Michael A. Paarlberg
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Virginia Commonwealth University
Welcome to my site. I am an assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. I am also an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., a contributor to the Guardian, I was also the chief Latin America policy adviser to the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign.
I have a Ph.D. in political science from Georgetown University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration at the University of Pennsylvania.
My current book project is on transnational elections and diaspora politics in Mexico, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
I also serve as an expert witness in immigration and asylum cases involving Latin American security issues.
Please follow the links in the menu for more about my academic and policy publications, journalism, and teaching. You can find my CV here.
Read more about the research in my upcoming book in:
The Washington Post's Monkey Cage
The Wilson Center's Mexico Institute
El Salvador's El Faro (en español).
Recent op-eds:
"China was already winning over the US's neighbors. Trump's COVID-19 response just makes Beijing's job easier." (Business Insider)
"El Salvador's President Sent Troops to Occupy the Legislature. Here's What's Going On." (Washington Post)
"It's Not Just a Coup: Bolivia's Democracy is in Meltdown" (Washington Post)
"Does Donald Trump Believe his Bizarre Bluster on Immigration?" (Guardian)
"Paying Tipped Workers Better Wouldn't Lead to Fewer Restaurant Jobs" (with Teofilo Reyes, Washington Post)
"Don't Believe the Trump Administration: MS-13 Is Not Ravaging the United States" (Washington Post)
Media appearances:
Feel free to contact me at mapaarlberg (at) vcu (dot) edu. Follow me on Twitter @mpaarlberg.