Aili Mari Tripp

Aili Mari Tripp is Vilas Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research has focused on gender/women and politics, women’s movements in Africa, transnational feminism, authoritarian politics in Africa, and the informal economy in Africa. She is author of Why African Autocracies Promote Women as Leaders (Oxford University Press, 2025) and several award-winning books, including Seeking Legitimacy: Why Arab Autocracies Adopt Women’s Rights (2019), Women and Power in Postconflict Africa (2015), African Women’s Movements: Transforming Political Landscapes (2009) with Isabel Casimiro, Joy Kwesiga, and Alice Mungwa, and Women and Politics in Uganda (2000). She has served as the President of African Studies Association, Vice President of the American Political Science Association, and a co-editor of the American Political Science Review.