Kaleb Demerew, PhD

Dr. Kal Demerew is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at West Texas A&M University. His research focuses on the comparative political economy of development, with an emphasis on liberalism, institutions, state-building, elite bargains, and conflicts in Northeast Africa and the Red Sea region. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Institutional Economics, Nations and Nationalism, Third World Quarterly, and Society. He is a co-editor of the book volume Nile Basin Politics (Edward Elgar), which examines domestic and nationalist drivers of conflicts over the Nile River, and his research has been featured at international symposiums on governance and security.

Dr. Demerew is currently completing two sole-authored book projects. Violence, Elites, and Institutions: State-building and Political Development in Africa (under contract with SUNY Press) examines elite rent structures and political transitions in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Economic Freedom and Self-Governance in Africa: Contracting the State (under contract with Routledge) explores how emergent state institutions can address the governance challenges of post-colonial states by codifying and facilitating autonomous individual transactions. His research has been supported by multiple fellowships and grants, including the Governing Deep Differences Grant (Center for Governance and Markets/Templeton), the Adam Smith Fellowship (Mercatus Center), the Humane Studies Fellowship (Institute for Humane Studies), the Israel Institute Faculty Development Grant, and the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa Research Grant. 

He teaches introductory and upper-level courses in Comparative Politics and International Relations, including International Conflict, Developing Countries, Middle Eastern Politics, and African Politics. He has also drawn on his comparative insights to teach core foundation courses such as American Government and Leadership Theory.