This dissertation enhancement grant supports a U.S. graduate student enrolled at the University of Florida, Mr. Peter VonDoepp, working under the guidance of Dr. Goran Hyden, Professor of Political Science, to do field research in Malawi. The project will study the potential of churches to serve as elements of a democratizing civil society, employing as case studies, Malawi's Catholic Church and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. It will assess the churches as agents of political transformation, and as influences on habits and practices at the grass roots. The study will be conducted with the cooperation and assistance of the Department of Religious Studies at Chancellor College, the University of Malawi. At a time when democracy in many developing countries is under challenge from ethnic conflict and religious pluralism, this study by a promising young researcher can potentially yield important insights on the relationship between religion and political behavior. Malawi is one of the less-studied polities in Africa. This collaboration with the foreign institution provides a basis for future cooperation throughout the researcher's career.
