Laura Gamboa

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah. My research focuses on institutions, regime and regime change in Latin America. My book "Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy". studies opposition strategies against the erosion of democracy. Using the case of Alvaro Uribe in Colombia and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, it analyzes how opposition strategic choices and goals can decisively affect the ability of executives with hegemonic aspirations to erode democracy. An article summarizing an early version of the argument was published in Comparative Politics.

I am also part of different collaborative projects on topics related to corruption, voting behavior, congressional politics, political parties and transitional justice. The first findings of some of these projects have been published in Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Politics, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, and Terrorism and Political Violence.

I received my PhD from the University of Notre Dame. I have a B.A. with Honors in History from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.