I am the Principal Investigator of a 5-year research grant awarded by FAPESP to establish and lead a research group focused on accountability, elite behavior and democratic resilience in Latin America. I am based at FGV in São Paulo, Brazil. My research lies at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy, and judicial politics. My work has appeared in the Journal of Democracy, Governance, Government & Opposition, among other outlets, and has been covered by a range of major media outlets.
I am engaged in collaborative cross-national projects that investigate why and when national elites are prosecuted for corruption and other crimes, and how such prosecutions influence democratic institutions. I am also writing a book that examines how political elites’ reactions shape the effects of anti-corruption investigations and convictions in Brazil. My research explores topics such as the role of money in politics, how prosecutors and courts respond to authoritarian pressures, how nepotism operates within political bargaining, and how parties circumvent electoral-fraud safeguards. A related line of research investigates how favoritism, lobbying, and institutional failures in the rule of law drive deforestation and industrial emissions. Beyond my cross-national and Brazil-focused work, I have also conducted research on Colombia and El Salvador.
I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied Economics and Political Science in Brazil and in Europe. I previously held postdoctoral research positions at Bocconi University, at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) and at the University of Pisa. I am a member of FGV’s Center for Politics and Economics of the Public Sector (CEPESP) and the Brazilian Interdisciplinary Network on the Study of Corruption.
Contact: manoel.gehrke (at) gmail.com
Manoel Gehrke 