Ursula Scheidegger

Biography

"Dr Ursula Scheidegger is a researcher in the Safeguarding Democracy project and coordinates the project on the South African side. In her contribution to the Safeguarding Democracy project, she works on a comparative study of populist politics and the gender and minority discourses they produce in Switzerland and South Africa. Together with Professor Sheila Meintjes, she is also working on a survey of popular conceptions of democracy in both countries. This study focuses on what citizens understand as democracy and how they envisage political participation.

"Ursula Scheidegger has worked on social movements in South Africa, local political structures, civil society and popular participation. She worked with Professor Tom Lodge on Political Parties and Governance in South Africa, which was published by the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA). Ursula Scheidegger has contributed a chapter How to Make Democracy Work? to the book The Resolution of African Conflicts, and a chapter Mobility and the Promotion of Public Transport in Johannesburg to the book Mobilities and Inequality."

Affiliations

• Member, Safeguarding Democracy