Melani Cammett
Associate Professor of Political Science:
Political Science
Phone: +1 401 863 1570
Melani_Cammett@Brown.EDU
Melani Cammett's research interests include comparative politics and political economy (development, social welfare, institutional change, business-government relations), methodology (research design and qualitative methods), and Middle Eastern and North African politics.
Biography
Melani Cammett is Associate Professor of Political Science, the Dupee Faculty Fellow at the Watson Institute, and a faculty associate at the Population Studies and Training Center at Brown University. She specializes in the political economy of development and the Middle East and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on comparative politics, development, and Middle East politics. Cammett's first book, Globalization and Business Politics in North Africa: A Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2007) examines how global economic integration affects state-business relations and industrial development, focusing on Morocco and Tunisia. Her second book, Compassionate Communalism: Welfare and Sectarianism in Lebanon (Cornell University Press, 2014), explores how sectarian organizations allocate social welfare goods. The book is based on extensive research in Lebanon with additional case studies of organizations in Iraq and India. An article based on this research won the 2011 Alexander L. George Award of the Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Section of the American Political Science Association. Cammett's co-edited book, The Politics of Non-State Social Welfare in the Global South (Cornell University Press, 2014), examines the political consequences of non-state welfare provision n diverse regions. Her current research focuses on public and social goods provision by Islamists and other types of public and private actors in several Middle Eastern countries. With the support of the Mellon Foundation, she will spend the 2013-2014 academic year at the Harvard School of Public Health to work on this project. Cammett has published articles in Comparative Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, the International Journal for Equity in Health, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, World Politics, and other scholarly journals. Cammett holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and has consulted for various development policy organizations.
Interests
Melani Cammett's new book project, "Compassionate Communalism? Welfare and Sectarianism in the Middle East," focuses on how people gain access to services in plural societies with extensive non-state provision of social welfare. The project is based on a comparative study of health care, schooling and short-term loans in Lebanon with extensions to Iraq, Palestine and elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East.
This project is supported by grants from the Smith Richardson Foundation, U.S. Institute of Peace, Academy Scholars Program of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, and Salomon Faculty Research Grant at Brown University. The research involves extensive fieldwork in Lebanon, including survey and archival research, GIS analysis, and in-depth interviews with government officials, representatives from international organizations, local social service providers, and beneficiaries of social service programs. An article based on this research won the 2011 Alexander L. George Award of the Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Section of the American Political Science Association.
Cammett's first book, "Globalization, Business Politics and Development: North Africa in Comparative Perspective" (Cambridge University Press, 2007) examines how integration in global manufacturing chains reshapes business politics in developing countries, situating Morocco and Tunisia in broader comparative perspective. This project received support from the Social Science Research Council, the American Institute for Maghrib Studies and U.C. Berkeley. She has also published articles in World Politics, Comparative Politics, World Development, Studies in Comparative International Development, and other scholarly journals.
Degrees
Ph.D., M.A.L.D., M.A.
Awards
• New Directions Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (2013-2014)
• Dupee Faculty Fellow, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University (2012-2013)
• 2011 Alexander L. George Award, Section on Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, American Political Science Association.
• "Health and Social Protection in Weak States: Comparative Research on the Middle East," International Research on Public Health Seed Grant, Office of International Affairs, Brown University (2010-2011)
• Junior Faculty Research Grant, International Security and Foreign Policy Program, Smith Richardson Foundation (2007-2008)
• United States Institute of Peace Grant (September 2005-2007)
• Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies Scholarship, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University (2005-2006, 2007-2008)
• Faculty research grant, Department of Political Science, Brown University (2004-2005)
• Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award, Brown University (2004-2005)
• Nominee, Karen T. Romer University Teaching Award, Brown University (2004)
• Faculty research grant, Department of Political Science, Brown University (2003-2004)
• Kappa Alpha Theta Mentoring Award, Brown University (2003)
• Simpson Fellowship for research in international and comparative studies, Institute for International Studies, University of California, Berkeley (2001-2002)
• Social Science Research Council International Dissertation Research Fellowship (1999-2000)
• American Institute for Maghrib Studies dissertation grant (1999-2000)
• Social Science Research Council International Predissertation Fellowship Program Fellowship (1997-1998)
• Distinction, Comparative Politics Qualifying Examination, U.C. Berkeley (March 1997)
• The Berkeley Fellowship (1995-1997, 2000-2001)
• Fulbright IIE Fellowship, Jordan (1994-1995)
• Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, Arabic language study (1993-1994)
• Program on Southwest Asia and Islamic Studies grant, The Fletcher School (Summer 1993)
• Fletcher School Fellowship (1992-1993)
• Graduated Cum Laude, International Relations, Brown University (1991)
Affiliations
• American Political Science Association
• International Studies Association
• Middle East Studies Association
• American Institute for Maghrib Studies
• American Association of University Professors
• American Association of University Women
Teaching
Melani Cammett teaches courses on comparative politics, the political economy of development, globalization, state-building and social welfare, and Middle East politics.
Funded Research
Current Grants:
Junior Faculty Research Grant, International Security and Foreign Policy Program, Smith Richardson Foundation (2007-2008)
United States Institute of Peace Solicited Grants Program, project title: "State-Building and Social Services in Divided Societies," September 2005-August 2006
Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies Scholarship, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; 2005-2006, 2007-2008
Political Science Department research grant, Brown University; 2005
Completed Grants:
Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Award, Brown University; 2004-2005
Political Science Department research grant, Brown University; 2004
Simpson Fellowship for research in international and comparative studies, Institute for International Studies, University of California, Berkeley; 2001-2002
Social Science Research Council International Dissertation Research Fellowship; 1999-2000
American Institute for Maghrib Studies dissertation grant; 1999-2000
Social Science Research Council International Predissertation Fellowship Program fellowship; 1997-1998
The Berkeley Fellowship; 1995-1997, 2000-2001
Fulbright IIE Fellowship, Jordan; 1994-1995
Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, Arabic language study; 1993-1994
Program on Southwest Asia and Islamic Studies Grant, The Fletcher School; summer 1993
Fletcher School fellowship; 1992-1993
