Fiona Shen-Bayh Promoted to Associate Professor

The Department of Government and Politics is pleased to announce the promotion of Fiona Shen-Bayh to Associate Professor.

Shen-Bayh's research focuses on authoritarian regimes, with particular attention to the legal and judicial instruments of power. Her work examines how courts and legal systems operate in nondemocratic contexts, especially in postcolonial Africa.

She is the author of Undue Process (Cambridge University Press, Studies in Law and Society Series), which earned three major book awards in 2023: the Theodore J. Lowri First Book Award, the Giovanni Sartori Book Award, and the Juan Linz Best Book Prize in the Comparative Study of Democracy and Autocracy.

Her research has been published in leading journals, including the American Political Science Review, The Journal of Politics, and World Politics, and has received support from organizations including the National Science Foundation, the Institute of International Studies, and the Global Research Institute.

Shen-Bayh holds a joint appointment in the Department of Government and Politics and the College of Information Studies. She is also a research affiliate of the Centre on Law and Social Transformations at the University of Bergen.

Promotion to Associate Professor recognizes significant achievements in research, teaching, mentorship, and service and reflects a faculty member's growing impact within their field and the university community.

Please join us in congratulating Fiona Shen-Bayh on this well-deserved achievement.

Published on Thu, 06/25/2026 - 10:43