Sebastián Raphael Priego

I am a DPhil candidate in Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). My research lies at the intersection of comparative civil–military relations and state capacity, focusing on the determinants and consequences of civilian decisions to militarise domestic policymaking across public security, social policy, and civil–military megaprojects.

My work employs a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, including ethnography, elite interviews, process tracing, and causal inference. My dissertation research includes elite interviews with presidents, cabinet ministers, Supreme Court justices, and senior armed forces personnel. I am affiliated with the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City and will be a visiting researcher at Fundação Getúlio Vargas EBAPE in Rio de Janeiro. My research has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONAHCYT), DPIR’s Cyril Foster and Norman Chester Funds, and the Institute for Humane Studies.

I have presented my work at the American Political Science Association and the Latin American Studies Association. I hold an MSc in Latin American Studies from St Antony’s College and studied Political Science and International Relations at Leiden University College and the Australian National University. Prior to my doctoral studies, I served as an Area Director at the Mexican Foreign Ministry.

• Selected through the open application pool for one of 12 places at the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR), Syracuse University, from over 250 applications (Summer 2026).