Associate ProfessorZim Nwokora

I'm a political scientist specialising in the comparative study of political institutions, especially constitutions, political parties and political finance. My research is motivated by the practical goal of understanding how politics can be structured in order to achieve better governance.

I'm a comparativist by training and orientation, but I pay particular attention to politics in Australia, Britain, the United States and Nigeria. I'm a keen participant in interdisciplinary conversations about institutions that include constitutional lawyers, political philosophers, and political economists.

In recent years, some of the individual and collaborative research projects I've undertaken include the following:
(i) Study of how constitutions can be designed to adapt to changing political systems over time.
(ii) Investigation of the evolution of constitutional norms in liberal democracies.
(iii) Development of a new measure of 'party system change' and its application across Africa.
(iv) Research on parliamentary ethics and culture in Australia.
(v) Analysis of how democracies can/should respond to disinformation.

I currently serve as Associate Head of School, International and Engagement. Before taking up this role in April 2025, I served as Course Director of Deakin's Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (BPPE). I'm also actively involved with the Alfred Deakin Institute, the POLIS research network, and the Parliamentary Careers and Workplaces project. Beyond Deakin, I'm active in various networks including the Political Organizations and Parties (POP) sections of the American Political Science Association and Australian Political Studies Association, the UK Political Studies Association, and the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S). I have collaborated with parliaments, electoral commissions and public policy think tanks. 

Prior to commencing at Deakin in 2016, I held postdoctoral fellowships at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne (2013-2016) and at the Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University (2010-2013).