Dr Florian Kern

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Email
fkern@essex.ac.uk -
Location
5.302, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
By appointment (on research leave)
Profile
Biography
I am a Reader (Associate Professor) at the Department of Government and a fellow at the Michael Nicholson Centre for Conflict and Cooperation. I am also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of Methodology, London School of Economics. I received my PhD from the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz. I also hold an M.A. from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. I am currently on research leave. My main research interest lies in governance, the political economy of development, and conflict, with a regional focus on Africa and indigenous North America. I employ a variety of approaches, combining applied qualitative and quantitative methods, surveys, case studies, and fieldwork. My most recent work focuses on domestic sources of foreign policy formulation in Africa, land rights, as well as research transparency in qualitative methods. With colleagues, I run the Multilingualism, Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Africa project (MCCRA), funded by an ESRC Large Research Grant (2.5 million GBP, 2023-2027). With my colleague Hannah Gibson, I organise the Africa Special Interest Group (ASIG), the hub for research on Africa the ÌÇÐÄVlog. Hannah and I also founded the Age and Power in Africa (AaPiA) group. Since 2024, I am on the research committee of the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), one of the British Academy's BIRI. With Mwita Chacha, I am also currently starting the International Politics in Africa research network. If you are interested in joining the network, please be in touch. We will launch sometime in late 2024. In recent years, my research has been generously supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the ESRC Global Challenges Research Fund, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the German Foundation for Peace Research (DSF), the Gerda Henkel Foundation, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Appointments
ÌÇÐÄVlog
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Director of Impact, Department of Government, ÌÇÐÄVlog (1/9/2021 - present)
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Convenor, Africa Special Interest Group, ÌÇÐÄVlog (1/1/2021 - present)
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Director of Knowledge Exchange, Department of Government, ÌÇÐÄVlog (1/7/2019 - present)
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Convenor of ÌÇÐÄVlog Workshop on Development, ÌÇÐÄVlog (3/4/2017 - 30/6/2019)
Other academic
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Reader, Government, ÌÇÐÄVlog (1/10/2023 - present)
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Senior Lecturer, Government, ÌÇÐÄVlog (1/10/2020 - 30/9/2023)
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Lecturer, Government, ÌÇÐÄVlog (3/4/2017 - 30/9/2020)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
comparative politics
mixed methods inference
formal theory
field research design
Sub-Saharan Africa
indigenous governance
public goods provision
Conferences and presentations
African Studies Associate of the UK
African Studies Association of the UK, 1/5/2024
African Foreign Policy and Public Opinion
Invited presentation, Seminar, Center for African Studies, University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge, 8/2/2024
European Conference on African Studies
Biannual conference, European Conference on Africa Studies, Cologne, 18/9/2023
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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African Politics (GV241)
Previous supervision

Degree type: Master of Science
Awarded date: 5/10/2022
Publications
Journal articles (13)
Kern, FG. and Mustasilta, K., (2023). . Comparative Political Studies. 56 (8), 1224-1256
Kern, FG., Gleditsch, KS. and Cordell, R., (2023). . Governance. 37 (1), 137-159
Kern, F., Holzinger, K. and Kromrey, D., (2023). . Third World Quarterly. 45 (1), 113-132
Hartman, A. and Kern, F., (2020). . World Development. 127, 104804-104804
Cordell, R., Gleditsch, K., Kern, F. and Saavedra-Lux, L., (2020). . Journal of Peace Research. 57 (6), 777-788
Holzinger, K., Kern, F. and Kromrey, D., (2020). . Political Studies. 68 (4), 973-995
Haven, TL., Errington, TM., Gleditsch, KS., van Grootel, L., Jacobs, AM., Kern, FG., Piñeiro, R., Rosenblatt, F. and Mokkink, LB., (2020). . International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 19, 160940692097641-160940692097641
Kern, FG., (2018). . Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 12 (2), 166-181
Goist, M. and Kern, FG., (2018). . Research and Politics. 5 (1), 205316801775392-205316801775392
Genovese, F., Kern, FG. and Martin, C., (2017). . International Studies Quarterly. 61 (2), 236-252
Holzinger, K., Kern, FG. and Kromrey, D., (2016). . Political Research Quarterly. 69 (3), 469-481
Kern, FG. and Vossiek, J., (2015). . European Political Science. 14 (2), 137-148
kern, FG. and vossiek, J., (2015). Erratum: get organised: the ‘do’s’ preceding successful field research. European Political Science. 14 (2), 203-203
Reports and Papers (1)
Kern, F., Steinwand, M. and Diebire, S., (2025). WP209: Foreign policy congruence in Africa: Evidence on free movement and free trade
Grants and funding
2023
Linguistic injustice and inequality in the public domain
British Academy
Multilingualism, Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities of Practiced Linguistic Diversity
Economic and Social Research Council
2021
How are women's livelihoods affected by COVID-19 and related containment measures in fragile states? Leveraging existing impact networks in Northern Uganda
ÌÇÐÄVlog (GCRF)
2019
Improving women's livelihoods in fragile states - the case of women's land rights advocates in Uganda
ÌÇÐÄVlog (GCRF)
Visit of Uganda Land Alliance staff to ÌÇÐÄVlog in May/June for project planning meetings and impact exchange with London policy partners
ÌÇÐÄVlog (GCRF)
Training observation, testimonial collection of Uganda Land Alliance's Women's Land Rights Advocates Trainings, civil society workshop on improving women's livelihoods in fragile states
ÌÇÐÄVlog (GCRF)
Visit of Uganda Land Alliance staff to ÌÇÐÄVlog in May/June for project planning meetings and impact exchange with London policy partners
ÌÇÐÄVlog (GCRF)
2017
Evaluating the Household-level Impact of the Women's Land Rights Advocates in Uganda
ÌÇÐÄVlog
2016
Land Access and Conflict in Uganda: The Role of Women's Land Rights Advocates
Robert Bosch Stiftung
Contact
Academic support hours:
By appointment (on research leave)