Isabel Güiza-Gómez is a PhD Candidate in Political Science and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Her research examines the conditions under which marginalized actors can forge development and democracy in unequal, violent contexts, with a focus on Latin America. In her dissertation project, Isabel delves into the strategies employed by diverse collective actors, including Indigenous, Afro-descendant, peasant, women, and victim activists, as well as former insurgent groups committed to peace, in driving land redistribution during civil war peace processes. Focusing on the Colombian case, she demonstrates why and how strong Indigenous and Afro-descendant movements achieved collective land titling in the face of weak class-based mobilization by insurgents and peasants after peace bargaining and constitution-making in the early 1990s, while strong insurgents and peasant mobilization forced elites to compromise on individual land titling yet ultimately have fallen short in triggering allocation after 2012-2016 peace negotiation. Her research has been funded by the Graduate Women in Science National Fellowship, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Notre Dame Graduate School.
Journal Articles
Book Chapters
- REPAL 2024 Best Paper Award for "Land Dispossession on Trial: Claim-Making and Judicial Behavior in the Colombian Land Restitution Program"