Sandra Ley

Sandra J. Ley Gutiérrez

Associate Professor

Political Studies Division

Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE)

Web: https://sandraley.net/

Email: sandra.ley@cide.edu

EDUCATION

2014

Ph.D. in Political Science

Duke University

Fields: Comparative Political Behavior; Conflict and Violence

Dissertation: Citizens in Fear: Participation and Voting Behavior in the Midst of Violence

2010

M.A. in Political Science

Duke University

Approved with Distinction

2007

B.A. in Political Science and International Relations

Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas

Thesis: Decentralization and Electoral Autonomy: Determinants of Autonomy in the Local Electoral Institutes in Mexico, 1990-2004

Approved with Distinction

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2021-present	Associate Professor Political Studies Division, CIDE-Mexico City
2020-present	General Coordinator for the Program on the Study of Violence (PEV) Political Studies Division, CIDE-Mexico City
2016-2021	Assistant Professor Political Studies Division, CIDE-Mexico City
2015-2016	Visiting Professor Political Studies Division, CIDE-Mexico City
2014-2015	Visiting Fellow Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame
2013-2015	Security Consultant México Evalúa
2014-2015	Expert for Mexico Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center
2014	Local Senior Consultant for Mexico Democracy International
2007-2008	Research Projects Coordinator Parametría

PUBLICATIONS

Academic

Ley, Sandra. Forthcoming. “High-risk Participation: Demanding peace and justice amid criminal violence.” Journal of Peace Research.

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2022. Votos, Drogas y Violencia. La lógica política de las guerras criminales. México: Penguin Random House.

Castro, Rodrigo, Ulises Beltrán, Sandra Ley, and René Galicia. 2022. “From election day to presidential approval: Partisanship and the honeymoon period in Mexico.” Electoral Studies, 75, 102438.

Aruguete, Natalia, Ernesto Calvo, Francisco Cantú, Sandra Ley, Carlos Scartascini, and Tiago Ventura. 2021. “Partisan cues and perceived risks: The effect of partisan social media frames during the COVID-19 crisis in Mexico.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 31:sup1, 82-95.

Ley Sandra, J. Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo, Covadonga Meseguer. 2021. “Remittances and Protests against Crime in Mexico.” International Migration Review doi:10.1177/01979183211011428

Rettberg, Angelika and Sandra Ley. 2021. “Conflicto, Criminalidad y Violencia: Un Desafío para los Empresarios de Colombia y México.” In Andrea Lluch, Martín Monsalve y Marcelo Bucheli (eds.), Historia empresarial en América Latina: temas, debates y problemas, Universidad del Pacífico-Ediciones Uniandes.

Ley, Sandra, J. Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo, and Meseguer, Covadonga. 2021. “Family Remittances and Vigilantism in Mexico.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 47(6): 1375-1394.

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2021. “High-Profile Criminal Violence: Why Drug Cartels Murder Government Officials and Party Candidates in Mexico.” British Journal of Political Science 51(1): 203-229 (Honorable Mention at APSA 2020 Democracy and Autocracy Section).

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2020. Votes, Drugs, and Violence. The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press. (2021 Democracy & Autocracy Best Book Award, APSA).

Altamirano, Melina and Sandra Ley. 2020. “The Economy, Security, and Corruption in the 2018 Presidential Election. Campaign issues and electoral preferences in Mexico.” Política y gobierno, 27(2). Special volume on the 2018 Mexican Election.

Castro Cornejo, Rodrigo, Sandra Ley and Ulises Beltran. 2020. “Anger, Partisanship, and the Activation of Populist Attitudes in Mexico.” Política y gobierno, 27(2).Special volume on the 2018 Mexican Election.

Altamirano, Melina, Sarah Berens and Sandra Ley. 2020. “The Welfare State amid Crime. How victimization and perceptions of insecurity affect social policy preferences in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Politics and Society, Special Issue “Societies under Stress.” (2021 Seligson Prize from LAPOP).

Ley, Sandra and Magdalena Guzmán. Forthcoming. 2019. “Doing Business in the Context of Criminal Violence in Mexico,” with Magdalena Guzmán. In D. Avant, M. Berrie, E. Chenoweth, R. Epstein, C. Hendrix, O. Kaplan, and T. Sisk, Civil Action and the Dynamics of Violence, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2019. “Multilevel Partisan Conflict and Drug Violence in Mexico. When Do Criminal Organizations Attack Subnational Elected Officials” with Guillermo Trejo. In A. Giraudy, E. Moncada and R. Snyder, Inside Countries: Subnational Research in Comparative Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ley, Sandra, Shannan Mattiace, and Guillermo Trejo. “Indigenous Resistance to Criminal Governance. Why Regional Ethnic Autonomy Institutions Protect Communities from Narco Rule in Mexico.” Latin American Research Review 54(1): 181-200.

Ley, Sandra. 2018. “To Vote or Not to Vote: How Criminal Violence Shapes Electoral Participation.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 62(9): 1963-1990.

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2018. “Why Did Drug Cartels Go to War in Mexico? Subnational Party Alternation, the Breakdown of Criminal Protection, and the Onset of Large-Scale Violence.” Comparative Political Studies 51(7): 900-937. (Award for Best Paper Published in CPS in 2018)

Aldrich, John, Gregory Schober, Sandra Ley, and Marco Fernández. 2018. “Incognizance and Perceptual Deviation: Individual and Institutional Sources of Variation in Citizens’ Perceptions of Party Placements on the Left–Right Scale,” Political Behavior 40(2): 415-433.

Cantú, Francisco and Sandra Ley. 2017. “Poll Worker Recruitment: Evidence from the Mexican Case.” Election Law Journal 16(4): 495-510.

Meseguer, Covadonga, Sandra Ley, and J.Eduardo Ibarra-Olivo. 2017. “Sending money home in times of crime: The case of Mexico.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 43(13): 2169-2192.

Ley, Sandra. 2017. “Security and Crime Issue Voting: Electoral Accountability in the Midst of Violence.” Latin American Politics and Society 59(1): 3-27.

Trejo, Guillermo and Sandra Ley. 2016. “Federalism, Drugs, and Violence. Why Inter-Governmental Conflict Stimulated Inter-Cartel Violence in Mexico.” Política y Gobierno 23(1): 9-52. Special bilingual volume on Democracy, Conflict, and Violence in Latin America.

Public policy reports

López Ayllón, Sergio et al. 2018. “Estudio para elaborar una propuesta de política pública
en materia de Justicia Transicional en México.” CIDE-CNDH. Mexico City.

Chapa, Lilian y Sandra Ley. 2015. “Prevención del delito en México. ¿Cuáles son las prioridades?” México Evalúa. México, D.F.

Ley, Sandra. 2015. “Violence and Citizen Participation in Mexico: From the Polls to the Streets”. Briefing Series on Building Resilient Communities in Mexico: Civic Responses to Organized Crime. Justice in Mexico; Woodrow Wilson Center : San Diego; Washington, D.C.

Mizrahi, Yemile, Sandra Ley, Lilian Chapa and Leonel Fernández. 2014. “Mid-term Performance Evaluation of Crime Prevention Models in Mexico”. Democracy International-USAID.

Koloffon, Lilián, Leonel Fernández and Sandra Ley. 2014. “Prevención del delito en México. ¿Dónde quedó la evidencia?” México Evalúa. México, D.F.

De Buen, Néstor, Leslie Solís and Sandra Ley. 2013. “La cárcel: ¿Para qué?”. México Evalúa. México, D.F.

Villanueva, Roberto, José Rivera and Sandra Ley. 2013. “Pasos para la Memoria. Manual de Documentación de Casos de Víctimas de Violaciones de Derechos Humanos y del Delito”. Centro de Comunicación Social. México, D.F.

Ley, Sandra. 2007. “Independencia de los Órganos Electorales: Teoría y Evidencia para el caso mexicano”. In Instituto Electoral del Distrito Federal. Grandes Temas para un Observatorio Electoral Ciudadano, Vol. III. México: IEDF.

Publications in newspapers and magazines

“Municipios bajo fuego”, Nexos, with Guillermo Trejo (February 2015)

“Desapariciones y protesta”. Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (November 20, 2013)

“Elecciones y violencia”. Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (July 11, 2013)

“Lecciones desde Colombia”. Letras Libres. Printed edition. (April 2013)

“Conteos comparados de la violencia en América Latina”. Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (November 28, 2012)

“La insuﬁciencia de las bases de datos”. Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (September 19, 2012)

“El desafío de contar a nuestros muertos”. Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (September 12, 2012)

“¿Qué mide realmente el Índice de Estados Fallidos?” Letras Libres. Polifonía Blog. (June 29, 2011)

WORK IN PROGRESS

“Yucatán as an Exception to Rising Criminal Violence in México,” with Shannan Mattiace (R&R)

“Security or Social Spending? Perceptions of Insecurity, Victimization, and Policy Priorities in Mexico and Brazil,” with Melina Altamirano and Sarah Berens (R&R)

“Rewriting Violence: Risk Effects and the Targeting of Journalists in Mexico’s Criminal Conflict,” with Cassy Dorff and Colin Henry (R&R)

“Voting for Law and Order in Mexico,” with Francisco Cantú and Tiago Ventura (In progress)

HONORS, AWARDS AND FELLOWHIPS

2021	Book Votes, Drugs, and Violence with Guillermo Trejo awarded the 2021 Democracy & Autocracy Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association.
	Book Votes, Drugs, and Violence with Guillermo Trejo awarded Honorable Mention for the 2021 William Riker Prize from the American Political Science Association.
	Paper “The Welfare State amid Crime: How Victimization and Perceptions of Insecurity Affect Social Policy Preferences in Latin America and the Caribbean,” with Melina Altamirano and Sarah Berens, awarded the 2021 Seligson Prize from LAPOP.
	EGAP COVID-19 Small Grants Fund. In collaboration with Lucía Tiscornia and Tiago Ventura, for the project “Criminal governance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
2021-2023	Member of Journal of Illicit Economies and Development Editorial Board
2020	Level 1 National Researcher, National Council for Research and Technology (Conacyt)
	UC MEXUS-Conacyt Collaborative Research Grant. In collaboration with Lauren L. Young, for the project “The causes and effects of lynchings in Mexico using a new dataset of media reports.”
	Paper “High-Profile Criminal Violence: Why Drug Cartels Murder Government Officials and Party Candidates in Mexico,” with Guillermo Trejo, awarded Honorable Mention at APSA 2020 Democracy and Autocracy Section.
	Academy of Medical Sciences Global Challenges Research Fund Networking Grant. In collaboration with Carolina Garriga, for the project “Establishing an interdisciplinary network to address the economic consequences of criminal violence in Mexico.”
2019-2023	Member of Political Behavior Editorial Board
2019-2022	Member of Política y Gobierno Editorial Board
2018	Paper “Why Did Drug Cartels Go to War in Mexico? Subnational Party Alternation, the Breakdown of Criminal Protection, and the Onset of Large-Scale Violence,” with Guillermo Trejo, awarded Best Paper Published in CPS in 2018
2017	Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Research Grant. In collaboration with Guillermo Trejo and Shannan Mattiace, for the project “Criminal Violence and Indigenous Resistance. Why Ethnic Autonomy Institutions Deter Drug Violence in Mexico.”
	National Researcher Candidate, National Council for Research and Technology (Conacyt)
	Mexico City Collaboration Grants, University of Notre Dame. In collaboration with Guillermo Trejo, for the project “Democracy and Criminal Violence: The Political Foundations of Drug Wars in Mexico.”
2013-2014	Inter-American Foundation Grassroots Development Fellowship
2012-2013	International Research Travel Fellowship, Duke University
2012	Democracy, Institutions, and Political Economy Summer Funding, Political Science Department, Duke University
2011	Walter T. Molano Award, Political Science Department, Duke University
	Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Field Research Grant, Duke University
	Democracy, Institutions, and Political Economy Summer Funding, Political Science Department, Duke University
2010	Walter T. Molano Award, Political Science Department, Duke University
2009	Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Predissertation Research Grant, Duke University
	Democracy, Institutions, and Political Economy Summer Funding, Political Science Department, Duke University
2005	Academic Excellence Fellowship, Sempra Energy/CIDE

PRESENTATIONS

2020	“The Covid-19 Crisis: Effects on Criminal Violence and Public Security in Latin America,” Webinar, University of Michigan.
2019	“Rewriting Violence: Risk Effects and the Targeting of Journalists in Mexico’s Criminal Conflict,” with Cassy Dorff and Colin Henry, “New Research by Women Studying Violence” Workshop, University of Notre Dame.
	“Criminal Violence and Indigenous Resistance. Why Ethnic Autonomy Institutions Deter Drug Violence in Mexico,” with Shannan Mattiace and Guillermo Trejo, “Old and New Challenges to Mexican Democracy” Conference, Yale University.
2018	“The Welfare State amid Crime. How victimization and perceptions of insecurity affect preferences for redistribution in Latin America,” with Melina Altamirano and Sarah Berens, Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“High-risk Activism and Protest amid Violence. Evidence from Mexico,” “New Research by Women Studying Violence” Workshop, University of Notre Dame.
	“The Welfare State amid Crime. How victimization and perceptions of insecurity affect preferences for redistribution in Latin America,” with Melina Altamirano and Sarah Berens, Workshop on “Criminal and Political Violence in Mexico and Central America,” UCSD-Stanford.
2016	“High-profile Criminal Violence. Why drug cartels murder subnational authorities and party candidates in Mexico,” with Guillermo Trejo, Workshop on “Subnational Political Violence,” Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas-Mexico City.
	“Doing Business in the Context of Criminal Violence in Mexico,” with Magdalena Guzmán, Conference on “Nonviolent Strategies in Violent Settings,” Sié Center, University of Denver.
	“High-risk activism: Protest amid criminal violence,” Latin American Studies Association Annual Conference, New York City.
	“Indigenous Resistance to Drug Violence in Mexico. Why Indigenous Mobilization and Ethnic Autonomy Institutions Deter Criminal Violence,” with Shannan Mattiace and Guillermo Trejo, Conference on “Unequal Security in the Americas,” Brown University.
2015	“Can Drug Lords Replace the Median Voter in Democratic Elections? Evidence from Mexico’s Wild West,” with Guillermo Trejo and Javier Márquez, American Political Science Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.
	“At the Polling Station: How Violence Shapes Citizen Participation and the Organization of Elections,” with Francisco Cantú, Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“Mexico’s Drug Wars and the Remaking of Local Order: Why Criminal Organizations Murder Local Officials,” with Guillermo Trejo, Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“Nonviolent Strategies in Violent Settings,” Sie Center, University of Denver.
	“The State of Citizen Security in Mexico: 2014 in Review and the Year Ahead. Policy Implications for the Peña Nieto Administration,” Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson Institute, Washington D.C.
2014	“Mexico’s Drug Wars and the Remaking of Local Order: Why Criminal Organizations Murder Local Officials,” with Guillermo Trejo, Subnational Research in Comparative Politics Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
	“High-risk Activism and Protest amid Violence. Evidence from Mexico,” Latin American Politics Workshop, University of Houston, Houston, TX.
	“Electoral Accountability in the Midst of Violence: Evidence from Mexico,” American Political Science Association Conference, Washington D.C.
	“Federalism, Drugs, and Violence. Why Inter-Governmental Conflict Stimulated Inter-Cartel Violence in Mexico,” with Guillermo Trejo, Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, IL.
2013	“Uncertainty or Ambiguity? Sources of Variation in Ideological Placements of Political Parties,”with John Aldrich and Gregory Schober, American Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“To Vote or Not to Vote: Elections in the Midst of Violence”, Latin American Studies Association, Washington D.C.
	“To Vote or Not to Vote: Elections in the Midst of Violence”, Politics and Government Workshop, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Mexico City.
	“To Vote or Not to Vote: Elections in the Midst of Violence”, Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“Votes, Drugs, and Violence. Subnational Democratization and the Onset of Inter-Cartel Wars in Mexico” with Guillermo Trejo, Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, IL.
2011	“Security and Crime Issue Voting in Latin America”, Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, IL.
	“Citizens at Risk: Perceptions of Crime and Insecurity in Latin America”, Conference on Preference Formation, Duke University, Durham, NC.
2008	“Electoral Institutions and Democratic Consolidation in the Mexican states, 1990 2004,” with Francisco Javier Aparicio, Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, IL.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2021	Syllabus design for the Analysis of Violence Certificate, Program for the Study of Violence, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Criminal Governance,” Analysis of Violence Certificate, Program for the Study of Violence, CIDE.
	Instructor, “Introduction to Political Science,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Instructor, “Order, Conflict, and Violence” Seminar, Political Science Graduate Program, CIDE.
2020	Instructor, “Research Design,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Beyond the coverage of criminal violence,” Investigative Journalism Certificate, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Criminal Governance,” Drug Policy Certificate, Universidad de los Andes-CESED.
	Instructor, “Civil Society in Comparative Perspective,” Political Science Graduate Program, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Violence, Insecurity, and Democracy,” Strategic Political Analysis Certificate, CIDE.
2019	Instructor, “Political Sociology I,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Violence, Insecurity, and Democracy,” Strategic Political Analysis Certificate, CIDE.
2018	Lecturer, “Trafficking of illicit drugs, violence, and state capture,” Drug Policy Certificate, Universidad de los Andes-CESED.
	Instructor, “Political Sociology II,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Regime transitions and democratic crisis,” Strategic Political Analysis Certificate, CIDE.
	Instructor, “Political Sociology I,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
2017	Lecturer, “Regime transitions and democratic crisis,” Strategic Political Analysis Certificate, CIDE.
	Instructor, “Political Sociology II,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Lecturer, “Social Violence in Mexico and Latin America,” Certificate for Mexican Federal Police Leadership, CIDE-PF.
	Instructor, “Political Sociology I,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
2016	Instructor, “Workshops for human rights activists, victims and their relatives,” El Colegio de México-CNDH, Violence and Peace Seminar.
	Lecturer, “Workshops for public officials who attend victims,” El Colegio de México-CNDH, Violence and Peace Seminar.
	Instructor, “Political Sociology I,” B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, CIDE.
	Instructor, “Systematization of Original Databases,” Investigative Journalism Certificate, CIDE.
2015	Instructor, Data Analysis for Human Rights (with Guillermo Trejo). University of Notre Dame. Spring Semester.
	Lecturer, Human Rights and Peace Building Certificate, Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social-Centro Cultural de España en México-Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana.
2013	Teaching assistant for Prof. Chris Johnston, “Introduction to Political Inquiry,” Duke University.
2011	Teaching assistant for Prof. Margaret Mackean, “Democracy, Development, and Violence,” Duke University.
	Teaching assistant for Prof. Erik Wibbels, “Globalization y Domestic Politics,” Duke University.
2010	Teaching assistant for Prof. Irina Alberro, “Introduction to Quantitative Methods,” Colegio de México.
2007	Teaching assistant for Prof. Matthew Kocher, “Introduction to Quantitative Methods,” CIDE.

FIELDWORK RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2017	In-depth interviews with activists, human rights defenders, and journalists in the Sierra Tarahumara and Chihuahua.
2014	Focus groups and in-depth interviews with public officials and beneficiaries of crime prevention programs in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua y Monterrey, Nuevo León.
2012	In-depth interviews with victims of crime and participants of marches for peace in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos and Nuevo León.
2011	Participation in the March for Peace (May 5-8, 2011) and the Caravan for Peace (June 2011), organized by the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity.

CONSULTING EXPERIENCE

2021-2022	Consultant for “Votes and bullets: Understanding criminal-electoral violence in Mexico,” Data Cívica. Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.
2021	Consultant for the U.S. Department of State on security policy in Mexico, July
	Project Coordinator of the “Essay evaluation of aspiring electoral councilors in five local public electoral institutes 2021,” conducted by CIDE for the National Electoral Institute.
2020	Project Coordinator of the “Essay evaluation of aspiring electoral councilors in local public electoral institutes 2020,” conducted by CIDE for the National Electoral Institute.
2018	Project Coordinator of the “Study on Violence Against Women in Mexico,” in collaboration with Cabify, the National Laboratory for Public Policy (LNPP), and CIDE.
2016-2017	Project Coordinator of the “Systematization, Analysis and Visualization of Attacks against Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Mexico” project, in collaboration with the National Digital Strategy, the National Laboratory for Public Policy (LNPP), and CIDE. 2017 World Summit on the Information (WSIS) Champion, Category 17.
2014	Local senior consultant for Democracy International’s evaluation of USAID crime prevention programs in Mexico.
2013-2015	Security consultant for México Evalúa.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Reviewer for the American Political Science Review, British Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Democratization, European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Politics, Latin American Research Review, Latin American Politics and Society, Perspectives on Politics, Política y Gobierno, Foro Internacional.

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

2011-2014

Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, Mexico

Collaborated in the systematization of denunciations of cases of murders and disappearances, documented cases of victimization, and accompanied victims’ processes of denunciation of crimes with local public prosecutors

LANGUAGES

Spanish (Native)

English (Fluent)

French (Basic)

SOFTWARE

Stata (Advanced)

R (Basic)

ArcGIS (Intermediate)

LaTex (Intermediate)

AFFILIATIONS

American Political Science Association
Latin American Studies Association

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