#  Laura Gamboa 

Santo Domingo Visiting Scholar

 

 

 



   ![headshot of Laura Gamboa](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/drclas2/files/gamboa.jpeg?itok=gOvzfQMi) 

 



 





 

 Laura Gamboa is an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah. She has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame (2016) and an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2010). Her research agenda is centered on questions related to the survival and quality of democratic systems. Her book “Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy” uses the case of Alvaro Uribe in Colombia and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela to analyze how opposition strategic choices and goals can decisively affect the ability of potential autocrats to erode democracy. Her current research focuses on the drivers behind these tactical choices. Her work has been published in Comparative Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Studies, Latin American Research Review, among other journals. In 2017, she received Notre Dame’s Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award in Social Science. Her book received LASA’s 2023 Donna Lee Van Cott Award for best book in Political Institutions.



 

 

 





 

 

- ## Academic Year
    
     [2023-2024](/academic-year/2023-2024)
- ## Location
    
     [Cambridge](/locations/cambridge-office)
- ## People
    
     [Visiting Scholar](/people/visiting-scholar)
- ## Scholars/Fellows
    
     [Santo Domingo Visiting Scholars & Fellows](/scholarsfellows/santo-domingo-visiting-scholars-fellows)