Joseph Asunka

Joseph Asunka is Chief Executive Officer of Afrobarometer, a pan-African survey research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy and social issues across the continent. He has served in this role since April 2021. He previously worked as Program Officer in the Global Development and Population Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as Lecturer in Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and as Program Officer at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, where he also served as Afrobarometer’s data manager.

Joseph is a political scientist whose work focuses on democracy, governance, elections, distributive politics, migration and citizen participation in Africa. His research and leadership have contributed to strengthening public-opinion research and evidence-based policymaking across the continent. His work has appeared in journals including British Journal of Political Science, Research and Politics, and Population Research and Policy Review. 

He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as degrees in Statistics and Computer Science and in Economics from the University of Ghana. 

Areas of expertise: democracy, governance, social justice, civic engagement, political participation.