Chipo Dendere

Chipo Dendere is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. A Zimbabwean-born scholar with expertise in political science and public health intersections, she holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Georgia State University and dual B.A. degrees in Political Science and Psychology from Linfield College. Her research examines how voter exit through migration and mortality impacts regime survival in authoritarian states, particularly in Africa.

• Education: B.A., M.A., Ph.D. in Political Science

Her work on the AIDS pandemic's influence on Zimbabwean autocracy, featured in her book Death, Diversion, and Departure, reveals how demographic shifts like urban voter migration and pandemic-related deaths strengthened ZANU-PF's rule. She also investigates money in politics, social media dynamics in authoritarian regimes, and the political implications of natural resources. Currently, she is researching the roles of African First Ladies.

Through courses like Unpacking Blackness, Ethnicity and Identity in the African Diaspora (AFR215/AFR215H) and Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Black Diaspora, Political Experiences in Pandemics (AFR330/AFR330H), she trains students to translate academic arguments into public writing. Her service includes committee roles in the African Politics Conference Group and NEWSA Program, and contributions to outlets like BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN.