Nicholas Lyon

Graduate Student Research Funding | 2020 - 2021 Academic Year

Tolerance in the Metropolis? Urbanization and Inter-group Relations in Africa

Due to rapid urbanization, populations in African countries are increasingly concentrated in large, diverse cities. While some propose that inter-group relations should be more strained in cities due to group-based competition, others suggest that urban life moderates conflict by normalizing contact with diverse populations. Despite the importance of inter-group relations for development outcomes, little work has been done to understand how urbanization affects inter-group tolerance. This work addresses these theoretical and empirical gaps by measuring urban-rural differences on inter-group toleration, assessing why cities may be more (or less) tolerant than the countryside, and examining heterogeneity across contexts in urban-rural differences.

Nicholas Lyon, Department of Political Science

Nicholas Lyon is a PhD student in political science. He holds BA degrees in political science and economics from Columbia University and an MSc in African development from the London School of Economics. Prior to coming to Stanford, Lyon worked as an associate at ID insight in Nairobi, Kenya. Lyon’s current work focuses on social change, citizen-state relations, and the management of diversity in sub-Saharan Africa with a particular emphasis on the inclusion of marginalized populations. He has conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia.

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