Nicolas van de Walle June 25, 1957 – July 15, 2024 Nicolas van de Walle, the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences and a former director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, died on July 15, 2024, at the age of 67. Nic, as he was affectionately known, was one of the most accomplished and influential scholars of African politics and the political economy of development of his generation. He was universally recognized as a dedicated and fair-minded leader within the Cornell community and the international network of African scholars. Known for his kindness, generosity, and warm sense of humor, Nic is greatly missed by his family, friends, and colleagues in the field. Nic was born in Brussels on June 25, 1957, and spent his childhood in Belgium, Burundi, and the United States. From early years he was a voracious reader, a sensitive friend, and a curious traveler. His fondest memories from his youth included large family gatherings, vacations and wanderings with his sister and brothers, competitive tennis matches, and discovering rock and roll. Nic became an avid, life-long tennis player, and after becoming a professor, a devoted fan of the sports teams at the universities where he taught. Nic went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in International Relations in 1979. He earned his M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1980. He then worked in Brussels at the European Community and in Tunisia with the United Nations. During this period, he met the great companion and love of his life, Michèle. He long appreciated her intellect, her humor, her energy in any and every situation, and the sense of unity and grounding that they gave one another. Nic pursued doctoral studies at Princeton University and also worked as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, D.C.. He earned his Ph.D. from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1990. His first professorial appointment was at Michigan State University, where he taught from 1990 to 2004 and established himself as an intellectual leader in the study of African politics and political economy. He was a fellow of the Overseas Development Council from 1994 to 2000 and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development from 2001-12. During their time in East Lansing, Nic and Michèle became parents and raised two daughters, Nadia and Juliette. Nic was utterly devoted to his children and took immense joy in raising them. Ever present, he was endlessly patient, profoundly loving, and always encouraging. Nic imparted deep passions through shared explorations of book series, playlists, recipes, sports, and art. He consistently brought his family brightness and laughter-- whether adding a glass of port to a late night poker game, suggesting one more episode of a Jane Austen miniseries, adding escargots as an appetizer, or taking “the back roads” on a drive. He offered wisdom constantly…“il faut de tout pour faire un monde” (“it takes all sorts to make a world”); “le meilleur est l'ennemi du bien” (“the best is the enemy of the good”); “to win you gotta take shots”; and “less is more!” when writing. While at Michigan State, Nic published three edited volumes on African political economy and four book manuscripts. With Henry Bienen, he co-authored Of Time and Power: Leadership Duration in the Modern World (Stanford University Press, 1991). He was the lead author of Improving Aid to Africa (Johns Hopkins University Press for the Overseas Development Council, 1996), and the co- author with Michael Bratton of a landmark study of democratic transitions in Africa, Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 1997). Arguably his most influential book, African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979- 1999, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2001. This book earned Nic the prestigious Gregory M. Luebbert Prize from the American Political Science Association for the best book in the field of comparative politics. It redefined the study of African political economy by directing attention to the ways in which patrimonial state authority and elite interests undermined economic development, blocked essential institutional and market reforms, and produced a politics of perpetual crisis. Nic relocated to Cornell in 2004 to assume a leadership role as the director of the Einaudi Center and professor of government. Valerie Bunce, the Aaron Binenkorb Professor of International Studies Emerita and chair of the government department at the time of his hire, recalls how she and the search committee chair Jonas Pontusson “settled very quickly on Nic as the ideal candidate for the job. We really hoped that he would apply—and he did. He had made so many important contributions to our reading of the political economy of both economic and democratic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. We appreciated the attention he paid to both large questions—such as the future of democracy in Africa and the political-economic logic of neo-patrimonial politics—and the small details of how politics plays out on the ground—for instance, how politicians court voters and assemble coalitions. We knew Nic had a lot to teach us; we were excited by having a specialist in Africa on board; and we could see from his writings that he would easily and quickly become a valued member of our community of comparativists.” It did not take long for Cornell to recognize Nic’s many talents as a program leader and administrator. In addition to serving as Einaudi Center director from 2004-2008, he was appointed associate dean for international studies by the College of Arts and Sciences from 2005-2008, and he served as chair of the government department from 2011-2014. He also wrote the Africa book review section for Foreign Affairs (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/nicolasvan-walle) from 2004 until his death. Even while bearing a heavy administrative and service load, Nic remained highly engaged in his research and teaching activities. During his time at Cornell, he published two more books: Overcoming Stagnation in Aid-Dependent Countries (Center for Global Development, 2005), and Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990: Change in Continuity (Cambridge University Press, 2018), which he co-authored with one of his former Ph.D. students, Jaimie Bleck. He also co-edited four volumes on foreign aid, democracy, and development in Africa and beyond, including Problems, Promises, and Paradoxes of Aid: Africa’s Experience (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015), which he co-edited with Cornell Law Professor Muna Ndulo; The Oxford Handbook of the Politics of Development (Oxford University Press, 2018); and his final book, Democratic Backsliding in Africa? Autocratization, Resilience, and Contention (Oxford University Press, 2022). Nic was equally accomplished as a teacher and mentor for his students. Jaimie Bleck, Ph.D. 2011, now an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, recalls that he was “Humble, kind, brilliant, generous, and funny – Nic is a role model for all of us. Nic encouraged us, believed in his students – often before we believed in ourselves – and he made us better scholars, but he also saw us as people first.” Valerie Bunce remembers how Nic “loved to work with students. He never stopped being ‘delighted’ by graduate and undergraduate students. He was interested in them as people, and he wanted to know them and help them. I remember how good he was about going to practice job talks—not just his graduate students, but others. My own students loved to have him show up for their talks. He was so supportive, and he asked precisely the kinds of questions that students could really use.” Professor Emeritus Ron Herring, who has fond memories of swapping notes with Nic about fishing excursions on Cayuga Lake, especially appreciated his eagerness to teach the government department’s challenging introductory course to comparative politics. “Nic became enthusiastic about it, in ways only he could be. He was creative and dedicated to what was widely considered a burden, but which he bore lightly. We were thrilled. Yet there is a more fundamental point: as Nic firmly believed, the comparative method and mindset represent demonstrably great deficits or assets in the intellectual capital that makes or breaks a rational democracy.” Nic’s reputation as a teacher extended far beyond Cornell. The African Politics Conference Group of the American Political Science Association, which honored Nic with its Distinguished Africanist Award in 2022, stated that he was “an inspiring teacher who cared deeply about his students and their academic success. When he felt that students were not quite getting something, he showed heartfelt concerns and did not hesitate to redesign a lecture at the last minute. His undergraduate students often praised him for his kindness and compassion. Nic was also known for being an incredible mentor and Ph.D. advisor. When advising, Nic let his students explore topics they were passionate about while providing the guidance and support they needed to succeed. Nic did not want his students to become a version of himself; he wanted them to produce ‘interesting work.’ He also provided opportunities for students to build their profiles and promoted their work without taking credit for their success. His students will always cherish the memories of these two-hour meetings where they discussed — in addition to African politics-related topics — his failed fishing expeditions on Cayuga Lake, the chipmunk invasions that destroyed his blueberry harvest, his beloved grandchildren, and numerous fieldwork anecdotes. At the end of a meeting, his students often left with a long reading list, sometimes blackcurrant jam from his garden, but always a sense of reassurance and contentment.” Colleagues from across Cornell also shared their high esteem for Nic as a scholar, teacher, and member of the community. As stated by fellow Africanist Rachel Beatty Riedl, the Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Center on Global Democracy in the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, and a professor in the Brooks School and the government department, “Our cherished friend and colleague Nic van de Walle has shaped the field of political science, and African politics in particular. His insights into the politics of economic policymaking and ‘permanent crisis,’ the driving forces of regime dynamics, electoral politics and democratic transitions continue to underpin the foundations of comparative politics.” But for all his academic and professional accomplishments, it was Nic’s human qualities for which he will be most remembered. Thomas Pepinsky, the Walter F. LaFeber Professor in the Department of Government and professor in the Brooks School, remembers Nic as “an important leader, a wonderful colleague, and a kind and generous soul with a sharp wit and an easy smile.” Ken Roberts, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government, says that “Nic was not only an intellectual giant in the study of African politics and the political economy of development, but also one of the field’s most well-liked and highly respected figures. Everyone who worked with Nic appreciated his wisdom, compassion, and good humor; he never failed to make Cornell a better place.” In the words of Peter Katzenstein, the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, “Nic’s interests were capacious. He was humane. And the twinkle in his eye signaled a tolerance of life’s many absurdities. Nic taught me that a light touch can leave a deep imprint.” Nic is survived by his wife Michèle van de Walle, his daughters Nadia van de Walle and Juliette van de Walle, Nadia’s husband Gen Gillespie, and their three children: Coralie and Daphné van de Walle and Nicolas Gillespie. The Cornell community remembers Nic with enormous fondness and gratitude. Written by Ken Roberts, Peter Katzenstein, Valerie Bunce, and Rachel Beatty Riedl