School of Social and Political Science

Background

Qualifications

BA Hons (Stirling); MSc (Edinburgh); PhD (Edinburgh)

Biography

After a period teaching at a secondary school in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Tom studied History at the University of Stirling, Scotland, with courses concentrating on pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial central and east Africa. He then moved to Edinburgh and completed the MSc in African Studies at CAS, with a dissertation on women in the informal sector in South Pare; the area of Kilimanjaro where he taught. Tom then worked on African enterprise development at UNCTAD, Geneva, before undertaking his PhD, also at CAS. His doctoral thesis, 'Food, Carvings and Shelter: the adoption and appropriation of information and communication technologies in Tanzanian micro and small enterprises', is said to be the earliest ethnographic study of the effect of mobile phones and the internet on business in an African economy, and is listed in the GSMA Development Fund’s Top 20 Research on Economic and Social Impacts of Mobile Phones in Developing Countries. Some of the findings from this study were written up during a postdoctoral fellowship ('Information and Communication Technology in the African Market'), held jointly at the Centre of African Studies and the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology & Innovation. All his funding at CAS was supported by the ESRC, as was his post as advisor on ICT in developing countries at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Westminster. Tom then moved to the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he was a postdoctoral fellow. Tom has served as a long-term election observer with The Carter Center for the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, as a short-term observer for the European Union Election Observation Mission to Malawi in 2009, for the Carter Center's 2013 election observation mission in Kenya, as a long-term observer for the European Union's 2014 Election Observation Mission to Malawi, the EU's 2015 Election Observation Mission to Tanzania and for the EU's 2017 mission to Kenya. And then Brexit happened. He has since run a number of UKRI-funded research projects (see 'Funded research', above).

Teaching

Tom lectures on International Development, Aid and Humanitarianism (UG) and is convenor of Governance, Development and Poverty in Africa (PG).

Publications: peer-reviewed academic, peer-reviewed policy

Macdonald, R., Molony, T. and Lihiru, V. 2024. ‘The Reception of Covid-19 Denialist Propaganda in Tanzania’. Journal of Southern African Studies, 49 (4), pp. 697-716

Macdonald, R. and Molony, T. 2023. ‘Future Pandemics and Elections: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Central African Republic, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania’. Journal of African Elections, 22 (2), pp.46-67 

Macdonald, R. and Molony, T. 2023. ‘Can Domestic Observers Serve as Impartial Arbiters?: Evidence from Zambia's 2021 elections’ [Open Access]. Democratization, 30 (4), pp.635-653

Molony, T. and Macdonald, R. 2023. ‘Tips for Journalists and Editors who Cover Election Observation’. Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa project output

Macdonald, R. and Molony, T. 2022. ‘Local Perceptions of Election Observation in Africa: Preliminary findings’. Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa project working paper

Molony, T. and Macdonald, R. 2022. ‘Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa: Preliminary findings’. Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa project working paper

Falisse, J-B., Macdonald, R., Molony, T. and Nugent, P. 2021. ‘Why Have So Many African Leaders Died of COVID-19?’. BMJ Global Health, 6 (5), pp.1-6. https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/5/e005587

Macdonald, R. and Molony, T. 2021. ‘Holding Elections during Future Pandemics and Other Emergencies: Evidence-Based Recommendations’, African Elections during the COVID-19 Pandemic project working paper, with Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Molony, T. and Macdonald, R. 2021. ‘Reducing the Transmission of COVID-19 during African Elections: technical considerations’, African Elections during the COVID-19 Pandemic project working paper no.5

Molony, T. 2021. ‘COVID-19 and Kenya’s March 2021 By-Elections’, African Elections during the COVID-19 Pandemic project working paper no.4

Nugent, P., Asiamah, G., Molony, T. and Selormey, E. 2021. ‘COVID-19 and Ghana’s 2020 Elections’, African Elections during the COVID-19 Pandemic project working paper no.2

Lihiru, V., Macdonald, R. and Molony, T. 2021. ‘COVID-19 and Tanzania’s 2020 Elections’, African Elections during the COVID-19 Pandemic project working paper no.1

Baynham-Herd, Z., Bunnefeld, N., Molony, T., Redpath, S. and Keane, A. 2020. ‘Intervener trustworthiness predicts cooperation with conservation interventions in an elephant conflict public goods game’ [Open Access]. People and Nature, 2 (4), pp.1075-1084. 

Molony, T. and Macdonald, R. 2019. ‘Re-evaluating international observation of Kenya’s 2017 elections’. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 13 (4), pp.601-620

Dwyer, M. and Molony, T. (eds.) 2019. Social Media and Politics in Africa: Democracy, Censorship and Security. London: Zed

including: Dwyer and Molony, 'Mapping the Study of Politics and Social media Use in Africa', pp.1-18;

Dwyer, Hitchen and Molony, 'Between Excitement and Scepticism: The role of WhatsApp in Sierra Leone’s 2018 Elections', pp.105-128.

(See also 'Social media is reinforcing political power structures in Africa more than it’s challenging them' in Quartz Africa)

Molony, T. 2019. 'Social media warfare and Kenya’s conflict with Al Shabaab in Somalia: A right to know?' [Open Access]. African Affairs, 118 (471), pp.328-51

Baynham-Herd, Z., Redpath, S., Bunnefeld, N., Molony, T., and Keane, A. 2018. 'Conservation conflicts: Behavioural threats, frames, and intervention recommendations' [Open Access]. Biological Conservation, 222 (June), pp.180–88

Molony, T. 2015. 'Julius Kambarage Nyerere: His formative years'. In Remembering Julius Nyerere in Tanzania: History, Memory, Legacy, ed. M.-A. Fouéré, pp. 65-72. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota

Molony, T. 2014 (2016, paperback). Nyerere: The early years. Oxford: James Currey

("old school historical research at its best" - Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University Berlin in 2017, 'Tanzania's First Leader', Journal of African History, 58 (3), pp.510-2, p.511. See also reviews by, inter alia, Richard Stupart at the LSE, and the late indomitable Ian Taylor at St Andrews in The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.) 

Molony, T. 2012. Editorial: 'ICT and Human Mobility: Cases from developing countries and beyond' [Open Access]. Information Technology for Development, 18 (2), pp.87-90

Molony, T. 2011. 'Bioenergy policies in Africa: Mainstreaming gender amid an increasing focus on biofuels' [Open Access]. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 5 (3), pp.330-341  

Molony, T. and Smith, J. 2010. 'African Biofuels'. BioFuels Journal, Third quarter, pp.64 

Molony, T. and Smith, J. 2010. 'Biofuels, food security, and Africa' [Open Access]. African Affairs, 109 (436), pp.489-498 

Molony, T. 2009. 'Carving a Niche: ICT, social capital and trust in the shift from personal to impersonal trading in Tanzania'. Information Technology for Development, 15 (4), pp.283-301

Molony, T. 2009. 'Trading Places in Tanzania: Mobility and marginalisation in a time of travel-saving technologies'. In de Bruijn, M., F. Nyamnjoh, I. Brinkman (Eds.) Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa, Yaoundé/Leiden: Langaa/Afrika Studiecentrum, pp.92-109

Molony, T. 2008. 'Running Out of Credit: The limitations of mobile telephony in a Tanzanian agricultural marketing system'. Journal of Modern African Studies, 46 (4), pp.637-658

Molony, T. 2008. 'The Role of Mobile Phones in Tanzania's Informal Construction Sector: The case of Dar es Salaam'. Urban Forum, 19 (2), pp.175-186

Molony, T. 2008. 'Non-Developmental Uses of Mobile Communication in Tanzania'. In Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies, Katz, J.E. (ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp.339-352

Molony, T. 2007. 'I Don't Trust the Phone; It Always Lies: Social capital and information and communication technologies in Tanzanian micro and small enterprises'. Information Technology and International Development, (MIT Press) 3 (4), pp.67-83

Molony, T. and Hammett, D. 2007. 'The Friendly Financier: Talking money with the silenced research assistant'. Human Organization, 66 (3), pp.292-300

Molony, T., Richey, L. and Ponte, S. 2007. ''Darwin's Nightmare': A critical assessment'. Review of African Political Economy, 113 (34), pp.598-608

Other Publications: reports and miscellaneous

The Conversation: Election observers are important for democracy – but few voters know what they do

The East African: Election observers are important, but few voters know what they do

Molony, T. 2011. 'Cultural expression in Tanzania' in World and Its Peoples - Sub-Saharan Africa, Volume 6 Eastern Central Africa and the Indian Ocean. New York: Marshall Cavendish, pp.835-836

Molony, T. and Smith, J. 2010. 'Biofuels in Africa: Growing complexities' in Africa Energy Yearbook 2010. Surrey: EnergyNet, pp.61-64

Molony, T. and Mussaffer, N. (eds.) 2010. 'Bioenergy Advance Market Commitments (AMCs) in Sri Lanka'. PISCES Policy Brief no.5. Nairobi: PISCES

Molony, T. 2009. 'Nyerere: The formative years' in Julius Kambarage Nyerere: Life, Times, Legacy. London: FIRST

Molony, T. 2009. 'Tanzania Palm Oil' in Practical Action Consulting, ed. Small-scale bioenergy initiatives: Brief description and preliminary lessons on livelihood impacts from case studies in Asia, Latin America and Africa, pp. 76-80. Nairobi and Rome: PISCES and FAO

Molony, T. and Smith, J. 2009. 'Sustainable Biofuels Crops and Access in Developing Countries'. PISCES Working Brief no.2. Nairobi: PISCES

Molony, T. 2006. ICT in Developing Countries. POST Note briefing document for members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Westminster