Dr Lívia de Souza Lima joins DIMAS in March 2026 as a postdoctoral research associate. Prior to this position, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality–Inequality in Latin America (Mecila) in São Paulo (2025), and a junior fellow at the Research Group Global Contestations of Women’s and Gender Rights at the Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF), University of Bielefeld (2020–2022). Dr de Souza Lima earned her PhD in InterAmerican Studies from Bielefeld University, where her dissertation examined Black women’s representative practices in Brazil.
Her research explores how democratic institutions and political representation are reshaped through the practices and imaginaries of actors historically excluded from full citizenship. Combining political sociology, Black feminist theory, and discourse-theoretical approaches, her work examines racialised and gendered dynamics of political legitimacy, institutional contestation, and democratic transformation in Latin America and transnational governance arenas. More broadly, her research investigates the relationship between political performance, institutional constraints, and emancipatory imaginaries.
At DIMAS, Dr de Souza Lima will develop the project Backstage Imaginaries: Spatial Dimensions of Black Women’s Political Organising in Latin America and the Caribbean. The project examines how Black women’s organisations create alternative political spaces and collective imaginaries through preparatory and organisational practices that precede visible political performances. Moving beyond front-stage political claims, it analyses meetings, strategy sessions, and knowledge-sharing practices as backstage activities through which transformative visions of racial equality, environmental justice, and democratic participation are generated and articulated.
At the University of Regensburg, she will teach courses in political representation, democratic theory, Black feminist political thought, and qualitative and ethnographic research methods.
Office: Room BA.808, Bajuwarenstraße 4
E-Mail: livia.de-souza-lima(at)ur.de (opens your email program)
Phone: +49 941 943-68533
CV
Academic Positions
| from March 2026 | Research Associate at the Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies (DIMAS), University of Regensburg |
| 2025 | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality–Inequality in Latin America (Mecila), São Paulo |
| 2020-2022 | Junior Fellow, Research Group “Global Contestations of Women’s and Gender Rights”, Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF), University of Bielefeld |
Academic Education
| 2025 | Ph.D. in InterAmerican Studies, Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies (LiLi), University of Bielefeld Dissertation: Occupying Politics: Black Women Reimagining Power and Representation in Rio de Janeiro’s Legislative Assembly (summa cum laude) |
| 2019 | M.Sc. in Politics, Economics and Philosophy, University of Hamburg |
| 2015 | B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, Fundação Escola de Sociologia e Política de São Paulo (FESPSP), São Paulo |
Research
Research Interests
Topics
- Black women political organising in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Black feminisms in the Americas
- Institutional and Non-Institutional Political Representation
- Social imaginaries and social transformation
- Feminist practices of resistance
- Brazilian politics
Approaches
- Critical race studies
- Radical democratic theory
- Political representation theory
Methods
- Political ethnography
- Discourse analysis
Publications
Monographs
- De Souza Lima, L. (forthcoming 2026/27). “Occupying Politics: Black Women Reimagining Power and Representation in Rio de Janeiro's Legislative Assembly.” Albany: SUNY(State of New York University Press). [Book contract signed September 2025]
- De Souza Lima, L. 2024. “Feminisms in Movement. Theories and Practices from the Americas.” Bielefeld: Transcript. Co-editor with Edith Otero Quezada and Julia Roth
Chapters in Edited Volumes
- De Souza Lima, L. 2025. “Mit cuerpo-territorio gegen rechte Körperpolitiken? In: Autor:innenkollektiv Terra-R: Vom Ende rechter Räume. Kritik der Territorialisierung der Radikalen Rechten.” Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot. Co-authored with Katharina Schmidt & Anke Schwarz
- De Souza Lima, L. 2024 “The Politics of Presence of Black Women Politicians in Brazil. Reclaiming ‘Political Representation’ as a Territory to be Occupied.” In: Environments of Inequality. Crisis, Conflicts, Comparisons. Kipu Verlag
- De Souza Lima, L. 2024. “The Feminist and Decolonial Pedagogy of Lélia Gonzalez and Sueli Carneiro.” In: Feminisms in Movement. Theories and Practices from the Americas
- De Souza Lima, L. 2023. “Feminismo Negro (Black Feminism)”. In: Feminismos em Movimento. Belo Horizonte: Editora Luas. Camila Galetti and Jéssica Melo Rivetti (Eds.)
Book Reviews
- De Souza Lima, L. 2023. “Antiqueere Rhetorik. Wie die Bolsonaros in Brasilien ein Feindbild LGBTIQ* konstruieren” by Diana K. Leschzyk. Femina Politica - Zeitschrift für feministische Politikwissenschaft. doi.org/10.3224/feminapolitica.v32i2.21
Articles
- De Souza Lima, L. 2026 “Rethinking Castoriadis' Crisis of Autonomy and Imagination: A Critical Engagement with Augusto Boal and Chela Sandoval.” In: Theory, Culture and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632764251411847
- De Souza Lima, L. 2025. “There is No Death Penalty in Brazil: Unsettling Astonishments as an Aesthetic of Resistance of Black Women Politicians.” In: Krisis, Journal for Contemporary Philosophy, 45(1): 5-22. https://doi.org/10.21827/krisis.45.1.42388
- De Souza Lima, L. 2025 “From Colonial Benevolence to Transnational Solidarity: Shifting Frames in International Development through Black Feminism.” In: Development in Practice,1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2544032
- De Souza Lima, L. 2025. “Decolonising Democratic Legitimacy. The Social Movement Standpoint and the Case of the Homeless Workers Movement in Brazil.” In: Third World Quarterly, 46(14): 1695-1714. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2025.2495925
- De Souza Lima, L. 2022. “Violence Against Black Women in Politics: Experiences and Testimonials from Brazil. In: Femina Politica. doi.org/10.3224/feminapolitica.v31i2.05. Co-authored with Ligia Fabris and Mayra Goulart da Silva
- De Souza Lima, L. 2014. “Caminhos da Participação Cidadã em São Paulo: um estudo do Conselho Participativo Municipal (Paths of Citizen Participation in São Paulo: a study of the Municipal Participatory Council).” In: Revista Parlamento e Sociedade. Co-authored with Cláudio Luis de Camargo Penteado and Thiago Henrique Desenzi
Technical Reports
- Coelho, R. and De Souza Lima, L. 2021. ‘Os Conselhos das Subprefeituras da Cidade de São Paulo.’Notas Técnicas. Políticas Públicas, Cidades e Desigualdades - CEM. centrodametropole.fflch.usp.br/sites/centrodametropole.fflch.usp.br/files/cem_na_midia_anexos/07-nota_tecnica_conselhos_participativos
Teaching and Science Communication
Projects and Networking
Committee work and academic functions
| 2026–present | Co-Chair, Standing Group on Political Representation, European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) |
| 2024–present | Section Chair, European Conference on Politics and Gender (ECPG) |
| 2022–2024 | Co-Leader, Working Group 3 “Decolonise Development Practices”, COST Action Decolonise Development |
| 2021–present | Research Group Member, Mulheres Eleitas (Elected Women), UFRRJ/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro |
Fellowships and Research Networks
| 2025 | Post-Doctoral Fellow, Maria Sibylla Merian Centre Conviviality–Inequality in Latin America (Mecila), São Paulo |
| 2024 - present | Network Member, COST Action Democratization at Stake? Comparing Anti-Gender Politics in CEE and NME Countries |
| 2020-2022 | Junior Fellow, Research Group “Global Contestations of Women’s and Gender Rights”, Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF), University of Bielefeld |
External Reviews
- Revista Plural
Estudos Sociales del Estado
Grants and Funding
| 2025 | Short Research Stay Grant, El Colegio de México (Colmex), funded by Mecila |
| 2023 | Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) Grant, COST Action 19129, University of Coimbra |
| 2021 | Workshop Grant, Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF), International Workshop: Radical Democracy and the Representation of Gender Rights |
| 2020-2024 | Doctoral Fellowship, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) |
| 2012-2013 | “Ciência sem Fronteiras” Fellowship, Brazilian Federal Ministry of Education |
Lectures and Conferences
(selected)
| 2026 | European Conference on Politics and Gender (ECPG), Gender and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean ECPR General Conference — Section Chair, Political Representation in Contested and Polarised Times |
| 2024 | European Conference on Politics and Gender (ECPG) — Section Chair Humboldt University Berlin — Black and Decolonial Feminisms ECPR Joint Sessions — Political Violence in Brazil |
| 2023 | University of Vienna — Democracy and Radical Imagination: Castoriadis Revisited |
| 2022 | LASA Annual Conference |
| 2021 | International Political Science Association World Congress |
| 2020 | ANPOCS Annual Meeting Swiss Political Science Association Annual Conference |
Event Organisation
| 2024 | Section Organisation, European Conference on Politics and Gender (ECPG) |
| 2021 | International Workshop: Radical Democracy and the Representation of Gender Rights, ZiF, University of Bielefeld |