A number of doctoral students have completed or are currently doing fascinating research with my guidance. Most of these dissertations address some aspect of democratization and democratic development. Most of these students are fluent in at least two languages. They are trained and are doing doctoral research in the tradition of V.O. Key, as found in his books, Southern Politics and The Retrospective Voter. Accordingly their research combines deep historical and cultural understanding of the regions and countries they are studying with sophisticated analysis of qualitative or quantitative data or some combination of both. Their research also reflects their thorough knowledge of the broader field of comparative politics and is firmly grounded in contemporary theories of comparative politics.
In recognition of more than twenty years of supervising doctoral dissertations and successfully graduating and placing doctoral students, the University of Florida awarded me the Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award in 2014.
For mentoring statement click here
Completed dissertations I have supervised are:
At the University of Colorado
- Melanie Mason, graduated, Spring, 1994, “State Autonomy in Mexico and Brazil: The Partnership Between Organized Labor and the Dependent State,” Melanie works at NCAR, Boulder, Colorado
At the University of Florida
- Edward Greaves, graduated, Spring, 2002, Title: Reorganizing Popular Civil Society: Popular Movements, Municipalities And The State in Post-Dictatorship Chile, 1990-2000. Ed won a Fulbright Dissertation Grant to conduct his research in Chile. He has a tenure-track job at St Cloud State University in St Cloud, Minnesota.
- Vilma Fuentes, graduated, Spring, 2003, “The Political Effects of Disaster and Foreign Aid: National and Subnational Governance in Honduras After Hurricane Mitch.” Vilma won a Dissertation Grant from the Institute for World Peace to conduct her research in Honduras. She has a tenure-track job at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida.
- Lee W. Walker, graduated, Fall, 2003, Title: The Democratic Arbiter: The Role of the Judiciary in the Democratic Consolidation Process in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Lee received a tenure-track job at the University of Kentucky. For the year 2006 Lee was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard-MIT Data Lab. In January, 2007 he began as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina. Lee is currently working at the National Science Foundation
- Larissa Ruiz-Baia, graduated, Spring, 2004, Title: Christianity and the Imagined Latino Self: The Emergence of Pan-Ethnic Identity Amongst Latinos in Paterson, New Jersey. Larissa won an SSRC Dissertation Fellowship and a Brooklyn College Fellowship to conduct her research in New Jersey. She has a permanent position at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.
- Javier Aguayo, graduated, Fall, 2004, Title: The Legislature Strikes Back in Peru: The Role of Congress in the Demise of Fujimori in 2000. Javier won a Tinker Grant to conduct his research in Peru. For the academic year 2005-6 Javier was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at Dickenson University. In the fall of 2006 Javier began a tenure-track job at York College in York, Pennsylvania.
- Guillermina Seri, graduated, Spring, 2005, “Policing and Democracy: The Influence of Narratives on Police Discretion
Guillermina won a McQuown Dissertation Grant to conduct her research in Argentina.” For the academic years 2005-7 Guillermina received a post-doctoral fellowship at Colgate University. In the fall of 2007 Guillermina is an associate professor of political science at Union College, Schnectady, New York. - Jorge Aragon, graduated, Fall, 2006, “Mass Support for Democratic Values: A Theoretical and Methodological Contribution.” (This dissertation is about Peru.)
- Jonathan Jones, graduated, Spring, 2009, Title Negotiating Development: A Study of the Grassroots Resistance to India’s 2005 Special Economic Zones Act. Jonathan won a Dissertation Grants from the National Science Foundation to conduct his field work in India. He won a Dissertation Grant from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida to complete the writing of his dissertation.
- Jetsabe Caceres, graduated , Spring, 2010, “Social Movements in 1990s Puerto Rico: Between Neoliberalism and United States Imperialism,” Jetsabe won a Dissertation Fellowship from the Puerto Rican government to support the writing of her dissertation. Jetsabe won a Dissertation Grant from the Government of Puerto Rico. Jetsabe is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
- Ingrid Erickson, graduated , December, 2011, “”Civil Society Organizations and Their Efforts to Counter the Perpetuation of Social Inequality in Brazil.”
- Ani de la Quintana, graduated , April, 2013, “Presidential Leadership in Developing Democracy: The Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Peru”
- Audrey Fleming, graduated , May, 2016, “Reel Democracy: The Politics of Cinema in Cuba,” Audrey is an assistant professor of political science at Austin College in Texas. Audrey will receive her doctorate in May, 2016.
- Kokila Mendis, defended, February, 2017, “A Critical Race Perspective: The Integration Experience of Swedish Women of Color,”
The following (ABD) students are writing a dissertation with my supervision.
- Chesney McComber, a study of women’s leadership in peasant villages in Kenya and Morocco
- Sebastian Schlofsky, a study of the injustices of law enforcement in the United States and Brazil
- Ashley Hudson, a study of the role of the Church in democratization in Mexico