Martha Balaguera

Martha Balaguera is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on collective political struggles in violent contexts, transborder activism in the Americas, and feminist perspectives on migration, border enforcement, and social movements. She is currently working on an ethnographic book project examining migrant encounters with humanitarianism and civil society across the 'integral frontier' of Central America, Mexico, and the United States.

• Research Interests: Borders, Migrations, Transnational feminisms, Critical carceral studies, Social movements, Violence
• Email: m.balaguera@utoronto.ca

Publication Trends: Her work spans critical analyses of hemispheric frontier regimes, racialized displacement, and legal accompaniment at borders. Recent articles explore Haitian migration trajectories (2023), queer/trans migration frameworks (2022), asylum law critiques (2022), and pandemic-era carceral politics (2021). Earlier scholarship traces her expertise in Mexican student activism (2015), border ethnography (2018), and transnational protest theory (2016).

Collaborative Projects: Co-authored works include 'Racial Frontiers' with Luisa Farah Schwartzman and Luis Van Isschot (Antipode, 2023), and contributions to collective manifestos like '13 Theses on Feminist Protest' (2024). Her research engages with hemispheric governance structures, racialized migration, and trauma-informed methodologies for LGBTQ+ migrant studies.