Niamh Gaynor

Niamh was appointed to DCU's School of Law and Government in 2009 where she is currently an Associate Professor of International Development.
She holds a PhD in Sociology from Maynooth University, and an MSc in Rural Development and a BSc (hons) in Botany and Mathematics, both from University College Dublin. She has worked with a number of development agencies and NGOs conducting field research and project evaluations in Africa and Central Europe.
Her research focuses on how social and political inequalities are produced and reproduced. Her work to date has focused on exploring the conditions under which more marginalised groups and communities wield political influence at local and national levels. She has conducted field research in a wide range of African countries (most recently, Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Malawi), as well as in Ireland. Her recent book (2022), Engendering Democracy in Africa: Women, Politics and Development is published by Routledge and is freely available on Open Access here. She is currently (2022-2023) working on a co-edited book on the history of development education in Ireland. This is co-edited with Eilish Dillon (Maynooth University), Gerard McCann (Queen's University) and Stephen McCloskey (Centre for Global Education, Belfast).

Niamh also serves on the editorial board of Policy and Practice - a Development Education Review. She also regularly serves as a reviewer for a wide range of international journals and book publishers.

Research interests
The politics of development, participation and governance - in Africa and in Ireland; civil society and community; media and development.