Merike Blofield

Prof. Merike Blofield is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Hamburg and an Associate at the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on gender policy, Latin American politics, comparative politics, and socio-economic inequalities.

• Roles: Director of GIGA Institute (2020–2023), Full Professor at University of Miami (2019), and former Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies Program (2015–2019).
• Research Interests: Gender-based violence, social protections, family policies, and Latin American political dynamics.

Her work includes analyzing pandemic responses to gender-based violence and socio-economic impacts of social policies in Latin America. She leads projects funded by DFG and BMZ, focusing on post-pandemic social protections and gender-based violence tracking.

Active in academic leadership, she serves on editorial boards of *Politics & Gender* and *Latin American Politics and Society*, and contributes to global initiatives like The Lancet Commissions on violence against women.