Michael Roll, PhD
Department
Transformation of Political (Dis-)order
Function
Researcher
Specialization
Sociology
Work areas
- Challenges of policy implementation and public sector reform
- Leadership selection, gender and bureaucratic performance
- Adaptive approaches to public management and development cooperation
- Transversal governance for urban sustainability transformation
- Corruption and anti-corruption reform
Regional expertise
- Africa
- Latin America
Responsibilities in education and training
- Adaptive approaches to public management and development cooperation
- Urban and sustainability governance
- Corruption and anti-corruption reform
- Professional reflection
Vita
| since 4/2019 | German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) (until 6/2022 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)) Researcher, Research Department "Transformation of political (dis-)order: Institutions, values & peace" |
| 9/2012 - 5/2025 | University of Wisconsin-Madison PhD, Sociology |
| 11/2019 - 5/2020 | Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Senior Policy Officer, Division for governance, democracy and rule of law |
| 11/2016 - 8/2018 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Lecturer, Department for Sociology |
| 6/2016 - 10/2016 | Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Interim Country Representative and Office Manager, FES Nigeria |
| 9/2012 - 5/2016 | University of Wisconsin-Madison University Fellow Lecturer, Department for Sociology |
| 11/2010 - 8/2012 | Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Advisor, Africa Department, Berlin |
| 5/2007 - 10/2010 | Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Country Representative and Office Manager, FES Nigeria |
| 9/2005 - 4/2007 | Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Project assistant, FES South Africa |
| 10/2004 - 5/2005 | German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) Participant, 40th Postgraduate Programme |
| 9/2000 - 7/2004 | Universität Bielefeld Diplom, Sociology (Focus: International Development) |
| 1/2000 - 11/2001 | Stellenbosch University BPhil, Society, Culture and Identity (Sozialanthropologie) |
| 4/1998 - 12/1999 | Philipps-Universität Marburg Vordiplom, Sociology |
Refereed Publications
- Roll, Michael / Florencia Almansi / Jorgelina Hardoy / Simone Gatti / Ariadne Samios / Lucas Turmena / Mariana Campos / Gorka Zubicaray (2025)
Laboratorios urbanos más allá de Europa: conformación y contextualización de la gobernanza climática experimental en cinco ciudades latinoamericanas
in: Medio Ambiente y Urbanización 100 (1), 257-292 - Roll, Michael / Florencia Almansi / Jorgelina Hardoy / Simone Gatti / Ariadne Samios / Lucas Turmena / Mariana Campos / Gorka Zubicaray (2024)
Urban labs beyond Europe: the formation and contextualization of experimental climate governance in five Latin American cities
in: Environment and Urbanization 36 (1), 173-194 - Roll, Michael (2023)
From pockets of effectiveness to topographies of state performance?
in: Sam Hickey (ed.), Pockets of Effectiveness and the Politics of State-building and Development in Africa, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 245-260 - Roll, Michael (2014)
Comparative analysis: deciphering pockets of effectiveness
in: Michael Roll (ed.), The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries, Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 194-241 - Roll, Michael (2014)
The state that works: a "pockets of effectiveness" perspective on Nigeria and beyond
in: Thomas Bierschenk / Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan (eds), States at work: dynamics of African bureaucracies, Leiden: Brill, 365-398 - Roll, Michael (2014)
The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries
Abingdon, New York: Routledge - Roll, Michael (2014)
Introduction: The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries
in: Michael Roll (ed.), The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries, Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 1-21 - Roll, Michael (2014)
Pockets of effectiveness: review and analytical framework
in: Michael Roll (ed.), The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries, Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 22-42 - Roll, Michael (2014)
Turning Nigeria's drug sector around: the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
in: Michael Roll (ed.), The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries, Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 97-127 - Hofmann, Katharina / Jürgen Kretz / Michael Roll / Sebastian Sperling (2007)
Chinese, African, and European perspectives on the China-Africa Summit
in: International Politics and Society 2/2007, 75-90 - Roll, Michael (2004)
Autonomous politicians and the local state in Sri Lanka: on the social organisation of politics and administration
in: International Quarterly for Asian Studies 35 (3-4), 263-293
Non-refereed Publications
- Kornprobst, Tim Lukas / Roll, Michael / Becker, Adin et al. (2025)
Using PDIA to improve waste management in Amman
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School, Building State Capability - Megatrends Afrika (ed.) (2024)
Joint Futures: ideas for Germany’s Africa Policy - Ideen für die deutsche Afrikapolitik
in: Megatrends Africa Working Paper 12 - Guerra, Flávia / Monique Menezes / Lucas Turmena / Alejandra Ramos-Galvez / Simone Sandholz / Michael Roll / Camila Alberti / Tátila Távora (2024)
TUC Urban Lab Profile: Alliance for the Residencial Edgar Gayoso, Teresina, Brazil
TUC Profile No. 10, Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Turmena, Lucas / Flávia Guerra / Altiere Freitas / Alejandra Ramos-Galvez / Simone Sandholz / Michael Roll / Isadora Freire / Millena Oliveira (2024)
TUC Urban Lab Profile: Alliance for the Centre of Recife, Brazil
TUC Profile No. 9, Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Roll, Michael / Marisol Romero Magallán / Andrea Ramírez / Flávia Guerra / Alejandra Ramos-Galvez / Simone Sandholz / Mariana Campos-Sánchez / Gorka Zubicaray / Óscar Jair Pozos-Espinosa / Andrea Villasís-Escobedo / Ana Iris Enríquez-Alcaraz (2024)
TUC Urban Lab Profile: Naucalpan, Mexico
TUC Profile No. 8, Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Ramírez, Andrea / Sabrina González Barbosa / Flávia Guerra / Alejandra Ramos-Galvez / Simone Sandholz / Michael Roll / Mariana Campos-Sánchez / Ana Iris Enríquez-Alcaraz / Andrea Villasís-Escobedo / Óscar Jair Pozos-Espinosa (2024)
TUC Urban Lab Profile: León, Mexico
TUC Profile No. 7, Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Guerra, Flávia / Julia Nesprias / Alejandra Ramos-Galvez / Lucas Turmena / Simone Sandholz / Michael Roll / Jorgelina Hardoy / Florencia Almansi / Macarena Ochagavía / Fernando Almansi (2024)
TUC Urban Lab Profile: Barrio 20, Buenos Aires, Argentina
TUC Profile No. 6, Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Turmena, Lucas / Flávia Maia / Flávia Guerra / Michael Roll (2022)
Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) City Profile: Teresina, Brazil
Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Turmena, Lucas / Aline Lusieux / Simone Sandholz / Flávia Guerra / Michael Roll (2022)
Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) City Profile: Recife, Brazil
Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Guerra, Flávia / Marisol Romero Magallán / Acoyani Adame / Gorka Zubicaray / Michael Roll / Lucas Turmena (2022)
Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) City Profile: Naucalpan, Mexico
Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Guerra, Flávia / Alex Caldera-Ortega / Daniel Tagle Zamora / Gorka Zubicaray / Acoyani Adame / Michael Roll / Lucas Turmena (2022)
Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) City Profile: León, Mexico
Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security - Guerra, Flávia / Gabriela Merlinsky / Jorgelina Hardoy / Daniel Kozak / Michael Roll / Tobías Melina / Pablo Pereira (2022)
Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) City Profile: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bonn: United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) - Roll, Michael / Christian von Haldenwang / Christina Grohmann / Maria Elisabeth Gronen / Anne Laible / Johanna Orth / Florian Wengel / Lisa Zumegen (2022)
Decarbonising cities: assessing governance approaches for transformative change
(Studies 107) - Roll, Michael (2021)
Institutional change through development assistance: the comparative advantages of political and adaptive approaches
(Discussion Paper 28/2021) - Roll, Michael (2011)
Breaking the resource curse politically: direct oil revenue distribution and taxation in the Gulf of Guinea
in: Michael Roll / Sebastian Sperling (eds.), Fuelling the world - failing the region? Oil governance and development in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 171-181 - Roll, Michael / Sebastian Sperling (2011)
Conclusion: solutions to the resource curse reconsidered
in: Michael Roll / Sebastian Sperling (eds.), Fuelling the world - failing the region? Oil governance and development in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 208-224 - Roll, Michael / Sebastian Sperling (eds.) (2011)
Fuelling the world - failing the region? Oil governance and development in Africa's Gulf of Guinea
Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung - Roll, Michael (2011)
Introduction: Resource governance, development and democracy in Africa's Gulf of Guinea
in: Michael Roll / Sebastian Sperling (eds.), Fuelling the world - failing the region? Oil governance and development in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 8-31 - Leiderer, Stefan / Benjamin Hodick / Esther Kabey / Michael Roll / Stefanie Schnitzer / Julia Ziegenbein (2007)
Public financial management for PRSP implementation in Malawi : formal and informal PFM institutions in a decentralising system
(Studies 28) - Roll, Michael (2006)
A political economy analysis for democracy promotion
Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) - Roll, Michael (2006)
A political economy analysis for development cooperation: the "drivers of change" approach
Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) - Rechmann, Werner / Michael Roll (2006)
Südafrikas ANC: Wahlsieger trotz Protesten
in: Afrika Süd: Zeitschrift zum Südlichen Arika 35 (2), 8-10
Opinion Pieces
- Roll, Michael (2025)
Warum Deutschland seine Entwicklungs- und Klimapolitik jetzt stärken sollte
published on background.tagesspiegel.de, 08.04.2025 - Roll, Michael (2023)
Africa’s future will be decided in its cities
published on megatrends-africa.de, Blog Joint Futures 33, 08.12.2023 - Roll, Michael (2023)
Approaches for the implementation of a feminist development policy
Bonn: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), The Current Column of 6 March 2023 - Roll, Michael (2022)
Urbanization, the Climate Crisis, and the Role of the G7
Bonn: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), The Current Column of 12 September 2022 - Roll, Michael / Tim Kornprobst (2021)
How COVID-19 is highlighting the benefits of a localisation of development cooperation
Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), The Current Column of 3 May 2021 - Roll, Michael (2020)
What we can learn from and about Africa in the corona crisis
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), The Current Column of 2 April 2020 - Roll, Michael (2012)
Demokratie statt Ressourcenfluch: ein neues Modell für ölreiche Entwicklungsländer
Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), (FES Perspektive) - Roll, Michael (2011)
Öl und Spiele: Libyen braucht ein Steuer- und Transfer-Modell, um eine Demokratie zu werden
in: Financial Times Deutschland 17. November 2011, 24 - Roll, Michael (2008)
"Baba Go-Slow": wachsende Ungeduld mit Nigeria's Präsident Yar'Adua
Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), (FES Perspektive)