His research and teaching interests lie in the areas of African politics and political economy, with a particular emphasis on business-state relations, anti-corruption programs, and economic reform. Regionally, Taylor’s work is concentrated in Southern and Eastern Africa. He served as Senior Political Advisor for the Carter Center’s Democracy Program in southern Africa and Visiting Research Fellow at the Christian Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway. He has traveled widely in Africa, and resided in Zimbabwe and Zambia, where he was a visiting research associate at the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, and at the Institute for African Studies in Zambia. He has also served as an election observer in several African countries, including Zambia, Nigeria and Mozambique