameroun (1977); Gaullist Africa: Cameroon Under Ahmadu Ahidjo (1978); Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria (1987); State, Conflict, and Democracy in Africa (1999); and the Africa Demos series of The Carter Center (1990-95). His 1987 book on Nigeria was republished by Cambridge University Press in February 2014.

Several of his articles on democratization in Africa have appeared in the Journal of Democracy and Current History. Recent lectures, essays, and commentaries are available at www.africaplus.wordpress.edu, www.brookings.edu/experts/josephr.aspx, and videos on YouTube. He is currently working on a book on democratic transitions in Africa since 1989 and promoting dialogue on transformative growth and developmental governance. His experiences as a scholar-activist, starting from his undergraduate years at Dartmouth College on issues of civil rights, conflict resolution, and democracy promotion, are being addressed in a series of public lectures.