Leonardo Villalón
Professor | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
Leonardo A. Villalón is a professor of political science and African studies.
Biography
Leonardo A. Villalón is a professor of political science and African studies, and former dean of the International Center. He is also founder and coordinator of the UF Sahel Research Group. His research specialization is on contemporary African politics and in particular on the countries of the Sahel region of West Africa: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad. He has carried out research on numerous topics, including Islam and politics, religion and educational reform, democratization and elections, social change and institutional reform, and the impact of climate change on the region
Areas of Expertise (8)
West Africa
Post-Colonial Studies
Economics
Developing World
Africa
Emerging Markets
Islam and Muslim Studies
Religion & Politics
Media Appearances (5)
UF Summer study abroad trips canceled, moved to end of Summer
The Independent Florida Alligator online
2021-03-08
The UF International Center is deciding on a case-by-case basis whether the more than 500 study abroad programs currently available should operate, UFIC Dean Leonardo Villalón said. He said some programs have been or will be canceled because they haven’t fulfilled their enrollment quotas.
University of Florida is a top producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars
UF News online
2021-03-02
“Despite the changes brought about by the pandemic, the Fulbright mission remains the same and the International Center continues to support faculty and staff interested in exploring international exchange and collaborations through Fulbright”, said Dr. Leonardo Villalón, Dean of the International Center. “We feel honored to be a part of Fulbright’s 75 Anniversary Celebration.”
A Democratic Breakthrough for Niger?
World Politics Review online
2021-02-18
Voters in Niger will return to the polls this Sunday for a runoff election that will determine outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou’s successor. The subsequent transition will mark the first time in the country’s history that one elected president replaces another.
Pandemic pushes steep drop in foreign college students
ABC News online
2020-11-16
“The confluence of the pandemic and these policies has created an incredibly tough situation,” said Leonardo Villalon, dean of the University of Florida's International Center. “International higher education is under the greatest stress it has been in decades.”
Democratic Struggle, Institutional Reform, and State Resilience in the African Sahel
Foreign Affairs online
2020-10-01
his excellent collection of studies of six Francophone countries in the Sahel region of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal) examines the impact of democratization on state building since the early 1990s. The supporters of democratization assumed that it would produce more legitimate and effective central states.
Articles (1)
The Undoing of a Semi-authoritarian Regime: The Term Limit Debate and the Fall of Blaise Compaoré in Burkina Faso
The Politics of Challenging Presidential Term Limits in AfricaDaniel Eizenga and Leonardo A. Villalón
2020-04-03
After twenty-seven years in power, a wave of popular protest against an expected effort to change constitutional term limit provisions forced President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso to resign and flee the country in late 2014. In this chapter, we argue that the surprising collapse of Compaoré’s seemingly well-entrenched semi-authoritarian regime was the outcome of long processes of institutional debates and incremental reform, which ultimately undermined Compaoré’s control.
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