Mariely Lopez-Santana

Schar School for Policy and Government
George Mason University
mlopezs1@gmu.edu
Orcid: 0000-0002-9277-6230
Mariely López-Santana’s website • @marielylopezs

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Virginia, United States

• Associate Professor of Governments and Politics, 2014- present
• Director, Undergraduate Research Learning Community, Fall 2023-present
• Director, Political Science Graduate Programs, 2018-2022
• Assistant Professor of Government and Politics, January2008-2014 (legacy unit: Department of Public and International Affairs)

Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain
Honorary Member, Department of Political Science and Sociology, 2014-present

Institut Barcelona d’ Estudis Internacionals, Barcelona, Spain
Erasmus Mundus MAPP Visiting Scholar, September 2010-July 2011

European University Institute, Florence, Italy
Max Weber Post-Doctoral Fellow, August 2006-August 2007

VISITING SCHOLAR

Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain, Spring 2019

Institut Barcelona d’ Estudis Internacionals, Barcelona, Spain, Spring2011

Max Weber Programme, European University Institute, Florence, Italy, Summer 2009 

Center for Political and Constitutional Studies, Madrid, Spain, Sumer 2008

SCORE, University of Stockholm, Sweden, Fall 2003

Juan March Foundation, Madrid, Spain, Spring & Summer 2003

Free University of Brussels, Belgium, Summer 2002

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2006

B.A. University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras,1997
Magna Cum Laude & Senior Thesis with honors

The Washington Center & Cordova Program, Spring 1995
Internship with Congressman Ed Pastor (Arizona) funded by the Puerto Rican Senate 

American Field Service, Titus Brandsmalyceum, Oss, The Netherlands, August1991-August 1992 

PUBLICATIONS

Book

The New Governance of Welfare States in the United States and Europe: Between Centralization and Decentralization in the Activation Era. 2015. SUNY Press.

Journal Articles and Chapters

“Solidarity and Responses to Crises in Federations.” Forthcoming 2024. In Cesar Colino (ed).

Handbook of Federations and Federal Studies. Edward Elgar Publishers.

“Assessing Public Support for Social Policy in Times of Crisis: Evidence from the Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 Era in the United States.” 2023. (co-authors: Lucas Núñez and Daniel Béland). Policy and Society. Doi: 10.1093/polsoc/puad009

“Financial Oversight Boards in the U.S. Federal System: Insights from the Puerto Rican Debt Crisis.” 2022. Publius: The Journal of Federalism. Doi: 10.1093/publius/pjac037 (online)

“The Nature of MS-13 in the American Context: A Transnational Comparison” (co-authors: Guadalupe Correa- Cabrera and Camilo Pardo-Herrera). 2021. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. Doi: 10.1080/01924036.2021.1949739

“Fiscal Federalism and Economic Crises in the United States: Lessons from the COVID-19Pandemic and the Great Recession” (co-author: Philip Rocco). 2021. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 51 (3): 365–395.

“Employment Policy in Spain: Policy and Governance Perspectives.” 2020. In Diego Muro and Ignacio Lagos (eds.). Oxford Handbook of Spanish Politics. Oxford University Press.

“Intergovernmental and Intra-governmental Solutions to the Unemployment Problem: Reconfiguring the Architecture of Active Welfare States in Europe.” 2016. In Andrea Bianculli and Andrea Hoffmann (eds.) Regional Organizations and Social Policyin Latin America and Europe: A Space for Social Citizenship? Development, Justice and Citizenship Series: Palgrave Macmillan.

“Decentralising the Active Welfare State: The Relevance of Intergovernmental Structures in Italy and Spain” (co-author: Rossella Moyer). 2012. Journal of Social Policy 41 (4): 769-788.

“Having a Say and Acting: Assessing the effectiveness of the European Employment Strategy as an intra- governmental coordinative instrument.” 2009. European Integration Online Papers 1 (13).

“Soft Europeanization? The Differential Influence of the European Employment Strategy in Belgium, Spain, and Sweden.” 2009. In M a r tin Heidenreich and Jonathan Zeitlin (eds.) Changing European Employment and Welfare Regimes: The Influence of the Open Method of Coordination on National Reforms (Studies on the Political Economy of Welfare, Routledge).

“La ‘Internalización’ de la Estrategia Europea de Empleo en España,” (“The Internalization of the European Employment Strategy in Spain”). 2007. Revista Española de Derecho Europeo (Spanish Journal of European Law) 21: 57-87.¹

“The Domestic Implications of European Soft Law: Framing and Transmitting Change in Employment Policy.” 2006. Journal of European Public Policy 13(4): 481-499.

Non-Peer Reviewed Pieces

“The Myths of Central American Undocumented Immigration and MS-13 in the United States” (co- author: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera). 2019. California Western International Law Journal 50(1): 119-138.

“The Territorial Reconfiguration of Welfare States in Europe and the United States: Evidence from Active Labor Market Policy” (特集 アメリカ福祉国家とグローバル化). 2018-09. Kokugakuin University Economic Review 66 (2) 1-76.

“Are the Promises of Change Under Soft Governance Models Attainable? Insights from the European Union.” 2009. Global Studies Review, George Mason University.

“Soft Europeanisation? How the Soft Pressure from Above Affects the Bottom (Differently): The Belgian, Spanish and Swedish Experiences” (MWP 2007/10). 2007.European University Institute & Max Weber Programme Working Paper.

“Thinking about Globalization, the Role of Experts, and Social Policy.” 2001. The Journal of the International Institute, University of Michigan.

Book Reviews

Review of “Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics” (author: Jamila Michener). 2019. Publius: Journal of Federalism (Fall).

Review of “Assessing the Open Method of Coordination: Institutional Design and National Influence of EU Social Policy Coordination” (authors: Egidijus Barcevičius, J. Timo Weishaupt, and Jonathan Zeitlin). 2016.Social Policy and Administration 50 (1): 124-25.

Review of “Recasting Welfare Capitalism: Economic Adjustment in Contemporary France and Germany” (author: Mark I. Vail). 2011. Comparative Political Studies 44: 117-20.

Review of “Varieties of Capitalism and Europeanization: National Responses Strategies to the Single Market” (author: George Menz). 2007. Comparative Political Studies 40: 219-22.

 

¹ This article was cited by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo (September 4, 2008; case: C 396/07--Mirja Juuri vs. Fazer Amica Oy).

WORK IN PROGRESS

“The Subnational Level and Research Design: Lessons from the Literature on the Comparative Method” (co-author: Dersu Ekim Tanca). Revise & Re-submit to Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis.

From Statecraft to Debt: Understanding the Puerto Rican Financial Crisis from a Political-Economic Perspective (book Project, in progress).

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

Washington Post, Monkey Cage, “Most Americans support Biden’s expanded child tax credit, our research finds. But there are caveats” (with Lucas Núñez), November 10, 2021.

3Streams, “This is what a revolution for families might look like. Here’s how to grow support for the 2021 Child Tax Credit,” April 5, 2021.

3Streams, “How Local Governments will Tackle the COVID-Recession: A Road Map,” July 7, 2020. Washington Post, Monkey Cage, “Is MS-13as Dangerous as Trump Suggests?” (with Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Camilo Pardo),December 7, 2018.

El Nuevo Día, “El Nuevo Reto de PAN y Trabajo,” March 12, 2018.

Washington Post, Monkey Cage, “A controversial ‘oversight board’ could take over Puerto Rico’s hurricane rebuilding effort,” November 30, 2017.

El Nuevo Día, “Raptada por Europa,” August6, 2008.

European University Institute Review, “The ‘EUI Effect’: How it has affected my life,” Summer2007: 3.

GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND OTHER AWARDS

Schar School, GMU, Seed Grant, Public Opinion and Welfare in the Biden Era, Summer 2021 Schar 

School, GMU, Seed Grant, Central American Gangs in Northern Virginia, Spring 2018 

GMU, Center for Global Studies, Working Group Grant (“The Welfare State in Times of Crisis Current Challenges and Implications Across the Globe”), Fall 2012-Spring 2013 

American Consortium on EU Studies, Seeds Grant, Fall 2011

Erasmus Mundus Mapp Visiting Scholar, Grant from the European Commission, Fall 2010

American Consortium on EU Studies, Working Paper Grant, Summer 2008 

GMU, Seeds Grant, Summer 2008

European University Institute, Max Weber Postdoctoral Prize Fellowship, September 2006-2007 

UMICH, One-Term Dissertation Grant, Fall 2005

University of Toronto, Grant to attend the Conference on ‘The Impact of Europeanization on Politics and Policy in Europe: Trends and Trajectories,’ May 2004

Georgetown University, Grant to attend the CGES Graduate Student Conference, February 2004

Arizona State University and UMICH, Grant to attend the Third Annual Qualitative Methods Training Institute, January2004

UMICH, Handler Grant, Summer 2003 & Fall 2004

UMICH, Political Science, Dissertation Thesis Grant, Spring & Fall 2003

Program for Cultural Cooperation, Between Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports and United States’ Universities, Grant for field work in Spain, September 2002

European Consortium for Political Research Mobility Fund for Graduate Students, August 2002 

UMICH, Political Science Summer Collaboration Grant, June 2002 & 2005

European University Institute, Grant to attend the EU Studies Association Graduate Student Workshop on European Integration (Florence, Italy), June 2002

UMICH, Rackham Discretionary Funds, May & December2002

UMICH, Rackham International Travel Grant, May 2002; February2005; September 2005

UMICH, Minority Social Science Training Award, May 2001

UMICH, Grant on International Expertise (“Crossing Borders: Revitalizing Area Studies”), May 2001

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Grant to attend The Network on Work and the Global Economy Conference, November 2000

INVITED TALKS

2023: Speaker, “La PROMESA Incumplida: PROMESA, la Junta, and Development,” Conference: Economía Política Crítica de Puerto Rico: Pasado, Presente y Future, Hosted by the University of Puerto Rico

2022: Speaker, “Understanding Social Inclusion: Challenges to European Welfare States in the 21st Century, ”Conference on Social Inclusion & Societal Diversity in the EU, Hosted by Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, Florida International University

2021: Roundtable, Media Engagement and Academia, PublicsLab Fellow at The Graduate Center, City University of New York

2021: Speaker, The Regions, Economy and Society in the Post-Covid World. Theme Post COVID World: Implications for the Welfare State. Conference hosted by the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

2021: Roundtable, Political Economy of Social Protection in the Face and Socio-Economic Shock of COVID-19in the Americas, 2021 Congrès de l’Institut des Amériques, France

2020: Speaker, Applying to Graduate School: The Dos and Don’ts, Minority Graduate Placement Program, University of Puerto Rico

2020: Speaker, Social Justice in America Webinar: Local Politics, Prisons, and the Welfare State, GMU

2019: Roundtable, Our America: Puerto Rico, Fí Iota Alfa, GMU

2019: Speaker, Tackling Gangs: Intervention Models in the U.S. Resilient Communities against Transnational Gangs, Florida International University

2019: Speaker, The Decentralization of the Welfare State: A Comparative Perspective, Fundación Ortega y Gasset Marañón, and Instituto Atlántico de Gobierno, Spain

2019: Lecture, The Spanish Welfare State: A Comparative Perspective, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Spain

2018: Roundtable, Understanding the Puerto Rican Debt, PR Diaspora Summit, School of Law, University of the District of Columbia

2018: Lecture, Comparative Welfare States, Department of Political Science, University of Puerto Rico

2018: Roundtable on Secessionism, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC

2018: Speaker, Kokugakuin University and Kansai University, Japan

2017: Speaker and Roundtable, European Institute of Social Security Conference: Devolution and Decentralisation of Social Security in Europe: Dismantling the Welfare State or a Democratic Promise for the Future?

2017: Speaker, The Political Economy of Development, GMU

2016: Roundtable, Max Weber Program Summer Conference, European University Institute

2016: Speaker, Multi-level Government and Sub-National Inequalities: A Framework for the Comparative Study of the Structure and Consequences of Decentralized Social Policy Designs, Advanced Research Collaborative, Graduate Center of the City University of New York

2015: Lecture, European Political Systems, Workshop for the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R., Arlington, Virginia

2013: Speaker, Regionalism, Norm Diffusion and Social Policy: Dealing with Old and New Crises in Europe and Latin America, Otto-Suhr Institute for Political Science, Research College, Freie Universität Berlin

2013: Roundtable, Theories of the State, GMU

2013: Speaker, Second Annual International Political Economy conference, Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence

2013: Speaker, The Future of the Euro, GMU Outreach Program

2012: Keynote Speaker, Annual Conference on International Political Economy: Challenges to the Welfare State, Gediz University, Turkey

2012: Lecture, What is the EU?, Virginia Commonwealth University

2011: Lecture, Odyssey Program, John Hopkins University

2011: Speaker, Institut Barcelona d’ Estudis Internacionals, Catalonia

2008: Speaker, Social Science Research Centre, Austrian Academy of Science

2007: Speaker, University of Bamberg, Germany

2007: Speaker and Lecture, University of San Francisco

2006: Speaker, European Union Center, University of Michigan

2006: Speaker, Northeastern University

2005: Speaker, Northern Arizona University

2005: Speaker, Arizona State University

2005: Speaker, University of Michigan Outreach Program

2004: Speaker, Providence College

2004: Speaker, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Governance Collaborative

ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS (since2005)

2023 Roundtable, “Putting Federalism in Its Place: Territorial Politics of Social Policy Revisited,” American Political Science Association (APSA) Annual Meeting (Los Angeles) (could not attend in-person)

2023 “The Subnational Level and Research Design: Lessons from the Literature on the Comparative Method” (with Ph.D. student: Dersu Ekim Tanca), Comparative Policy Analysis at the Subnational Level: Methodological and Theoretical Challenges and Opportunities Workshop. Organized by Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis and Scholarly Society for International Comparative Policy Analysis (McGill University, Canada)

2023 “Decolonizing Debt Restructuring?: Lessons from the Puerto Rican Case,” Law and Society Annual Conference (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

2023 Roundtable, “Balzac v. People of Porto Rico and the Invisible Precedent: Contemporary Effects of the Doctrine of Separate and Unequal,” Law and Society Annual Conference (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

2023 “The Governance of Financial Oversight Board: The Case of the Puerto Rican “junta,” Latin American Studies Association: Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

2022 “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Support for Social Programs: The Case of the United States,” Council for European Studies (CES) Annual Conference, (Lisbon, Portugal)

2022 “The Governance of Local Debt: The Case of the Financial Oversight Board of Puerto Rico, Southern Political Science Association (San Antonio, Texas).

2021 Roundtable, “Federalism in a Time of Presidential Transition,” APSA Annual Meeting (Seattle).

2021 “The Political Economy of Local Debt in the United States: The Case of Financial Oversight Boards,” International Political Science Association World Congress (Lisbon, Portugal).

2021 Roundtable, “Federalism and the COVID-19Crisis: Fiscal, Political, and Administrative Dimensions,” Midwest Political Science Association.

2020 “The Politics of Financial Oversight Boards in the United States, ”Southern Political Science Association (Puerto Rico), and APSA Annual Meeting (Washington DC).

2019 Roundtable, “Employment Policy in Spain: Policy and Governance Perspectives,” CES Annual Conference (Madrid, Spain).

2019 “Subnational Immigration Policymaking in Gang-Controlled Zones: A Holistic Approach for Tackling MS-13 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area,” 2019 European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Joint Session (Mons, Belgium).

2018 “The State vs. the Maras: An Assessment of MS-13 in the American Context” (with Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Camilo Pardo), APSA Annual Meeting (Boston).

2018 Roundtable, “The Politics of Welfare Decentralization,” CES Annual Conference (Chicago). 2017 “Decentralization vs. Centralization: Understanding Cross-national Variations in the

Reallocation of Active Labor Market Policies in Europe and the United States,” ECPR Workshop—The Spatial Reconfiguration of Public Policy in Multi-Level Systems(University of Nottingham, UK).

2015 “Explaining Cross-National Trends in the Territorial Reconfiguration of Active Welfare States: The Principle of Inter-Territorial Equivalency,” DC-Area Comparative Politics Workshop (University of Maryland).

2014 “Unsafe at Any Speed? The Emergence of Variable Speed Federalism in the United States and the European Union” (with Tim Conlan, Paul Posner, and Young Sung Kim), APSA Annual Meeting (Washington DC).

2014 “Intergovernmental and Intra-Governmental Solutions to the Unemployment Problem: Reconfiguring the Architecture of Active Welfare States in Europe,” FLACSO-ISA Conference (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

2013 “Between Equity and Flexibility?: Understanding Divergences in the Architectures of Active Welfare States, ”APSA Annual Meeting(Chicago), and CES Annual Conference (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

2013 “The Economic Crisis, Partisanship, and the Welfare State,” CES Annual Conference (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

2011 “Redesigning the Architecture of Active Welfare States in Western Europe and the United States: A Multilevel Framework,” Comparing Modes of Governance in Canada and the EU: Social Policy Engagement across Complex Multilevel Systems (University of Victoria, Canada).

2011 “The Economic Crisis, Partisanship and the Welfare State, ”APSA Annual Meeting(Seattle). 2011 “Partisanship and the Welfare State in an Era of Crisis: Revisiting “Insider-Outsider” Dynamics in Spain,” Annual Conference for the Advancement of Socioeconomics (Madrid, Spain).

2011 “Redesigning the Architecture of Active Welfare States in Western Europe and the United States: A Multilevel Framework,” Annual Conference for the Advancement of Socioeconomics (Madrid, Spain).

2011 “Between Independence and Fragmentation: Devolving the Welfare State in Italy and Spain,” Max Weber Programme, European University Institute (Florence, Italy).

2011 “Between Independence and Fragmentation: Devolving the Welfare State in Italy and Spain,” ECPR Workshop— Redistribution Paradoxes: The Politics of Welfare (St. Gallen, Switzerland).

2009 “Max Weber Fellows’ Contribution to Social Sciences and Humanities,” Max Weber Programme, European University Institute (Florence, Italy).

2008 “Are Federal Countries Worse or Better Compliers?: How the Vertical Division of Power in EU Member States Affect Compliance with EU Mandates, ”Poster Session, APSA Annual Meeting (Boston).

2008 “Decentralization within Centralization: The spatialre-configuration of labour market policies and institutions” (with Milena Büchs), Social Policy Association Conference (Edinburgh, Scotland).

2008 “Labor Market Policy Decentralization in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy—Dynamics and Reasons” (with Milena Büchs), CES Annual Conference (Chicago).

2007 “New Governance and Decentralization in Employment Policy” (with Milena Büchs), Joint Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association ( Berlin, Germany).

2007 “Capturing Shades of Inter-Governmental Relations” (with Carolina G. de Miguel), ECPR Joint Session on Comparative Federalism (Helsinki, Finland).

2006 “Having a ‘Say’ without having to ‘Pay’: The Differential Effect of the Open Method of Coordination in Member States,” Graduate Student Conference (Madison, University of Wisconsin).

2005 “European Employment Policies Reinforcing Devolution?” APSA Annual Meeting (Washington DC).

2005 “Multi-level Governance and Bindingness,” EUSA International Conference (Austin); ECPR Workshop (Granada, Spain).

TEACHING

Undergraduate Courses, George Mason University

• Introduction to Comparative Politics (GOVT 133)
  • Recognized by students for being an outstanding Mason Core Global Understanding class, Summer 2017
• Undergraduate Research Learning Community (GOVT 399)
• European Union Politics and Institutions (GOVT444)
• International Law and Organizations (GOVT 446)
• Survey of International Organizations (Undergraduate and Graduate Levels)
• Advanced Applied Comparative Politics (GOVT 490)
• Perspectives on the State (GOVT 490)
  • Recognized by students for being an outstanding Mason Core Synthesis class, Spring 2017 and Spring 2018
• Honor Seminar (GOVT 491)

Graduate Courses, George Mason University

• Seminar on Comparative Politics and Institutions (GOVT 530)
• Comparative Welfare States (GOVT 631)
• European Politics (GOVT 631)
• Theories of the State (GOVT 631/POGO 750)
• Advanced Seminar in Comparative Politics (GOVT 731)
• Ph.D. Seminar (GOVT 800)

Institut Barcelonad’ Estudis Internacionals

• The Political Economy of Welfare States(MA course)

SERVICE AND ADVISING

University Service, George Mason University

• Member of Taskforce, Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Committee, 2020-2021
• Member, Curriculum Committee, Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Committee, 2020-2021
• Member, Faculty Senate Writing Across the Curriculum Committee, 2020- 2021
• COACHE Leadership Team, Fall 2019
• Promotion and Tenure
  • Member, Byunghwan Son, Global Affairs, Fall 2019
• Judge, 3MT Competition, Spring 2017
• Organizer, 5^th DC-Area Comparative Politics Workshop, Spring 2017
• Member, Honor Committee, Office of Academic Integrity, 2016-2019
• Collaborator, German Week, 2013-2014; 2015
• Admissions Committee, Global Affairs, 2012-2013
• Faculty Member, Global Affairs, 2008-present
• Organizer, Working Group, The Welfare State in Times of Crisis: Current Challenges and Implications Across the Globe, Center of Global Studies, Public and International Affairs & Department of History and Art, 2012-2013
• Director’s Re-appointment Committee, Global Affairs, 2008-2009
• Faculty Mentor, Global Affairs,2008-2009; 2011-2012
• Faculty Director, Center for Global Studies, Survey of International Organizations: GMU & Fribourg University, Switzerland, 2008; 2009

Schar School & Legacy Unit (Public and International Affairs),George Mason University

• Member and Host, Schar Conversations Podcast, Summer 2018
• Mentor, Undergraduate Research Assistant Program, 2016-2020
• Co-Organizer, Schar School Reading Group: The Politics and Policies of Inequality, 2019-2020
• Co-Organizer, Migration, Homeland Security, and Gangs Conference, Fall 2018
• Guest Speaker, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera’s undergraduate course, Spring and Fall 2018, Fall 2019
• Admission’s Committee (Political Science Ph.D.), Spring 2019, 2020
• Academic Advisor, Global Systems minor, Schar School
• Third Year Renewal Committee
  • Member, Christopher Berk, Fall 2021; Member, Lucas Núñez, Fall 2020; Member, Matthew Scherer, Fall 2015
• Promotion and Tenure
  • Chair, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Spring 2017; Member, Matthew Scherer, Fall 2016
• Comparative Politics Qualifying Exam Committee
  • Chair: Spring 2010; 2016-2017
  • Member: 2011-2012; Fall 2014-Spring 2016; Spring 2024
• Member, Governance Committee, 2016-2017
• Member, Working Group: Emerging Frontiers in the Global Economy Series, 2016
• Member, Dean Search Committee, 2015-2016
• Revision of Undergraduate Degree, Government Division, 2014-2015
• Judge, Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2012
• Panel Moderator, Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences, 2012
• Admissions Committee, Public and International Affairs,2008

Domestic and International

• Book Review Editor,P ublius: Journal of Federalism, 2023-present
• Member of Committee: Carolina De Miguel Moyer Young Scholar Award, Council for European Studies, Summer 2023
• Chair, APSA Federalism Section Community Committee, 2022
• Advisory Committee, Journal Gestión y Análisis de Políticas Públicas, Spring 2022-present
• Executive Board Member, Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance, International Political Science Association Research Committee 28, Summer 2021-present
• Co-Director, Minority Graduate Placement Program, Spring 2021-present
• Member of Committee: Best Paper Award, European Politics Section, American Political Science Association 2020
• Reviewer, National Science Foundation, 2020
• Editorial Board, Politics and Governance
• Mentor a Graduate Student, Council for European Studies
• Reviewer of Conference Proposals, Council for European Studies(2017, 2018)
• Reviewer for the Proceedings of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, 2015
• Reviewer of Scientific Proposals, Division of Scientific and Technical Research, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Government of Spain, 2014; 2015; 2016; 2017
• External Reviewer, Candidates of Master in Public Policy, Erasmus Mundus MAPP Programme, (Spain), 2010-2011
• Chair of Conference Sections:
  • Public and Social Policies Section, 2024 Latin American Studies Association Annual Conference
  • Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Section, 2022 Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference
  • Comparative Industrialized Countries Section, 2021 Midwest PoliticalScience Association Annual Conference
• Panel chair and/or Discussant:
• American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023)
• Council for European Studies Annual Meeting(2015)
• European Consortium of Political Research Workshop (2017, 2018)
• International Political Science Association World Congress (2021)
• Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference (2009, 2021)
• Southern Political Science Association (2020, 2022)

Ph.D. Advisees, George Mason University

• Doug Penhallegon, chair, Political Science, Schar School (ABD)
• Courtney Kayser, Ph.D (Summer 2022),member, Political Science, Schar School
• Aaron Stuvland, Ph.D. (Fall 2021), chair, Political Science, Schar School
  • Assistant Professor, George Fox College
• Hiromi Akiyama, Ph.D. (Spring 2019),member, Political Science, Schar School
• Rebecca Lollar, Ph.D. (Fall 2018),member, Political Science, Schar School
  • Assistant Professor, Liberty University, Virginia
• Julia Duckett, Ph.D. (Summer 2018),member, Biodefense, Schar School
• Tres Thomas, Ph.D. (Fall 2017), member, School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution
• Mark Royce, Ph.D. (Spring 2016), chair, Political Science, Schar School
  • Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale (VA)

MA Research Projects, George Mason University

• Chair, Katelyn Byng, “The Implications of Brexit”
• Chair, Gizem Korkmaz,“The Paradox of Coup-Proofing: Looking at the Turkish Case”
• Chair, Nicole Falgiano,“State Building: The Case of South Sudan”
• Member, Charles Turner, “When Democracies Make War: Comparing Democratic Institutions in the War-Making Abilities” (Ph.D. student at the University of Utah)
• Chair, Daniel Tillson, “Contextualizing Apostolic Nunciatures and Religious Agency in Diplomatic Relations”
• Chair, Stephanie Clark, “French Intervention in Africa: Unilateral Force or Multilateral Cooperation?”
• Chair, Craig Finkelstein, “Comparative Coalition Durability: Italy and Spain”
• Chair, Alexis Katzelnick-Wise, “The TRIPS Agreement on HIV/AIDS Pharmaceutical Patents in Action: Why most developing countries aren’t utilizing all possible advantages”
• Chair, Cristina Porrata,“Survival of the European Union”

Undergraduate Students, George Mason University

• Angela Ancalle Jimenez,“Civil vs. Common Law” (Honor Project)
• Katherine Ramirez-Lopez, “Latin American Immigrants in the United States and Crime: A Discussion” (Latin American Studies Project)
• Tyler Fisher, “Security Policy and the European Union”(OSCAR Program)

REVIEWER

Journals

American Political Science Review; British Journal of Political Science; Comparative Political Studies; Perspectives on Politics; Journal of European Social Policy; Governance; Publius; Regional & Federal Studies; Social Policy and Society; Journal of Common Market Studies; Journal of Comparative Politics; Journal of Public Policy; Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis; International Journal of Social Welfare; Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research; Public Administration; Political Behavior; Health Policy; Nations and Nationalism; Regulation and Governance; Regional Studies; Regional Science; Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning; Administrative Theory & Praxis; European Integration Online Papers; Government & Policy C: Environment & Planning;; SPS Working Paper Series (European University Institute); Politiche Sociali/Social Policies

Books

SUNY Press; Oxford University Press; Edward Elgar; Palgrave; Bloomsbury Academics; Wadsworth Publishing; Pearson/Longman Prentice Hall; European Trade Union Institute/European Social Observatoire

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Methodology: Training

Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research Methods (IQMR), Arizona State University, 2004 European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on Analytical Politics and Public

Choice, University of Leiden (The Netherlands), 2003

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan, Regression Analysis; Categorical Analysis, Non-structured interviewing; Qualitative Data Analysis with and without computers; Game Theory

Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Methods minor (i.e., Statistical Research Methods I & II; Qualitative Research Methods; Research Design)

Field Work

Have conducted close to 130 interviews at the national and sub-national levels in Belgium, Italy, the European Union, Spain, Sweden, and the United States

Media

• Clawing back unspent COVID funds might contribute to a debt ceiling solution—but not much, Marketplace, National Public Radio (NPR), May 15, 2023
• La Junta: Una Perspectiva Comparada, interview, Radio Universidad, April 25, 2023
• Why is it so hard for Congress to deal with the nationaldebt?, Marketplace (NPR),April 20, 2023
• Newly arrived immigrants are generally not automatically eligible for food assistance, PolitiFact, April 13, 2023
• On Biden’s First Year as President, interview, France24en espanol, January20, 2022
• On the Biden’s Child Tax Tax Credit, interview(podcast) Pivot-ES, The ChangeMaker Foundation
• On the Impeachment, El Washington Post Podcast, January26, 2021
• Commentary, Inauguration Day, France 24 en espanol, January 20, 2021
• Interview, on the US election, El Globulo, Argentina, November 28, 2020
• Interview, on US affairs, Maxi Mediodía, Argentina, November 12 and 24, 2020; January 7 and 20, 2021
• Interview, on Kamala Harris, France 24 en espanol, November 11, 2020
• Interview, on Puerto Rico and the election, Jadaliyya, November 6, 2020
• Interview, on the Outing of Ricardo Roselló, Shirley Radio, Venezuela, August 5, 2019
• “What’s next for Puerto Rico after Rosselló’s resignation?”, Quartz, July 25, 2019
• Interview “Sobre los Debates en Estados Unidos,”Radio Martí, June 26, 2019
• Interview, Workfare and Food Stampsin Puerto Rico, WAPA Radio, Puerto Rico, May 23, 2018
• “Puerto Rico Board, Governor Clash Over Finances,” All Things Considered (NPR), April 21, 2018
• Interview, Workfare in Puerto Rico,Voz Alternativa (Radio Isla), Puerto Rico, March 18, 2018 “Green shoots of recovery amid economic uncertainty in Spain,” Aljazeera, October 30, 2013
• “To Hell and Back: Spain’s Grotesque Recession and Its Surprising New Economy,” The Atlantic, October 18, 2013
• “Dispatches From Spain: How Does A Socialist Government Cope With 20 Percent Unemployment?,” Social Europe, August 17, 2011.

Voluntary Work

American Field Service, Intercultural Programs, Communitarian Service, 1992–1996 English as Second Language Tutor, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Foreign Language Proficiency

English—Fluent; Spanish—Native speaker; Dutch and Italian—Advanced/Intermediate (speaking and reading); German—Basic (reading)