Interview with Aníbal Pérez-Liñán (University of Notre Dame)

Abstract

Aníbal Pérez-Liñán is Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on democratization, the rule of law, political stability, and institutional performance among new democracies. He is currently researching the political conditions that preclude judicial independence in developing countries and the consequences of political radicalization for democratic survival. His publications include Presidential Impeachment and the New Political Instability in Latin America (2007); and, with Scott Mainwaring, the award-winning Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America: Emergence, Survival, and Fall (2013). He is Editor-in-chief of the Latin American Research Review, the scholarly journal of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and co-editor with Kellogg Institute Director, Paolo Carozza, of the Kellogg Series on Democracy and Development at the University of Notre Dame Press. This interview is divided into three main sections. The first section addresses current research and the challenges to judicial politics field of study. The second section targets Brazilian and Latin American politics focusing on the potential inter-branch crisis. Moreover, the last section summarizes practical suggestions for Brazilian researchers that want to publish in international journals, besides some inspiring reflections about the future of academic research in a global and tech-based society.