My research focuses on the intersection of wealth and political inequality, the sociology of elites, and the relationship between democracy and neoliberal policies. You can read more about my book, Inequalities in Spain (co-authored with Javier Carbonell and Javier Soria), here.
My doctoral research delves into the role of civil society in the struggle against the impunity of the abuses of intelligence services. Mobilizing Bourdieusian field theory and drawing on over 50 in-depth interviews with Pulitzer-winning investigative journalists, senior activists, CIA whistleblowers or former spymasters, my dissertation explores how the managerialization of civil society and the commodification of the media that stemmed from the neoliberal revolution undermined civil society's capacity to advance intelligence oversight. Parts of my doctoral research have been published in Review of International Studies, in two book chapters in Routledge (Towards a Reflexive Study of Intelligence Accountability and An analysis of post-Snowden civil society accountability), and in an upcoming monography.
My interest in the intersection between inequalities and democracy has led me to investigate the survival strategies of elites during democratization processes, particularly in the case of the Spanish transition (1975-1978), published in Democratization.
Other research avenues have led me to publish in the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies or in Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science.
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Padilla, J., León-Reyes, B., Echevarría, I., Padilla-Galviz, E., Pamies, C., & Valero de Urquía, B. (2024). Things will have to change? Analysing the Spanish transition to democracy from an elite perspective. Democratization. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2024.2418996
Kniep, R., Ewert, B., León-Reyes, B., Tréguer, F., McCluskey, E., & Aradau, C. (2024). Towards democratic intelligence oversight: Limits, practices, struggles. Review of International Studies, 50(1), 209–229. doi: 10.1017/S0260210523000013
Leon-Reyes, B. (2020). Disciplining Refuge: On the Politics of Neoliberal Compassion. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 19(2), 227–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2020.1723773
Leon-Reyes, B. (2019). Rescuing Rationality from the Rationalists: For a Neo-Weberian Understanding of Rationality in Critical Terrorism Studies. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 41, 43–57. https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.41.3
Book chapters
Leon-Reyes, B. (2023). An analysis of post-Snowden civil society accountability. In D. Bigo, E. McCluskey, and F. Tréguer (Eds.), Intelligence Oversight in Times of Transnational Impunity. London: Routledge.
Leon-Reyes, B. (2022). Towards a Reflexive Study of Intelligence Accountability. In H. Ben Jaffel and S. Larsson (Eds.), Problematising Intelligence Studies: Towards A New Research Agenda. London: Routledge.
Book
Leon, B., Carbonell, J., Soria, J. (eds.) (2024). La desigualdad en España. Lengua de Trapo. Prologued by Thomas Piketty.