Sebastián Raphael Priego

I am a DPhil student in Politics at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and CONAHCYT. My research focuses on modern civil-military relations, examining the relationship between new militarism and presidentialism in Latin America. In exploring these questions, I also look at the policy implications of new militarism and seek to recast the civil-military problematique in third wave democracies.

I explore how presidents in countries like Mexico and El Salvador enlist the military to implement social policy, public security, and public good provision in the form of mass infrastructure projects. My research leverages a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods—including process tracing, interviews, surveys, and causal inference—to examine the causes and consequences of this new militarism.

I hold an MSc in Latin American Studies from St Antony’s College, Oxford, and studied Political Science and International Relations at Leiden University College and the Australian National University. Previously, I served as an Area Director at the Mexican Foreign Ministry and have a deep interest in all things Latin American.