Helene Combes

Hélène Combes is a CNRS Research Professor affiliated with the Center for International Studies (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris. She directs research on political parties and social movements with a specific focus on Latin America, particularly Mexico. Her work bridges comparative politics, urban studies, and political sociology, examining how spatial organization, class dynamics, and gender intersect in political mobilization.

Combes specializes in the relationship between political parties and social movements, with extensive fieldwork in Mexico spanning over 15 years. Her research examines political clientelism, urban protest movements, and the spatial dimensions of political mobilization. She has conducted in-depth studies on the emergence of the Morena party in Mexico and the transformation of social movements into political power, culminating in her 2024 book De la rue à la présidence. Foyers contestataires à Mexico. Her work reveals how working-class communities manage political occupations and how family dimensions shape protest movements in Latin America.

Combes has served as director of the journal Critique internationale (2017-2023), is a member of the board of the French Political Science Association (AFSP) since 2017, and serves on the scientific committee of Casa de Velázquez since 2018. Her international recognition is evident through her invited professorships at Columbia University, University of Salamanca, Pablo de Olavide University, University of Mar de Plata, University of Chile, and various Mexican institutions.

Currently teaching in the Master's research program in political science, university college, and School of International Affairs at Sciences Po Paris, Combes has previously taught at Beaux-Arts de Paris and University of Dauphine. Her work on Mexican politics has gained particular relevance with Claudia Sheinbaum (whom she followed for 15 years) becoming Mexico's presidential candidate. Combes holds a doctorate in engineering with specialization in climate change and ecology, bringing a transnational perspective to her political analysis.