Wilson Center Experts
Laura Gomez-Mera
Dr. Gomez Mera holds a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University and an M.Sc. in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics. In 2004-2005, she was Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Latin American Studies, Columbia University. She has also taught at Metropolitan College of New York and at New York University and has worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme in South Asia. Her research interests include regional trade agreements, the politics of trade disputes, and the international relations of the developing world, with special reference to foreign economic policy making in Latin America.
Education
B.A. Economics, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina; M.A. International Political Economy, London School of Economics; Ph.D. Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford
Project Summary
The trafficking of people has become an increasingly severe problem in today’s globalized world. Despite the severity and growing political salience of the issue, international cooperation in the fight against the trade in people has been surprisingly limited and uneven. In contrast to other international policy issues, concerted interstate collaboration to combat human trafficking has been elusive. The proposed project explores the international politics of cooperation initiatives in this area. It addresses three main questions. First, why has coherent and effective international cooperation against human trafficking been so elusive? Second, what are the causes and consequences of the increasingly fragmented and multilevel initiatives to regulate the illicit trade in people? And third, how does the overlap and linkages with regimes in other issues-areas affect the regulation of human trafficking? The study’s empirical findings will have important policy implications, contributing to discussions regarding the ways in which a more effective and politically sustainable international framework could be created. Furthermore the project seeks to contribute to deeper reflections about the normative aspects of international regulation, and the importance of addressing not just efficiency but also equity considerations in the design of international institutions.
Major Publications
- William C. Smith and Laura Gomez-Mera, eds., Market, State, and Society in Contemporary Latin America. Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 2010.
- Domestic Constraints on Regional Cooperation: Explaining Trade Conflict in MERCOSUR,” Review of International Political Economy, 16:4, 2009.
- Power, Institutions and Domestic Politics: Explaining Implementation Problems in Regional Trade Blocs in the Americas,” in Z. Sabic and A. Bojinovic (eds), The Governance of the 21st Century: Regional Solutions to Global Problems (Wroclaw: Wroclaw University Press, 2009)
