Dr Aleida Borges

Biography

Dr Aleida Borges leads the Grassroots Women Leaders research stream at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (GIWL), and a Visiting Lecturer at the African Leadership Centre at King's.

Her research offers critical perspectives on grassroots organising and politics, women’s rights, representation and participation, diaspora political participation and youth politics in the Global South (Africa & Latin America). She is a jurist by training, specialising in International Public Law (Human Rights), occasionally consulting as country-expert for Cabo Verde. 

Aleida leads the Internship Programme at GIWL and is the SSPP representative on the Research Staff Representative Committee (RSRC). She has authored several reports and publications in peer-reviewed edited collections, journals in English and Portuguese and is currently co-editing a volume focusing on the global impact of lockdowns (Routledge). Aleida has taught modules including Digital Politics, Social and Political Analysis of Emerging Economies, and Digital Research Methods.

Research

• Women Grassroots Leadership
• Gender and Development
• Social Movements
• Youth Politics
• Politics, Culture and Society in Lusophone Africa & Brazil
• State-Society Relations: Minorities & 'minorised-majorities'

Aleida's research focuses primarily on the portuguese speaking world, with particular emphasis on Lusophone Africa and Brazil. She seeks to contribute to debates that challenge perspectives on Africa. Aleida works with young people who are community leaders and fully engaged in development practice from the bottom-up. She also focus particularly on women grassroots activism and leadership; and their contribution to development. 

As a 'Global South' scholar working in the 'Global North', Aleida is committed to initiatives that seek to highlight the power imbalances inherent in our interactions, as researchers, with the Global South and as such seek to collaborate with colleagues in reorienting the privileges of academic power towards the Global South.

Aleida invities PhD students interested in the following themes: grassroots leadership, activism, women's rights and political participation, Lusophone African and Brazilian politics, youth politics and social movements. 

Further details

See Aleida's research profile