As Instructor
Environmental Politics in Latin America – LASP 4302, graduate and undergraduate upper-division levels, Fall 2026, Georgetown University
(Draft syllabus available upon request)
This course examines the politics of environmental governance in Latin America: who shapes the rules that govern environmental issues, who bears the cost, and how effective different interventions are at addressing environmental degradation. It combines an introduction to the theoretical foundations of environmental politics and a deep dive into the region’s environmental challenges.
We begin by asking why governing the environment is a political challenge, drawing on foundational frameworks around collective action, public goods, and the commons. We then examine the tension between economic development and environmental protection, and turn to the origin of environmental rules and institutions: how institutions shape policymaking, how interest groups and social movements contest environmental rules, how elections and distributive politics drive or constrain environmental outcomes, the role of international and market-based governance, and why implementation so often falls short. The second half of the course dives into specific topics that are fundamental to the region’s environmental challenges: illicit economies, climate change and energy transitions, property rights, environmental justice, and indigenous movements. Students apply the analytical skills from this course to diagnose environmental problems, assess political and institutional constraints, and design politically feasible responses.
Policy Evaluation Methods, graduate and undergraduate upper-division level, Spring 2026, Georgetown University
forthcoming
Environmental Institutions – ESM 248, Graduate level, Winter 2024, UCSB
Institutions are rules, both formal and informal, that shape interactions between individuals, groups, and organizations. This course focuses on the formation, evolution, and effectiveness of these institutional arrangements, and how they shape environmental issues. Students gain tools to analyze informal, local, national, and international institutions. By recognizing the myriad of rules that affect the design and implementation of environmental management, students will be equipped to better design strategies to address environmental problems in many settings.
Student comments:
“Very engaging class and open/welcoming environment. Discussions were always really fruitful and thought-provoking, and I always felt safe and comfortable to share. Assigned readings aligned really well with the lecture material and aided in my understanding of the material well. Learned a lot not only about the broad mechanisms of environmental institutions, but also a lot of interesting specific cases and examples. By the end of this course, I feel as if I have a much better grasp on institutions and how to analyze them and associated complexities. Very well organized and structured course overall, I learned a lot.”
“This class made me think about institutions in a new perspective and I learned things that can be applied to creating solutions for environmental issues.”
As TA
Environmental Institutions – ESM 248, Graduate level, Winter 2023, UCSB
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Environmental Applications – ENVS 154. Undergraduate upper-division, Spring 2022, UCSB
Ecological Issues – ENVIRON 201. Undergraduate lower-division, Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Fall 2017, University of Michigan