Carolin Dieterle

Carolin Dieterle is a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at the Global Development Institute (GDI), University of Manchester. Her current research examines land commodification in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the interplay of formal/informal institutions and collective property rights amid urbanization. Prior roles include an LSE Fellowship in Global Politics and an ESRC postdoctoral fellowship. She holds a PhD in International Development from LSE (2022), alongside degrees from LSE and Humboldt University Berlin.

Education:

• PhD in International Development, LSE (2022)
• MRes in International Development, LSE (2017)
• MSc in Development Studies, LSE (2014)
• BA in Social Sciences, Humboldt University (2013)

Research interests include land governance, global governance norms, and colonial legacies affecting African land politics. She has conducted fieldwork in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and expanded to South Africa. Teaching focuses on development fieldwork and UN SDGs.

Awards:

• 2023 Dudley Seers Memorial Prize for Best Article (Journal of Development Studies)
• 2024 LSE Class Teacher Award

Her work bridges political economy and development studies, addressing how global policies interact with local land tenure systems. External roles include a 2015–2016 traineeship at Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.