Orlando J. Pérez, Ph.D.

Anspach Hall 234
(989) 774-3430
 

orlando.j.perez@cmich.edu

Vita

 

Dr. Pérez is currently serving as president of the Midwest Association for Latin American Studies (MALAS) (www.malasnet.org)
 

Recent International Travel (photo gallery)

 

Visit by Dr. Francisco Mayorga, President of Albertus Magnus International Institute in Managua, Nicaragua, October 2007.

 

Tanzania: Technical assistance on survey of health-care delivery system for USAID, October, 2006.

 

Costa Rica: Latin American Public Opinion Project, Workshop, November 2006.

 

 La Gobernabilidad de la seguridad en el Caribe: Iniciativas de Reformas y Cooperación,” Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, (August 2, 2005)

Orlando J. Pérez is a professor of political science. He teaches courses in comparative politics, Latin American politics, and U.S.-Latin American relations. His conference presentations and his publications have focused on democratization, elite theory, authoritarianism, public opinion, US-Panama relations, and civil-military relations. He is a recipient of a grant from the United States Institute of Peace for his project studying the transformation of civil-military relations in post-authoritarian Central America. He has carried out field research in several countries of the region, including Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela. As a consultant, he has worked on public opinion surveys, democratization, civil-military relations, and corruption issues for USAID and the UN Development Program. His work has appeared in the Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Hemisphere, South Eastern Latin Americanist, Political Science Quarterly, and Journal of Political and Military Sociology, among a number of chapters in edited volumes. He is the editor of Post-Invasion Panama: The Challenges of Democratization in the New World Order. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently involved as Co-Coordinator for Central America (with Ricardo Cordova Macias of FUNDAUNGO-El Salvador) for the Project on Security in North America, Central America and the Caribbean funded by the Ford Foundation and Woodrow Wilson Center. Additionally, he is a member of the Scientific Support Group for the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University (see http://www.lapopsurveys.org/). His current research focuses on civil-military relations in Latin America, crime and security issues in Central America, as well as survey research on democratic political culture. With Angela Haddad, Department of Sociology, he is working on a comparative project examining critical thinking and global literacy skills in Cuba, Panama and the United States. Dr. Perez is serving as president of the Midwest Association for Latin American Studies (www.malasnet.org).

Education

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1996
M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1992
B.A., Florida International University, 1989
B.S., University of Miami, 1985

Fields of Specialization

Comparative Politics
Latin American Politics
Central America and Panama
Elite Political Culture
Processes of Democratization
Political and Electoral Behavior
U.S. - Latin American Relations

Recent Grants and Honors

Premier Display Grant, Faculty Research and Creative Endeavor Committee, June 21-23, 2007. Deliver a paper at the Consejo de Estudios Latinoamericanos de Asia y Oceania [Latin American Studies Council of Asia & Oceania] annual meeting, Seoul, South Korea, $1000.

Summer Faculty Scholar, College of Humanities and Social & Behavioral Sciences, “The ‘New Left’ in Latin America: Deepening or Eroding Democracy,” 2007, $3,500.

Faculty Insight Team (FIT), ORSP, “Comparative Analysis of Student Leaders in a Cuban, Panamanian and U.S. University,” 2006-2007, $9,000.

Premier Display Grant, Faculty Research and Creative Endeavor Committee, July 9-16, 2006. Deliver a paper at the International Political Science Association annual meeting, Fukuoka, Japan, $1000.

United States Institute of Peace, Unsolicited Grant Award (2001-2002). Project: “The

Transformation of Civil Military Relations in Post-Authoritarian Central America.” $38,000

 

Provost Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, 2001, $1,500.

Recent Publications

     Books

(Consulting editor) World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties, 4^th edition, (with Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatt). Volume I-III, New York: Facts on File, 2006.

(Editor), "Post-Invasion Panama:  The Challenges of Democratization in the New World Order." Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2000.

    Monographs and Occasional Papers

 La cultura política de la democracia en Panamá, 2004: Percepciones de la población en torno al sistema político, (with Marco A. Gandasegui, hijo), Un estudio del Proyecto de opinión Publica en America Latina (LAPOP), ARD, Inc., Vanderbilt University, CELA, USAID, Panama City, Panama, 2004. 

(English version) The Political Cultura of Democracy in Panama, 2004: Public Perceptions of the Political System (with Marco A. Gandasegui, hijo), A Study of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), ARD, Inc., Vanderbilt University, CELA, USAID,  Nashville, TN, 2004.

 “Report on Tri-Partite Survey: Albanian Anticorruption Project,” Management Systems International (MSI), Inc., 2004.

 “Sistematización del proyecto ‘Apoyo al programa de Reforma y Modernización de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras para garantizar la Gobernabilidad Democrática y el Poder Civil, HON/01/007’ Acuerdo de Servicios Especiales # 325/2002, Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), 2002.

       Articles and Chapters in Edited Volumes

“Honduras.” In Countries at the Crossroads: A Survey of Democratic Governance, edited by Sanja Kelly, Christopher Walker and Jake Dizard, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.

“Panama.” In Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Karen Jacobs Sparks, 443-44. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2007.

“Panama during World War II: Nationalism and the Challenge to Canal Security,” In Latin America During World War II, edited by John Bratzel and Thomas Leonard, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006.

“Managing Conflict: Regional Security Policy and U.S.-Venezuela Relations in the 21^st Century,” In Addicted to Failure. US Security Policy in Latin America and the Andean Region, edited by Brian Loveman, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006.

“La Transformación de las Relaciones Civiles - Militares en Centroamérica,” (with Ricardo Córdova Macías), In Democracias frágiles: Las relaciones civiles militares en el mundo Iberoamericano, edited by José Antonio Olmeda, 523-572. Instituto Universitario General Gutiérrez Mellado, Editorial Tirant Lo Blanch, Madrid, 2005.

“Republic of Panama,” In World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties, 3rd. edition, edited by Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatt; consulting editor Orlando J. Pérez, 1041-1049. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

 “Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” In World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties, 3rd. edition, edited by Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatt; consulting editor Orlando J. Pérez, 1491-1499. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

“Panama,” In Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Karen Jacobs Sparks, 445. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2005.

“New Threats and Old Dilemmas: Central America’s Armed Forces in the 21^ST Century,” (with Richard Millett), Journal of Political and Military Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Summer 2005): 59-79.

“Panama” In 2004 Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Karen Jacobs Sparks, 447. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2004.

“Democratic Legitimacy and Public Insecurity: The Impact of Crime Victimization on Support for Democracy in El Salvador and Guatemala,” Political Science Quarterly, Volume 118, Number 4 (Winter 2003-04): 1-19.

Special Issue Guest Editor. “100 Years of Panama,” South Eastern Latin Americanist, Volume XLVII, No. 1,2 (Summer/Fall 2003).

“Panama Turns 100!” South Eastern Latin Americanist, XLVII, No. 1,2 (Summer/Fall 2003): 7-13.

“Panama” In 2003 Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Karen Jacobs Sparks, 479. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2003.

“Chavismo and the Transformation of Civil-Military Relations in Venezuela,” South Eastern Latin Americanist, Volume XLVI, No. 1,2 (Summer/Fall 2002): 12-33.

“Dismantling Liberal Democracy: Neopopulism and the Reorientation of Civil-Military Relations in Venezuela,” In Armies and Politics, edited by Evgeny N. Pashentsev and Constantine V. Miniar-Beloroutchev, Moscow, Russian Federation: Russian Progressive Review, 2002.

“Panama” In 2002 Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Charles P. Trumbull, 476. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2002

“El neomilitarismo latinoamericano y su desafió a la democracia liberal”, En Militares y Civiles: Balance y perspectivas de las relaciones civiles-militares venezolanas en la segunda mitad del siglo XX,  edited by Hernán Castillo, Manuel Alberto Donis Ríos y Domingo Irwin, Caracas, Venezuela: Publicaciones UCAB, 2001.

“Panama” In 2001 Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Charles P. Trumbull, 478. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2001.

“Panama” In 2000 Britannica Book of the Year, edited by Charles P. Trumbull, 475. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2000.

"Drugs and Post-Intervention Political Economy in Haiti and Panama."  The Political Economy of Drugs in the Caribbean.  Ed. Ivelaw L. Griffith. London, MacMillan Press, 2000.

"Public Opinion and the Future of U.S. - Panama Relations."  Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs.  Vol. 41, No. 3  (1999):  1 - 34.

Recent Presentations

“Gang Violence, Insecurity and Democracy: Exploring the Impact of ‘Mano Dura’ Policies,” Research Committee on Armed Forces & Society, International Political Science Association, Santiago, Chile (June 25-28, 2008).

 “Exploring Populist and Authoritarian Values in Latin America: Venezuela in Comparative Perspective,” World Association of Public Opinion Research, New Orleans, LO (May 13-15, 2008).

“Popular Views of Globalization,” Conference on Latin America and Globalization, Center for the Studies of the Americas, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark (April 15-16, 2008).

“Colliding Domestic Rationalities: A Framework for Understanding Cuba’s New Export Commodity”
(with Angela Haddad),  Cuba Project International Symposium A Changing Cuba in a Changing World, Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, New York (March 13-15, 2008)

“Measuring Democratic Political Culture in Latin America,” 57^th Annual Conference of the Midwest Association for Latin American Studies (MALAS), St. Louis, MO (November 1-4, 2007).

“Neo-Populism in Latin America: A Comparative Micro-Level Analysis using Survey Data,” 60^th World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), Berlin, Germany (September 19-21, 2007)

“Mass Support for Populism in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis of Survey Data,” Consejo de Estudios Latinoamericanos de Asia y Oceania (CELAO), Seoul, South Korea (June 21-23, 2007)

“Democracy and Crime Victimization in Latin America,” Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), Chicago, Illinois (April 12-15, 2007).

“Democracy, Crime, and Public Insecurity: An Analysis of Security Sector Reform in Central America,” 20^th Meeting of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), Fukuoka, Japan (July 9-12, 2006).

“La corrupcion en Latinoamerica y su impacto en la democracia y el Estado de Derecho,” Academic-Civic Forum on “Consecuencias para la sociedad, la democracia y la economia de un deterioro institucional o de un aumento de la inseguridad personal,” Co-sponsored by Ministry of Justice of Panama, Rotary Clubs of Panama, and Midwest Association of Latin American Studies, Panama City, Panama (November 19-20, 2006).

 “Panama during World War II: Nationalism and the Challenge to Canal Security,” Annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS), Calgary, Alberta, CA (September 28-30, 2006).

 “Democracia, delincuencia e inseguridad ciudadana: Análisis de las reformas del sector seguridad en Centroamérica,” Paper prepared for delivery at the 20th World Congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) in Fukuoka, Japan, July 9-14, 2006

 Chair, Panel: “Democracy and Public Opinion in Africa,” 59^th Annual meeting of the World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), Montreal, Canada (May 16-18, 2006).

 “Los nuevos temas de seguridad en Centroamérica,” XXVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, (March 15-18, 2006).

 Organizer, Panel: “Los desafios de seguridad en Centroamerica” XXVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, (March 15-18, 2006).

“Measuring Authoritarian Political Culture in Latin America,” 58^th Annual Meeting of the World Association of Public Opinion Research, Cannes, France, (September 15-17, 2005).

 “La seguridad en Centroamérica,” Presentation at the workshop “La Gobernabilidad de la seguridad en el Caribe: Iniciativas de Reformas y Cooperación,” Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, (August 2, 2005)

 “Inseguridad y delincuencia en Centroamérica,” Presentation at the Seminar “La agenda de seguridad en Centroamérica,” Woodrow Wilson Center, FUNDAUNGO, Ford Foundation, San Salvador, El Salvador, (July 14-15, 2005).

 “Consensus or Conflict: The Making of National Defense Policy in Central America,” Research Committee on Armed Forces and Society of the International Political Sciences Association (IPSA), China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA), Shanghai Institute for Defense Strategic Studies (SIDSS), Shanghai, P.R.C., (June 28-29, 2005).

 “Measuring Support for Stable Democracy in Latin America: An Analysis of Results from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP),” 7^th Annual International Seminar of the World Association of Public Opinion Research-Mexico Chapter, Mexico City, F.D., (May 16-17, 2005).