Publications

• Nikolaos Frantzeskakis, Alejandra López Villegas, and Michael Wahman. Forthcoming. “Cheerleaders for Autocracy: Parliamentary Speech Making During Democratic Backsliding in Malawi and Zambia'.' Legislative Studies Quarterly.

• Alejandra López Villegas and Erica Frantz. 2024. “Autocratization and Democratic Backsliding.” In Natasha Lindstaedt In Natasha Lindstaedt and Jeroen J.J. den Bosch (Eds.) Research Handbook on Authoritarianism. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Work in progress

• “Gender Reforms and Backlash: Institutional and Individual Dynamics of Violence Against Women in Latin America'' (With Angie Torres-Beltrán)

  • Proposal accepted for submission to the 2027 Special Issue on the topic of Gender and Violence in Latin America for Conflict Management and Peace Science (CMPS)

• “Women's Rights On Their Own Terms: How Left-Wing Anti-Democratic Leaders Instrumentalize Women's Rights in Latin America”

  • Winner of the 2025 Empirical Study of Gender Research Network (EGEN) Prize

• “Leader Tenure and Women's Representation in Cabinets'' (with Benjamin Yoel)

  • Winner of the 2025 Best Graduate Student Paper Award, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University.

• “Who Supports the Authoritarian Incumbent? Elite Cohesion and Democratic Backsliding''

  • Winner of the 2023 Best Graduate Student Paper Award, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University