Department of Development Studies

Mary Mensah

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Key information

Roles: Department of Development Studies PhD Student in International Development
Department: Department of Development Studies
Qualifications: BA Adult Education & Human Resource Studies and Political Science (UG-Ghana), MSc African Development (LSE-London)
Email address: 713496@soas.ac.uk
Thesis title: From Promises and Performance: Investigating the Making and Breaking of Political Promises by Ghanaian Political Parties (2000- 2016).
Internal Supervisors: Professor Carlos Oya

Biography

Mary Mensah is a PhD student in International Development at SOAS, University of London.

Mary’s PhD thesis seeks to examine how the interactions between political mobilization strategies, electoral competition, institutional constraints, and socioeconomic realities influence government behavior and democratic practices in competitive African democracies. Mary’s project will also critically explore the factors that influence the formulation of political parties’ promises, such as the appraisal of human, capital, and material resources required for their successful implementation. More importantly, her project aims to emphasize the impact of aid relations on the conduct of programmatic politics in the context of Ghana’s competitive democracy.

Before starting her PhD journey at SOAS, Mary worked with the Ghana Boundary Commission, a state institution responsible for managing the territorial boundaries of Ghana as the Corporate Head. She has also actively followed political developments in Ghana and is highly interested in issues related to governance, policy development, and aid relations.

Mary holds a master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA degree from the University of Ghana-Legon.