Forrest Colburn

Forrest D. Colburn is a Professor in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY). He specializes in governance, economic development, and revolutionary movements in poorer countries, with a focus on Latin America. Colburn holds affiliations with INCAE Business School and has taught at Princeton University, NYU, Addis Ababa University, and the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. His career includes work with the International Labor Organization and business organizations in Latin America. He was a Fulbright Fellow and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, 2006-2007).

Research interests include the interplay of politics and economic policy, revolutionary change, and contemporary Latin American governance dynamics. His scholarship spans studies of Nicaragua’s revolution, democratic erosion in El Salvador, and the impact of commodity dependence on regional economies. Colburn’s work frequently appears in Journal of Democracy, World Policy Journal, and Dissent.

Key contributions include Latin America at the End of Politics (2002), Colonialism, Independence, and the Construction of Nation-States (2021), and co-edited volumes like Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. His recent articles analyze political instability in Central America’s Northern Triangle and democratic subterfuge in Latin America.

Colburn’s academic service includes editorial roles and collaborative research with scholars like James C. Scott and Alberto Trejos. His work bridges academic analysis with practical policy insights, particularly in governance and economic development strategies.