Kent Eaton studies comparative politics, international relations, political institutions, and the politics of economic development. Professor Eaton has conducted research in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, and Uruguay.

Currently, Eaton’s research focuses on territorial politics in Latin America by examining the growing salience of territorially-defined interests, identities, and institutions throughout the region. His ongoing research projects approach the question of “territoriality" from a number of distinct perspectives. First, in the wake of economic liberalization and decentralization, Eaton is studying the conflicts that have developed between subnational governments and transnational corporations over the terms of direct foreign investment. Second, he is examining the sources of increased tension between subnational governments in numerous Latin American countries, focusing in particular on the rise of regional autonomy movements in some of the continent’s wealthiest subnational regions. Third, Eaton is exploring the consequences of decentralization in conflict-prone settings, analyzing the conditions under which decentralizing reforms either ameliorate or worsen armed conflict.

Politics beyond the Capital: The Design of Subnational Institutions in South America (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004).

Politicians and Economic Reform in New Democracies: Argentina and the Philippines in the 1990s (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2002).

“Federalism in Europe and Latin America: Conceptualization, Causes and Consequences,” World Politics 60 (1) July 2008 (review article).

“Paradoxes of Police Reform: Federalism, Parties and Civil Society in Argentina’s Public Security Crisis,” Latin American Research Review 43 (3) August 2008: 5-32.

“Backlash in Bolivia: Regional Autonomy as a Reaction against Indigenous Mobilization,” Politics and Society 35 (1) March 2007: 1-32.

“The Downside of Decentralization: Armed Clientelism in Colombia,” Security Studies 15 (4) October-December 2006: 1-30.

“Decentralization’s Non-Democratic Roots: Authoritarianism and Subnational Reform in South America,” Latin American Politics and Society 48 (1) Winter 2006: 1-26.

“Risky Business: Decentralization from Above in Chile and Uruguay,” Comparative Politics 37 (2) October 2004: 1-22.

“Designing Subnational Institutions: Regional and Municipal Reforms in Post-authoritarian Chile,” Comparative Political Studies 37 (2) March 2004: 218-244.

“The Politics of Re-centralization in Argentina and Brazil,” with Tyler Dickovick, Latin American Research Review 39 (1) February 2004: 90-122.

“Restoration or Transformation? Trapos vs. NGOs in the Democratization of the Philippines,” Journal of Asian Studies 62 (2) May 2003: 469-495.

“Can Politicians Control Bureaucrats?: Applying Theories of Political Control to Argentina’s Democracy,” Latin American Politics and Society 45 (4) Winter 2003: 33-62.

“The Logic of Congressional Delegation: Explaining Argentine Economic Reform,” Latin American Research Review 36 (2) Spring 2001: 97-117. Reprinted as “La Lógica de la Delegación de Poderes Legislativos: La Reforma de la Promoción Regional en la Argentina,” Desarrollo Económico 42 (168) January-March 2003: 499-518.

“Decentralization, Democratization, and Liberalization: The History of Revenue Sharing in Argentina,” Journal of Latin American Studies 33 (1) February 2001: 1-28.

“Political Obstacles to Decentralization: Evidence from Argentina and the Philippines,” Development and Change 32 (1) January 2001: 101-127.

“Parliamentarism versus Presidentialism in the Policy Arena,” Comparative Politics 32 (3) April 2000: 335-376 (Review Article).

Ph.D. Yale University

B.A. Stanford University