As part of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies' renewed efforts advancing the study of global democracy, the institute has funded and helped hire two new faculty lines in the Keough School of Global Affairs that specialize in the study of democracy.
Former Kellogg PhD Fellow Laura Gamboa has been appointed assistant professor of democracy and global affairs. An expert in comparative politics, regimes and regime change, her research focuses on the survival and quality of democratic systems. She is the author of the book Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies Against the Erosion of Democracy, which uses case studies from Colombia and Venezuela to explore how the strategies and goals of the opposition can determine whether autocrats are able to erode democracies. Gamboa’s current research focuses on factors that determine the opposition’s tactical choices as well as strategies to counteract democratic backsliding. She holds a PhD in political science from Notre Dame. During the fall 2024 semester, Gamboa will teach the Keough School undergraduate global affairs seminar Democracies and Dictatorships.
Marc Jacob, assistant professor of democracy and global affairs, joins Notre Dame from Stanford University, where he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Polarization Research Lab. He holds a PhD in political science from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Jacob’s research focuses on the intersection of political behavior, public opinion, and institutional change, particularly within European democracies. He examines how ordinary citizens perceive and respond to processes of democratization and democratic backsliding. He will teach the undergraduate course "Crafting Research in Europe: Inspiration, Grant Writing, and Execution" during the fall 2024 semester.
These new hires are part of the Kellogg Institute's support of both the University of Notre Dame's Democracy Initiative, begun last year as part of its 2023-2033 Strategic Framework, and the Keough School's Democracy, Governance, Institutions and Rights program, one of four core research priorities established as part of its Strategic Plan 2030. Kellogg's additional plans in support of these efforts include helping to hire more faculty in democracy in the coming years, promoting two visiting fellowships annually to scholars working on global democracy, and funding five PhD students for the study of democracy (starting with one scholarship in 2025).
The Kellogg Institute for International Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, is an interdisciplinary community of scholars and students from across the University and around the globe that promotes research, provides educational opportunities, and builds partnerships throughout the world on the themes of global democracy and integral human development.