Ezequiel González Ocantos
(Ph.D. (Notre Dame); MPhil, BA Hons (Cambridge))
I am the Associate Professor in the Qualitative Study of Comparative Political Institutions in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and a Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College. In 2018 I received the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Politics and International Relations. I currently serve as Director of Research Training (Politics).
My primary research agenda is in the field of comparative judicial politics, with a regional focus on Latin America. I've written about judicial behaviour and strategic litigation in human rights cases; transitional justice; transnational judicial dialogue in the Inter-American Human Rights System; and the relationship between courts and public opinion. I am currently working on a book that examines the causes and consequences of anti-corruption judicial crusades in Latin America, comparing different national chapters of the Lava Jato investigation. In addition to my work on courts, I've published chapters and articles on the political economy of vote buying and electoral intimidation, and also on qualitative methods.
I am the author of two books: Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2016) which won the Herman Pritchett Best Book Award from APSA's Law and Courts Section, the best book award from ISA's Human Rights Section and the Donna Lee Van Cott Best Book Award from LASA's Political Institutions Section; and The Politics of Transitional Justice in Latin America: Power, Norms and Capability Building (Cambridge University Press, 2020). My peer-reviewed articles have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, International Studies Quarterly, Latin American Research Review, Law & Society Review, Journal of Peace Research, Sociological Methods & Research, The International Journal of Constitutional Law and The International Journal of Human Rights.
I recieved a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame in 2012. My doctoral thesis won APSA's 2013 Edward S. Corwin Award for the best dissertation in the field of Public Law.
Curriculum vitae: Download Gonzalezocantos Online Cv (185.4KB)
Research Interests
Comparative Judicial Politics
International Courts, Transitional Justice & Human Rights
Corruption
Comparative Politics of Latin America
Qualitative Methods in Political Science
Human rights Constitutions and Government Democracy and Democratisation Elections Institutions and organisationsTeaching
Research Design in Comparative Political Science (MPhil/DPhil, MT)
Qualitative Methods (MPhil/DPhil)
Comparative Government (PPE/MPhil)
I am happy to supervise students interested in comparative judicial politics, international courts and law, transitional justice, human rights, corruption, qualitative methods and Latin American politics
Number of DPhil supervisions completed: 1
Publications
Books:
Best Book Award, International Studies Association, Human Rights Section (2018)
H. Pritchett Best Book Award, American Political Science Association, Law and Courts Section (2017)
Donna Lee Van Cott Best Book Award, Latin American Studies Association, Political Institutions Section (2017)
2020. The Politics of Transitional Justice in Latin America: Power, Norms, and Capacity Building. New York: Cambridge University Press, Elements in Politics and Society in Latin America.
Book manuscripts in progress:
Broken Promises? Taking Stock of the Judicialization of Politics in Latin America (co-edited with Sandra Botero and Daniel Brinks), under review
The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America: Causes and Consequences of Lava Jato (with Viviana Baraybar, Paula Muñoz and Nara Pavao)
Peer-reviewed articles:
Forthcoming. "Constructing a Regional Human Rights Legal Order: The Inter-American Court, National Courts, and Judicial Dialogue, 1988-2014," in International Journal of Constitutional Law (with Wayne Sandholtz)
Forthcoming. "Defending the European Court of Human Rights: Experimental Evidence from Britain," in European Journal of Political Research (with Elias Dinas)
Forthcoming. "Process Tracing and the Problem of Missing Data," in Sociological Methods and Research (with Jody LaPorte)
Alexander George Article Award, American Political Science Association, Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Section (2020)
2020. “Carrots and Sticks: Experimental Evidence of Vote Buying and Voter Intimidation in Guatemala” in Journal of Peace Research, 57(1): 46-61 (with Carlos Meléndez, Chad Kiewiet de Jonge, Javier Osorio and David Nickerson)
2019. "Compensation and Compliance: Sources of Public Acceptance of the UK Supreme Court's Brexit Decision" in Law & Society Review, 53(3): 889-919 (with Elias Dinas)
2019. "Lava Jato Beyond Borders: The Uneven Performance of Anti-Corruption Judicial Efforts in Latin America," in Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 15(1): 63-89 (with Viviana Baraybar-Hidalgo), special issue on anti-corruption politics
2018. "Communicative Entrepreneurs: The Case of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Dialogue with National Judges" in International Studies Quarterly, 62(4): 737-750
2018. "Remittances and Vote Buying: Experimental Evidence from El Salvador," in Latin American Research Review, 53(4): 789-707 (with Chad Kiewiet de Jonge and Covadonga Meseguer)
2016. "Evaluations of Human Rights Trials and Trust in Judicial Institutions: Evidence from Fujimori’s Trial in Peru," in The International Journal of Human Rights, 20(4): 445-470
2015. "Legitimacy Buying: The Dynamics of Clientelism in the Face of Legitimacy Challenges," in Comparative Political Studies, 48(9):1127-1158 (with Chad Kiewiet de Jonge and David Nickerson)
2014. "Persuade Them or Oust Them: Crafting Judicial Change and Transitional Justice in Argentina," in Comparative Politics, 46(4):279-298
2014. "The Conditionality of Vote Buying Norms: Experimental Evidence from Latin America," in American Journal of Political Science, 58(1):197-211 (with Chad Kiewiet de Jonge and David Nickerson)
2012. "Vote Buying and Social Desirability Bias: Experimental Evidence from Nigaragua," in American Journal of Political Science, 56(1):202-217 (with Chad Kiewiet de Jonge, Carlos Melendez, Javier Osorio and David Nickerson)
Book chapters:
2020. “Designing Qualitative Research Projects: Notes on Theory Building, Case Selection, and Field Research,” in L. Curini and R. Franzese Jr. eds. SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Forthcoming. “Electoral Fraud,” in E. Posada-Carbó & A. Robertson eds. The Oxford Handbook of Revolutionary Elections in the Americas. Oxford: Oxford University Press (with Svitlana Chernykh)
2019. "Courts in Latin American Politics," in Oxford Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
2019. "Clientelism in Latin American Politics," in Oxford Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press (with Virginia Oliveros)
2017. “Political Clientelism,” in W. Outhwaite & S. Turner eds. The SAGE Handbook of Political Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE (with Paula Muñoz)
2015. “Dependencia y Autonomía,” in M. D’Alessandro & G. Ippolito-O’Donnell eds. La ciencia política de Guillermo O’Donnell. Buenos Aires, Argentina: EUDEBA
2010. “Crisis de gobernabilidad en América Latina: Juegos verticales y horizontales,” in F. Barrero & S. Jost eds. Estabilidad democrática en América Latina: Equilibrio de poderes, perspectivas teóricas. Bogotá, Colombia: Fondo Editorial de la Universidad Sergio Arboleda. (with Carlos Meléndez)
Commissioned academic reports:
2016. Informe Especial sobre Libertad del Sufragio en Mexico. Mexico: Institito Nacional Electoral (with Chad Kiewiet de Jonge and Javier Osorio)
2013. Avances y obstáculos en el juzgamiento de graves violaciones de derechos humanos y crímenes internacionales en América Latina. Informe presentado a la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en audiencia temática regional durante el 149 período de sesiones.(with Due Process of Law Foundation, Instituto de Defensa Legal, FESPAD, Centro de Derechos Humanos Universidad Diego Portales, and Fundación Myrna Mack)
2012. Aproximación a las percepciones de la ciudadanía sobre la compra de votos y la intimidación de votantes en el régimen político guatemalteco. Cdad. de Guatemala, Guatemala: National Democratic Institute. (with Carlos Meléndez, Chad Kiewiet de Jonge, Javier Osorio and David Nickerson)
Working papers:
"Interviewing for Process Tracing" (with Juan Masullo)
"International Courts and their Sources of Resilience: The Inter-American Case" (with Wayne Sandholtz), under review
“Conceptualizing and Measuring Legal Cultures: Evidence from a Survey of Mexican Judges” (with Karina Ansolabehere and Sandra Botero), under review
"Fighting Corruption, Curbing Cynicism? The Public Opinion Effects of Anti-Corruption Judicial Activism in Latin America" (with Nara Pavao)
“International Law and Domestic Judicial Power: Strategic Citation in the Jurisprudence of Colombia’s Constitutional Court” (with Niels Goet)