Desmond Okumbor

Politics (2021 cohort)

My current research focuses on the relationship between corruption and participation in African democracies. Although the increasing cost of corruption is gradually being acknowledged, its effect on democracies are under researched – especially in the Sub-Saharan African context. This research aims to conduct a country level analysis to study the effect of corruption on participation in Africa. My research aims to disentangle how high levels of corruption affects political participation and its underlying consequence for democracies. More broadly, my research interests include political corruption in Africa, public opinions, elections and developmental politics. 

Prior to joining the University of Oxford, I studied at the University of Glasgow for an MA in Politics where I graduated with a First-Class honours degree. Along with my studies, I was privileged to intern at the UK civil service, and worked full-time as a support analyst at Blackbaud Europe prior to my return to Academia.