Daniela Osorio Michel

Dr. Daniela Osorio Michel is a Research Fellow and Research Team Spokesperson at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), specializing in the Latin American Studies Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Universidad Mayor de San Simón. Her work focuses on gender barriers in politics, identity, public opinion, and democracy, with a regional emphasis on Bolivia and the Andean region. She leads the DEMINGS project (Democratic Institutions in the Global South) and has published on topics such as women’s political representation, gender stereotypes, and decolonial theory.

Research interests include gender and politics, electoral dynamics, and the intersection of identity and democracy. Recent work examines gender-based political violence, corruption perceptions, and the role of women leaders in crisis contexts. She has contributed to policy advice through media engagements (e.g., Deutsche Welle interviews) and academic workshops on indigenous knowledge preservation and electoral trust.

Her teaching includes a 2023 course on improving local representation at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, Erfurt, Germany. She actively participates in academic networks such as the GIGA Doctoral Programme and has organized interdisciplinary events like the 'Preserving Indigenous Knowledge' workshop in Hamburg (2025).