Nicole Beardsworth is a lecturer in politics at the University of the Witwatersrand and an honorary research fellow at the University of Warwick. Nicole holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Warwick, an MA in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford. Her PhD research focused on opposition parties and electoral coordination in Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Her broader research is on the history and politics of sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on political parties, governance, democratization and elections in Southern and Eastern Africa. Nicole is a regular writer for several academic blogs and newspapers, and a contributor to the BTI.