Ellison Tjirera teaches sociology at the University of Namibia, Windhoek. For more than a decade as a researcher, Tjirera has been associated with the Windhoek based think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research as well as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare. His academic interests include urban studies, post-apartheid societies, parliamentary democracy, gender studies and governance issues. Tjirera holds a PhD in sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is an associate of Democracy Without Borders.