Kaleb Demerew, PhD

Dr. Kal Demerew is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at West Texas A&M University. His research focuses on the comparative political economy of development and conflict, with a regional specialization in Northeast Africa and the Red Sea. His research examines the institutional foundations of state-building and development, as well as external constraints on state agency and statecraft in Africa. His work has appeared in leading journals such as Journal of Institutional Economics, Nations and Nationalism, and Third World Quarterly, and he is the co-editor of Nile Basin Politics (Edward Elgar). He is currently completing two book manuscripts: Violence, Elites, and Institutions (under contract, SUNY Press) and Economic Freedom and Self-Governance in Africa (under contract, Routledge). His research has been supported by competitive grants and fellowships from the Center for Governance and Markets, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Mercatus Center. In 2025-26, Dr. Demerew will serve as a James Buchanan Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. He teaches a variety of International Affairs courses including Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Middle Eastern Politics, and also enjoys drawing on his comparative insights to teach core classes such as American Government and Leadership Theory.