Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Kenneth Roberts
Richard J. Schwartz Professor, Government
Kenneth Roberts teaches comparative and Latin American politics, with an emphasis on the political economy of development and the politics of inequality. His research focuses on political parties, populism, labor and social movements, and democratic resilience. He is especially interested in the cases of Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Argentina.
He led the Einaudi Center's democratic threats and resilience global research priority in academic years 2022–25.
Additional Information
World in Focus: Immigration Enforcement as Political Punishment
February 10, 2026
4:00 pm
Uris Hall, G08
Join Einaudi Center experts for World in Focus Talks on global events in the news and on your mind. Our faculty's research and policy insights put the world in focus.
This year we’re hosting informal campus discussions on many Tuesday afternoons. This week’s topic:
In the United States and around the world, strict immigration enforcement and violence are being wielded as political tools. Recent U.S. actions include surveillance of communities, indiscriminate detainment, and violence against protestors. Despite being framed as necessary for the safety of citizens, these tactics are rooted in histories of slavery, the prison industrial complex, and xenophobia.
Does this type of enforcement infringe on rights? How can we understand current events through the lens of global and historical contexts? Do present-day immigration policies make communities safer?
***
Featured Faculty
Shannon Gleeson (Migrations) | Industrial and Labor RelationsTristan Ivory (EAP, IAD) | International and Comparative LaborJaclyn Kelley-Widmer | LawNatasha Raheja (SAP) | AnthropologyIan Kysel | Law
***
Conversations Matter at Einaudi
This conversation is hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and its regional and thematic programs. Find out what's in store for students at Einaudi!
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
The Kidney and the Cane: Planetary Health and Plantation Labor in Nicaragua
February 25, 2026
4:30 pm
Olin Library, 108
Join us for a Chats in the Stacks book talk with Alex Nading, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, as he discusses his latest book, The Kidney and the Cane: Planetary Health and Plantation Labor in Nicaragua (Duke University Press, 2025). Nading follows activists, scientists, and residents in the sugarcane zone wrestling with the consequences of plantation life. Along the way, he raises critical questions about the capacity of corporations and states to care for people and ecosystems; the ability of citizens and experts to regulate toxic substances; and the future of work on a warming planet.
To attend the talk virtually, please register here: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CZSHaSwXQsm_ZP2dRbc5fg
Additional Information
Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Information Session: Fulbright U.S. Student Program
February 23, 2026
4:45 pm
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program supports U.S. citizens to study, conduct research in any field, or teach English in more than 150 countries. The program is open to graduate students, recent graduates, and young professionals. Undergraduate students who wish to begin the program immediately after graduation are encouraged to start the process in their junior year. Recent graduates are welcome to apply through Cornell.
The Fulbright program at Cornell is administered by the Mario Einaudi Center for International studies. Applicants are supported through all stages of the application and are encouraged to start early by contacting fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.
Register for the virtual session.
Can’t attend? Contact fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Portuguese Conversation Hour
March 4, 2026
4:30 pm
Stimson Hall, G25
Come to the LRC to practice your language skills and meet new people. Conversation Hours provide an opportunity to use the target language in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. Have fun practicing a language you are learning! Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think. Conversation Hours are open to any learner, including the public.
Additional Information
Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Funding for Faculty
Apply now for Einaudi research support!
Proposals are due March 16 for seed grants and new targeted support for early-career faculty with research in international studies.
Additional Information
World in Focus: Global Responses to Trump
January 27, 2026
4:00 pm
Uris Hall, G08
Join Einaudi Center experts for World in Focus Talks on global events in the news and on your mind. Our faculty's research and policy insights put the world in focus.
This year we’re hosting informal campus discussions on many Tuesday afternoons. This week’s topic:
The United States helped create the United Nations to protect the sovereignty of independent countries. Now the Trump administration is setting the tone for superpowers with imperial ambitions by waging economic war against democratic allies, violating long-standing treaties, and holding out the possibility of using military force.
What do these unprecedented actions mean for the rest of the world? How are states and peoples in different regions responding? And what may happen if tensions continue to escalate?
***
Featured Faculty
Agnieszka Nimark (PACS) | Affiliated ScholarMagnus Fiskesjö (EAP, PACS, SEAP) | AnthropologyAlexandra Blackman (SWANA) | GovernmentSeema Golestaneh (SWANA) | Near Eastern StudiesIrina Troconis (LACS) | Romance StudiesKenneth Roberts (LACS) | GovernmentPeter Katzenstein (IES, PACS) | Government
***
Conversations Matter at Einaudi
This conversation is hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and its regional and thematic programs. Find out what's in store for students at Einaudi!
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
Global Challenges to Democracy: Comparative Perspectives on Backsliding, Autocracy, and Resilience
By Our Faculty
Following democracy's global advance in the late 20th century, recent patterns of democratic erosion or 'backsliding' have generated extensive scholarly debate. Backsliding towards autocracy is often the work of elected leaders operating within democratic institutions, challenging conventional thinking about the logic of democratic consolidation, the enforcement of institutional checks and balances, and the development and reproduction of democratic norms.
Book
35.99
Additional Information
Program
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
Type
- Book
Publication Details
Publication Year: 2025
ISBN: 9781009602570
Waste Workers and Water Wars in Chile: Writing the Labor and Environmental History of Chile's Rivers
April 28, 2026
12:20 pm
Uris Hall, G08
TBD
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
TBD
April 14, 2026
12:20 pm
Uris Hall, G08
TBD
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Latin American and Caribbean Studies