Research
My research examines how citizens and democratic institutions respond to one another, particularly when established channels of representation and accountability fall short. Across my work, I am interested in who gets heard by political institutions, how citizens respond when they do not, and how political relationships can be rebuilt after periods of exclusion, violence, or institutional failure.
I pursue these questions through three connected areas of research: democratic accountability and political behaviour, political inclusion and institutional reform, and post-conflict governance and trust. Although much of this work is rooted in Latin America, the projects speak to broader questions about representation, legitimacy, and the capacity of democratic institutions to respond to citizens.
Democratic Accountability and Political Behaviour How do citizens evaluate democratic institutions?
My first area of research examines how citizens evaluate and contest democratic institutions when representation and accountability fall short. I focus particularly on protest and political legitimacy, asking how political context shapes citizens’ willingness to challenge institutions while continuing to make demands of them.
Current Projects
Understanding Protesters’ Attitudes about the Political System (under review)
This project revisits the conventional view of protesters as engaged democratic citizens. Using public opinion data from across Latin America, it examines how the relationship between protest participation and support for the political system changes across political contexts.
Winners, Losers, and Protest Voters: How Executive Turnover and Party Tenure Shape the Legitimacy Gap (under review)
This project examines how electoral outcomes and opportunities for political renewal shape differences in political legitimacy among winners, losers, and protest voters. It focuses particularly on how executive turnover and the length of a governing party’s tenure condition citizens’ evaluations of the political system.
Selected Publications
“Deprivation in the Midst of Plenty: Citizen Polarization and Political Protest.” (2020) — British Journal of Political Science 50: 1–17. With John D. Griffin and Chad Kiewiet de Jonge.
“Behavioral Consequences of Corruption: Protest.” (2024) — In Handbook on Gender and Corruption in Democracies. Edward Elgar, pp. 338–358. With Karolina Mathesová.
“Is the Informal Sector Politically Different? (Null) Answers from Latin America.” (2018) — World Development 102: 170–182. With Andy Baker.
Political Inclusion and Institutional Reform How do institutions respond to historically marginalized citizens?
My second area of research examines how democratic institutions respond to demands for greater political inclusion among historically marginalized groups. I am particularly interested in when institutional reform produces meaningful changes in representation, responsiveness, and access to political institutions.
Current Projects
Resistance in the Streets and in the Courts: Socioenvironmental Conflict in Bolivia and Colombia (work in progress)
With Adriana Molina Garzón. This project examines how the introduction of Indigenous-rights and environmental legislation has reshaped Indigenous political participation in Bolivia and Colombia. We study how institutional reforms have changed the political opportunities available to Indigenous groups and the mechanisms they use to make demands on the state, focusing particularly on environmental mobilization in the streets and through the courts.
Judicial Reform, Indigenous Political Participation, and Democratic Inclusion in Bolivia (work in progress)
This project examines how major institutional reforms reshape relationships between courts, citizens, and historically marginalized communities. Drawing on Bolivia’s experience with judicial elections and plurinational constitutional reform, it investigates whether reforms intended to increase accountability and representation alter judicial performance, Indigenous access to justice, and broader patterns of political participation.
Selected Publications
“Activists, Parties, and the Expansion of Trans Rights in Bolivia.” (2024) — Comparative Politics 56(3): 321–343. With Callan Hummel.
“Reluctant Entrepreneurs, Informality, and Micro-Businesses in Bolivia’s Transgender Community.” (2024) — Revista Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Económico 42: 11–42. With Callan Hummel and Luna A. Humerez Aquino.
“Shifting Political Cycles: Presidential Elections in Bolivia 2025.” (2026) — Revista Elecciones 25(31): e3105.
Trust, Reintegration and Democratic Governance How do societies rebuild democratic relationships after conflict?
My third area of research examines how political and social relationships are rebuilt after conflict. I focus on reintegration, interpersonal trust, and the institutional and social conditions that shape whether former combatants and conflict-affected communities can rebuild sustainable relationships.
Current Projects
Economic Reintegration and Trust in Post-Conflict Colombia (under review)
This project examines the relationship between economic reintegration and interpersonal trust among former FARC combatants and civilians. Using original data collected in post-conflict communities, it investigates whether successful economic incorporation helps rebuild social relationships across groups divided by conflict.
What Does Trust Mean in Post-Conflict Communities? (work in progress)
Building on the quantitative analysis of trust, this project examines how trust is understood, practiced, and negotiated in everyday life after conflict. Drawing on interviews and fieldwork, it explores how former combatants and community members define trustworthy relationships and how those relationships develop in practice.
Defining Successful Reincorporation (work in progress)
This project examines how former FARC combatants themselves understand successful reincorporation and how those understandings compare with institutional measures of programme success. It forms part of a broader programme of collaborative research on reintegration and peacebuilding in Colombia.
Selected Publications
Fortalecimiento de la confianza y la inclusión socioeconómica (2022) — Universidad Externado de Colombia. With H. Martínez Rojas, P. Gutiérrez Yepes, D. Ortiz Escobar, H. Dorussen, and collaborators.