My research deals with informal politics, particularly clientelism and patronage, and urban violence. My primary geographic area of interest is Latin America and the Caribbean.
I currently hold a SSHRC Insight Grant for a project investigating the link between Latin American citizens’ evaluations of governance along institutional, economic, and identity-based lines and their decisions to engage in clientelism; as well as a Fonds de recherche du Québec grant to study resilience to urban violence. I am also a member of the Fonds de recherche du Québec funded “Équipe de recherche interuniversitaire sur l’inclusion et la gouvernance en Amérique latine” (Interuniversity Research Team on Inclusion and Governance in Latin America, ÉRIGAL).
I direct the Lab for Latin American and Caribbean studies (www.llacs.ca) and am a member of the Governing Board of the Montreal Latin American Studies Network / Réseau d’études latino-américaines de Montréal (relam.ca).
Research interests
Comparative Politics; Informal Politics; Clientelism; Urban Violence; Developing Areas; Latin America; Mexico; Brazil