Graduate School of Public Policy

Dr Riccardo Pelizzo is a Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at Nazarbayev University. Dr Pelizzo is an internationally recognized political development specialist.
Dr Pelizzo's research focuses on issues of political development, institutional reform and institutional performance in developing countries. After designing measures and benchmarks for assessing parliaments' capacity and performance, he is currently devising several diagnostic tools to measure political stability and other dimensions of good governance.

Dr Pelizzo is the Associate Editor of Politics and Policy. He is the recipient of several fellowships, scholarships, competitive grants and awards. In addition to editing 3 volumes, Dr Pelizzo has authored 7 monographs and more than 50 peer reviewed articles. His studies have appeared or been translated into 11 languages (Arabic, Bahasa, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Kazakh and Vietnamese).

In addition to keeping an active research agenda, he has engaged academic and non-academic audiences in 25 countries and has provided expert opinion to constitutional drafters, institutional reformers, and legislatures in developing countries from Africa, Asia and the Pacific region.

Recent publications

Books

1. Africa at the Crossroads, Milano, Prospero, pp. 119.
2. Tourism in Africa, Milano, Prospero, (with Abel Kinyondo), pp.119.
3. The culture of accountability, London, Routledge, 2022 (with Gianfranco Pasquino), https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003312000

Articles

1. “The interplay between religion, traditional beliefs, and socioeconomic development: insights from four emerging economies”,Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Syir’ah , vol. 22, n. 2, pp. 186-206 (with Ahmad Harakan, Moise Koepko, Nygmetzhan Kuzenbayev and Abel Kinyondo). 2024. The Interplay Between Religion, Traditional Beliefs, and Socio-Economic Development: Insights from Four Emerging Economies | Harakan | Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Syir'ah
2. “Witchcraft Beliefs and Conspiracy Theorizing: Evidence from Tanzania and Cross-National Datasets”, Politics and Policy , vol. 52, n. 6, pp. 1377-1398 ( with Nygmetzhan Kuzenbayev and Abel Kinyondo). 2024 https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12639
3. "The Conditional Effects of Party System Change on Economic Growth in Africa", Acta Politica (with Zim Nwokora and Anton Pak). 2024. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-024-00366-2
4. “Beyond religion: superstition, traditional beliefs and the extreme right”, World Affairs , vol. 186, n. 4, pp. 978-1018 (with Nygmentzhan Kuzenbayev). 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203101
5. “Traditional Practices and Support for the Strongman’s Rule”, World Affairs , vol. 186, n. 4, pp. 951-977 (with Nygmentzhan Kuzenbayev). 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203094
6. “Traditional Beliefs and Electoral Behavior. Some Evidence from Togo”, World Affairs , vol. 186, n. 4, pp. 925-950 (with Abel Kinyondo, Nygmetzhan Kuzenbayev and Yao Moise Koepko). 2023 https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203017
7. “Traditional beliefs and electoral behavior in Indonesia”, World Affairs, vol. 186, n. 4,  pp. 896-924 (with Ahmad Harakan and Nygmetzhan Kuzenbayev). 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203005
8. “Modernization, Superstition and Cultural Change”, World Affairs , vol. 186, n. 4, pp. 869-895 (with Daulet Turganonv and Nygmetzhan Kuzebayev). 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231203012
9. “Magic, Rationality and Politics: The Political Consequences of Traditional Beliefs”, World Affairs, vol. 186, n. 4, pp. 852-868 (with Omer Baris). 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00438200231202996
10. “Political stability, confidence in future and values”, Social Sciences, vol. 12 n. 2, 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12020082 (with Nygmetzhan Kuzenbayev). 2023.
11. “Sobriety, human dignity and public morality”: ethical standards in Kazakhstan, Public Money and Management, vol. 43, n. 2, pp. 156-164 (with Colin Knox). 2023. available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1948671

Book chapters

1. “Democracy and governance. A conceptual analysis of a contested relation” in Mark Thompson and Stephen McCarthy (eds.), Governance and Democracy in the Asia-Pacific: Political and Civil Society, London, Routledge, pp- 26-47.
2. “Democracy, Accountability, and Parliaments”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 127-143.
3. “Free and Fair Elections”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 41-58.
4. “Preventing corruption by eradicating academic corruption”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 37-40.
5. “A review of anti-corruption measures”, ”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 25-36.
6. “Corruption: causes and consequences”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 11-24.
7. “Public Accounts Committees in Eastern Africa”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 143-166 (with Abel Kinyondo).
8. “Nigerian Public Accounts Committees in Global Perspective”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 107-126 (with Aminu Umar).
9. “The costs of party system change: The case of Tanzania”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 89-106 (with Abel Kinyondo and Zim Nwokora).
10. “A functionalist theory of oversight”, in R. Pelizzo (ed.), Understanding Good Governance, Saarbruecken, Lambert Academic Publishing, pp. 59-88 (with Abel Kinyondo and Aminu Umar).
11. “Il sistema di partito predominante: problemi e prospettive”, in Gianfranco Pasquino (ed.), Classico fra i classici. Parties and party systems quarant’anni dopo. Analisi e interpretazione dei mutamenti nei sistemi partitici, Genova, Erga editore, (with Zim Nwokora), pp. 11-33.