Consuelo Amat

Consuelo Amat is the SNF Agora Institute Assistant Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. Her research interests include the study of state repression, armed and unarmed resistance, political violence, and the development of civil society in authoritarian regimes. Her first book, Power in Autonomy: The Political Strategy of Constructive Resistance, argues that nonviolent movements can build power in contexts of extreme repression by focusing on delivering goods and services. She has also studied the impact of nonviolent action and peacebuilding trainings to build civic capacity in six countries in Latin America and Africa, in partnership with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Dr. Amat teaches the introductory course to the Minor in Civic Leadership at SNF Agora for Hopkins undergraduates. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Comparative Political Studies, and Comparative Politics. The United States Institute of Peace, the John F. Enders Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, and Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies have supported Dr. Amat's research. She received a PhD in political science with distinction from Yale University and holds an MA in conflict resolution from Georgetown University, and BA degrees in international affairs and philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before starting graduate school, Dr. Amat worked at the Brookings Institution, the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, Peace Action West, and Human Rights Watch.