Benjamin Garcia-Holgado
Resources and Links
Biography
鈥嬧婤enjam铆n鈥疓arc铆a鈥慔olgado, PhD (University of Notre鈥疍ame,鈥2023), joined the department in August鈥2023. His doctoral thesis, 鈥淭he鈥疛udicial鈥疊ulwark: Courts and the Populist Erosion of Democracy,鈥 earned the 2025 Edward鈥疭.鈥疌orwin Award from the American Political Science Association for the best dissertation in public law. His research and teaching interests are in political regimes, comparative judicial politics, populism, and qualitative methods, with a geographical focus on Latin America. More specifically, he is interested in (1) new ways of conceptualizing contemporary autocratization processes; (2) explaining the strategies populist leaders use to dismantle democracy; (3) identifying what strategies political parties, civil society actors, and judges can implement to stop executive encroachment; and (4) case鈥憇tudy methodology and qualitative data鈥慻athering techniques. Garc铆a鈥慔olgado approaches these topics from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on insights from public law, American political development, comparative鈥慼istorical sociology, and political history.
Recent Publications
2025. Garcia Holgado, Benjamin. 鈥淥verruling the Executive: Judicial Strategies to Resist Democratic Erosion.鈥 Journal of Law and Courts: 1鈥30. doi: 10.1017/jlc.2024.30.
2024. Botero, Sandra and Benjamin Garcia Holgado. 鈥淛udges under Stress: The Argentine Supreme Court (2003-2023) and the Colombian Constitutional Court (2002-2023) amid Polarization.鈥 International Journal of Constitutional Law.聽
2024. Garcia Holgado, Benjamin and Raul Sanchez-Urribarri. 鈥淭he Dark Side of Legalism: Abuse of the Law and Democratic Erosion in Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela.鈥 American Behavioral Scientist, 68(12), 1578-1596.
2024. Gamboa, Laura, Benjam铆n Garc铆a-Holgado, and Ezequiel Gonz谩lez-Ocantos. 鈥淐ourts against Backsliding: Lessons from Latin America.鈥 Law & Policy 46(4): 358鈥379.
2023. Garcia Holgado, Benjamin and Scott Mainwaring. 鈥淲hy Democracy Survives Presidential Encroachments: Argentina since 1983鈥, Comparative Politics Vol.5, Issue 4, 525-548.
2023. Garcia Holgado, Benjamin and Raul Sanchez-Urribarri. 鈥淐ourt-Packing and Democratic Decay: a Necessary Relationship?,鈥 Global Constitutionalism Vol. 12, Issue 2, 350-377.
2023. Garcia Holgado, Benjamin. 鈥淩adicalization and the Origins of Populist Narratives about the Courts: The Argentinian Case, 2007鈥2015,鈥 Journal of Illiberalism Studies 3 no. 2 (Summer 2023), 43-64.
Research Interests
Democratization; Judicial Politics; Qualitative Methods; Latin American politics