Laura Gamboa

I am an Associate Professor of Democracy and Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Before joining Notre Dame, I was Santo Domingo Visiting Fellow at Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (2023-2024), and Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Utah (2020-2022) and Utah State University (2016-2020).

My research focuses on institutions, regime and regime change in Latin America. It is centered on questions related to the survival and quality of democratic systems. My first book "Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy (CUP 2022)" analyzes how opposition strategic choices and goals can decisively affect the ability of potential autocrats to erode democracy. My second book (coauthored) "New Forms of Democratic Erosion in Latin America (CUP Elements 2026)" elaborates a framework to analyze processes of democratic backsliding in El Salvador, México, Perú, Guatemala and Honduras, and discuss what pro-democratic movements can do to counteract them.

I am currently working on two related projects analyzing the drivers behind opposition tactical choices against autocratization as well as opposition strategies to counteract subnational democratic backsliding. I hold a PhD from the University of Notre Dame, a MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas (Austin) and a BA in History from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.