Maxwell A. Cameron

Maxwell A. Cameron is a Professor at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, University of British Columbia (UBC), and a Distinguished Fellow at the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (2020). His research focuses on comparative politics, constitutionalism, democratic theory, and political economy in Latin America, with a particular emphasis on Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela.

• Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (1989)

Research interests include democracy promotion, electoral reform, constitutional design, oligarchic rule, and participatory governance. He has founded the Andean Democracy Research Network, which monitors democratic institutions in the Andean region, and served as Director of UBC’s Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, co-creating the Institute for Future Legislators.

Recent publications analyze electoral denialism, pandemic politics, democratic innovations, and constitutional reform. His work has been supported by SSHRC, IDRC, the Ford Foundation, and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, 2011-2012).

• Guillermo O’Donnell Democracy Award (2022)
• UBC Killam Teaching Prize (2012-2013)

Cameron advises graduate students, including current advisee Paolo Sosa, and engages in policy discussions on electoral reform, citizen engagement, and democratic ethics. He blogs about practical wisdom and is a frequent media commentator on Latin American politics.