Edward McMahon
Visiting Associate Professor of Political Science
- Office
- Munroe Hall 121
- edwardm@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 - 10:30 & by appt.
Edward McMahon has been a Visiting Associate Professor in the Political Science Department since 2022. He teaches courses on African politics and governance. He also holds a joint appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor of Community Development and Applied Economics, and Political Science, at the University of Vermont, where he has taught since 2003. From 1999-2003 he was Dean’s Professor of Applied Politics and Director of the Center on Democratic Performance (CDP) at Binghamton University (SUNY). From 1989-98 he was Senior Program Officer and Regional Director for East, Central and West Africa at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He previously spent 10 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, specializing in African Affairs.
McMahon is the immediate past chair of the Board of the Vermont Council on World Affairs, is Vice Chair of the Election Reformers Network, and a Board Member of UPR-Info, human rights organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. McMahon has served as Senior Advisor for Democracy and Governance Evaluation in USAID’s Policy and Program Coordination Bureau. He has also consulted for numerous organizations working in the international development field, including the Carter Center, USAID, the UN Development Program, the World Bank, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and a number of non- and for-profit entities. Much of this work has been in Sub-saharan Africa. Dr. McMahon also has direct experience designing, implementing, and evaluating projects related to strengthening civil society, elections, and political party development.
Dr. McMahon has co-authored or co-edited three books. These include Piecing a Democratic Quilt: Universal Norms and Regional Organizations (Bloomfield: Kumerian Press, 2006). He is also co-editor and contributor to African State Governance: Subnational Politics and National Power (Palgrave Press, 2015), and Democratic Institution Performance: Research and Policy Perspectives (Greenwood/Praeger, 2002). He has also contributed many journal articles and book chapters in edited and peer-reviewed publications on a range of African governance and development issues. Dr. McMahon’s research also includes analysis of the functioning of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Courses Taught
PSCI 0202
Current
African Politics
Course Description
African Politics
This course surveys the challenges and possibilities that Sub-Saharan Africa presents in our era of globalization. We will look at the process of state formation to appreciate the relationships between historical legacies and political and economic development. Themes include state formation, democratic governance, sustainable development, and Africa in world affairs. Topics such as colonial rule and national responses, authoritarian rule, ethnic politics, the debt burden, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and natural resource politics will be discussed. Case studies from English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking Africa will be used to illuminate such relationships. 3 hrs lect/disc. (Comparative Politics)/
Terms Taught
Requirements
PSCI 0431
Current
African Government
Course Description
African Government
Sub-Saharan Africa has been described as being in a state of permanent crisis, a place where disorder and chaos reign and states are chronically weak. How do political systems form and thrive under such conditions? What accounts for their survival in the face of tremendous political, economic, and environmental challenges? We will investigate the distinctive characteristics of African political systems, the different governance models throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, and the types of public goods or public ills these systems have produced. We will also have the opportunity to more deeply appreciate the real-life consequences for displaced Africans through a service-learning component. 3 hrs. sem. (Any one PSCI course) (Comparative Politics)/
Terms Taught
Requirements
Publications
Searching for the Holy Grail: The Evolution of USAID Legislative Support Programming Sociology and Anthropology, 2017 vol. 5 (9), 2017.
Levan, A. Carl., Fashagaba, Joseph, and McMahon, Edward R. (eds). African State Governance: Subnational Politics and National Power. New York: Palgrave Press, 2015.
McMahon, E., Busia, K. and Ascherio, M. Comparing Peer Reviews: The Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council And the African Peer Review Mechanism, African and Asian Studies, vol. 12, no.3, 2013.
McMahon, E. and Ascherio, M. A Step Ahead in Promoting Human Rights? The Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Global Governance, vol. 18, no. 2, 2012. Peer reviewed.
McMahon, E. and Kornheiser, E., Assessing the Assessments: Correlating Democracy Measurement Methodologies, Social Indicators Research Journal, vol. 97, no. 2, June 2010.
McMahon, Edward R. and Baker, Scott. Piecing a Democratic Quilt: Universal Norms and Regional Organizations. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press, 2006.
Contributing Editor, Political Handbook of the World 2001-2002. Binghamton: CSA Publications, 2003.
McMahon, Edward R. and Sinclair, Thomas (eds). Democratic Institution Performance: Research and Policy Perspectives. Westport: Praeger, 2002.