Summary
My research examines how political order and democratic legitimacy are shaped under conditions of insecurity. Using African cases as a starting point, I study how terrorism, armed violence, and riots reshape political and economic attitudes, and how citizens adjust their expectations of political authority. I also investigate the conditions under which democratic norms can be sustained or strengthened in conflict-affected settings.
More broadly, my work is driven by a central question: how can democratic governance remain legitimate when security is uncertain? To address this, I combine qualitative and quantitative methods—including process tracing, randomised controlled trials, spatial analysis, and online survey experiments—to identify both causal effects and the mechanisms through which political attitudes and authority are reconfigured.
Research Interests
I am a Research Associate working at the intersection of political science, economics, and international relations, with a focus on:
Political order, democratic legitimacy, and authoritarian dynamics under insecurity
The political economy of conflict and violence
External influence, aid, and global power shifts in Africa
Civic education, political communication, and democratic attitudes
Peace, conflict resolution, and governance in fragile and conflict-affected settings
My research contributes to broader debates on how political authority is constructed and contested, using Africa as a lens to address global challenges related to democracy, legitimacy, and conflict.
Current Projects
The DEMED Project: Democracy Under Threat
Democracy promotion in the context of Terrorism
Effect of Terrorism on Democratic Support in Africa
Co-authored with Anja Neundorf.
Publications
Published:
Yameogo, S.(2025). Proximity to Riots: Spatial Exposure and Attitudes Toward the Police in Africa. Social Forces. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaf203. Also available as an AfroBarometer Working Paper.
Yameogo, S., Neundorf, A., & Ozturk, A. (2025). Promoting democracy in the context of terrorism: experimental evidence from Burkina Faso. Political Science Research and Methods. Published online 2025:1-21. doi:10.1017/psrm.2025.10075
Yameogo, S., & Neundorf, A. (2025). The Impact of Terrorism on Democratic Support in Africa. Journal of Conflict Resolution. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220027251409402. Also available as an Afrobarometer Working Paper.
Yameogo, S.(2020). Adopting Local Languages as Official Languages: Effect on Women and Rural Individuals’ Labor Force in Burkina Faso. KDI Journal of Economic Policy. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23895/kdijep.2020.42.2.31
Revised and Resubmit (R&R) and Under Review:
Minelli Zuffa S. M., Yameogo S., Kaunert C. (Forthcoming). Securitisation, Military Regimes in West Africa, and Burkina Faso
Yameogo, S. (2026). Revolutionary State-Building and the Politics of Conflict: Antagonism, Contestation, and the Collapse of Sankara’s Burkina Faso (1983-1987) [Under Review]. A preprint is available here.
Yameogo, S. . Hierarchies of Political Fear: Democratic Legitimacy under Chronic Insecurity - Evidence from Burkina Faso. Working paper (OSF preprint), under Review
Policy brief
Yameogo, S., Bote, R., Edeh, J., Misganaw, B., Oguguo, P. C., Owusu, R. A., & Quagrainie, F. A. (2025). Creating Wealth Our Own Way: How Innovation, Research, and Inclusion Can Drive Africa’s Economic Future. Policy paper. Presented at the EVI4DEV Webinar [See Presentation slides],(Online), April 2025.[see Policy brief]
Work in Progress:
Neundorf, A.; Foos, F.; Öztürk, A.; Rascón Ramírez, E.; Yameogo, S. Prebunking for Democracy: Experimental Evidence on Modes of Civic Reasoning Training.
Media Contributions (selected)
Yameogo, S(2025). Conflict and Democracy: Africa’s Dilemma. Afrique XXI.[Link to the article].
Yameogo, S (2025). Sankara, le Démocrate: Héritier ou imposteur ? ThomasSankara.net. [Link to the article]
Conference Presentations
Centre for Pan-African Studies, SOAS University of London (21 October 2025)
University of Edinburgh’s Centre of African Studies (15 October 2025)
OTH Summer School at NATO Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (CCOE) (The Hague - August 2025)
International Political Science Association (IPSA), Seoul (July 2025)
European Political Science Association (EPSA), Madrid (June 2025)
Barcelona Workshops on Mass Attitudes and Democratic Resilience (April 2025)
Western Political Science Association Annual Conference (WPSA), San Francisco, California (April 2023)
UN General Assembly Science Summit (September 2022)
Korean Public Administration Summer Conference (June 2023)
Korean Association for Policy Analysis and Evaluation (KAPAE) (August 2023)