Associate Professor
Office: LT 412
Office hours as posted or by appointment.
Phone: ext. 7-5000
Email: lgates@binghamton.edu
CURRICULUM VITAE (pdf, 179kb)
I am currently Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the American Sociological Association's Section on Political Economy of the World-System (PEWS). I am a political sociologist with a particular interest in the origin of economic policies which structure how nations relate to the world economy. Two Fulbright awards funded my research on neoliberal politics in Mexico and Venezuela. My research on Mexico’s neoliberal turn and Venezuela’s turn against neoliberalism convinced me that we need to think more clearly about the relationship between corporate power and politics. I am interested in understanding the political behavior of the economic elite as well as the political consequences of the personal ties between the corporate world and political leaders and the public’s perception of the business community. While my approach to research is historical, I use quantitative and qualitative techniques to analyze empirical evidence. I welcome the opportunity to work with graduate students with similar interests, regardless of regional focus.
Recent Courses:
Recent Publications:
Gates, Leslie. 2012. "Interest Groups in Venezuela: Lessons from the failure of a 'Model Democracy' and the rise of a Bolivarian democracy". Journal of Public Affairs. DIO: 10.1002/pa.1410. Winner of the Best Article Award in the Social Sciences, 2012, from the Venezuela Section of the Latin American Studies Association.
Gates, Leslie. 2010. Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela. Pittsburgh, PA: Pitt Latin American Series, University of Pittsburgh Press.
Gates, Leslie. 2010. “Venezuela: Corruption in a Petrostate” in Corruption and Politics in Latin America edited by Charles H. Blake and Stephen D. Morris. Lynne Reinner Publishers.
Gates, Leslie. 2009. "Theorizing Business Power in the Semiperiphery: Mexico 1970-2000" Theory and Society. 38: 57-95.
Best Article Award 2009, Political Economy of World-System Section, American Sociological Association.
Gates, Leslie. 2007. "The Business of Anti-Globalization Politics: Lessons from Venezuela's 1998 Presidential Elections" in Research in Political Sociology, vol. 15: 101-137.
