Elisabete Azevedo-Harman is Assistant Professor at the Political Studies Institute of the
Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon, Portugal.
Her research interests include democratization and political transitions, contemporary African
politics and political institutions, mainly parliaments.
Her doctoral dissertation on parliaments and citizens in Africa was completed at the University of
Cape Town, South Africa. The thesis analyses public opinion data on parliaments from eighteen
African countries, focusing on the Mozambican parliament and its role in democratization in that
country.
Azevedo-Harman lived in South Africa for six years, from where she conducted research in several
African countries. She then integrated a team at the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva.
She has acted as a EU observer for elections in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea
Bissau, Liberia and Zambia..
Her recent publications include:
O Semipresidencialismo na Guiné-Bissau: Inocente ou Culpado da Instabilidade Política?” chapter in the edited
volume Costa, & Amorim.2009.“O semipresidencialismo nos países de língua portuguesa”.
Post-Conflict Elections in Africa: Liberia and Guinea Bissau in Comparative Perspective. 2008. CODESRIA.
Semi-Presidentialism in Guinea Bissau: The Lesser of Two Evils, chapter in the edited volume: Elgie, R.
2007. Semi-Presidentialism out of Europe.
“Parliaments in Africa: “Context and Constitutional Design". Contribution to the Special Issue of The
Journal of Legislative Studies on Comparing and Classifying Legislatures. 2006.
“Do political legacies affect people’s trust in political institutions?” 2005. Cape Town: Centre for Social Science
Research. (CSSR Working paper).
Forthcoming publications:
“Parliaments in the land of the Big Man”. The Journal of Legislative Studies, vol 17, 2011.
“De Inimigos a Adversários Públicos? O Parlamento e os parlamentares em Moçambique.”,.2011. Texto Editora,
Moçambique.