Bio


Beatriz Magaloni is Professor in the Department of Political Science and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University. She is also director of the Poverty, Violence and Governance Lab. Most of her current work focuses on state repression, police, human rights, and violence. In 2010 she founded the Poverty, Violence and Governance Lab (POVGOV) within FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

Her first book, Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico (Cambridge University Press, 2006), won the Best Book Award from the Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association and the 2007 Leon Epstein Award for the Best Book published in the previous two years in the area of political parties and organizations. Her second book, The Political Logic of PovertyRelief (co-authored with Alberto Diaz Cayeros and Federico Estévez), also published by Cambridge University Press, studies the politics of poverty relief. Why clientelism is such a prevalent form of electoral exchange, how it distorts policies aimed at aiding the poor, and when it can be superseded by more democratic and accountable forms of electoral exchange are some of the central questions that the book addresses.

Her work has appeared in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, World Development, Comparative Political Studies, Annual Review of Political Science, Latin American Research Review, Journal of Theoretical Politics and other journals.

Prior to joining Stanford in 2001, Professor Magaloni was a visiting professor at UCLA and a professor of Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University. She also holds a law degree from ITAM.

Honors & Awards


  • Leon D. Epstein Outstanding Book Award, American Political Science Association (2007)
  • Best book award given by the Comparative Democratization section, American Political Science Association (2007)
  • Best Paper in Comparative Politics, 96th American Political Science Association Meeting (with Alberto Diaz-Cayeros and Barry Weingast) (2001)
  • Gabriel Almond Award — Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics, American Political Science Association (1998)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations


  • Chair of the Michael Wallerstein Award for the best paper on political economy published in the past two years, American Political Science Association Meeting (2012 - 2012)
  • Organizer of the Comparative Politics of Developing Countries Section, American Political Science Association Meeting (2011 - 2011)
  • Gabriel Almond Award Committee, Comparative Politics Division, American Political Science Association (2010 - 2010)
  • Lubbert Award for Best Paper, Comparative Politics Division, American Political Science Association (2005 - 2005)
  • Assistant to the editor, World Development (2013 - Present)
  • Research Scholars Group, World Justice Project (2013 - Present)

Program Affiliations


  • Center for Latin American Studies
  • Program in International Relations

Professional Education


  • Ph.D., Duke University, Department of Political Science (1997)
  • M.A., Duke University, Department of Political Science (1993)
  • Licenciatura, ITAM, Mexico, Law (1989)

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Latin American Politics

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • Killing in the Slums: Social Order, Criminal Governance, and Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW Magaloni, B., Franco-Vivanco, E., Melo, V. 2020; 114 (2): 552–72
  • Legislatures and Policy Making in Authoritarian Regimes COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES Williamson, S., Magaloni, B. 2020
  • Living in Fear: The Dynamics of Extortion in Mexico's Drug War COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES Magaloni, B., Robles, G., Matanock, A. M., Diaz-Cayeros, A., Romero, V. 2019
  • Public Good Provision and Traditional Governance in Indigenous Communities in Oaxaca, Mexico COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES Magaloni, B., Diaz-Cayeros, A., Euler, A. 2019; 52 (12): 1841–80
  • Authoritarian Survival and Poverty Traps: Land Reform in Mexico WORLD DEVELOPMENT Albertus, M., Diaz-Cayeros, A., Magaloni, B., Weingast, B. R. 2016; 77: 154-170
  • The Beheading of Criminal Organizations and the Dynamics of Violence in Mexico JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION Calderon, G., Robles, G., Diaz-Cayeros, A., Magaloni, B. 2015; 59 (8): 1455-1485
  • The Mexican War on Drugs: Crime and the Limits of Government Persuasion INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH Romero, V., Magaloni, B., Diaz-Cayeros, A. 2015; 27 (1): 125-137
  • Traditional Governance, Citizen Engagement and Local Public Goods: Evidence from Mexico World Development Magaloni , B., Díaz-Cayeros , A., Euler , A. R. 2013
  • The Game of Electoral Fraud and the Ousting of Authoritarian Rule AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Magaloni, B. 2010; 54 (3): 751-765
  • Political Order and One-Party Rule ANNUAL REVIEW OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, VOL 13 Magaloni, B., Kricheli, R. 2010; 13: 123-143
  • AIDING LATIN AMERICA'S POOR JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY Diaz-Cayeros, A., Magaloni, B. 2009; 20 (4): 36-49
  • Credible power-sharing and the longevity of authoritarian rule COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES Magaloni, B. 2008; 41 (4-5): 715-741
  • Partisan cleavages, state retrenchment, and free trade - Latin America in the 1990s Annual Meeting of the American-Political-Science-Association Magaloni, B., Romero, V. LATIN AMER STUDIES ASSOC. 2008: 107–35
  • Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico Magaloni , B. Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics. 2006
  • A la Puerta de la Ley: El Estado de Derecho en México (At the Threshold of the Law: Rule of Law in Mexico) Magaloni , B., Rubio , L., Jaime , E. CIDAC - Cal y Arena. 1993