Erika Moreno, PhD

Chair, Department of Political Science and International Relations

Professor

Contact

ErikaMoreno@creighton.edu
College of Arts and Sciences
Political Science
EPLY - Eppley Building - 325

Erika Moreno, PhD

Chair, Department of Political Science and International Relations

Professor

Dr. Moreno is trained as a comparative political scientist, with a specialization in Latin American politics.  Her scholarly interests focus on democratic institutions and interbranch relations and their implications for democratic accountability and representation.

Recently, Dr. Moreno has been researching and writing about the work of accountability agencies across the Americas. Here, she has focused on the inner workings an impact of Human Rights Ombudsman offices on human rights provisions across the region. Here research, which is quantative in nature, has examined how these agencies have impacted improvements in human rights across the region. The work is complemented with several in depth case studies of the agency in Bolivia and Colombia.

Moreno's work on Latin American politics has appeared in a variety of venues including book manuscripts, peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, and book chapters.  Her work has appeared in peer reviewed journals, including Comparative Political Studes, Electoral Studies, the Bulletin of Latin American Research and Legislative Studies Quarterly.  She has also contributed to chapters in edited book manuscripts published by Notre Dame press, Oxford University Press, and Pennsylvania State Press on topics that include the Colombian peace process, government institutions and accountability, and the Columbian political system.

Although her primary focus is democracy and its institutions, she has also worked on topics that have addressed stability of regimes (democracy and autocracy), political transitions, and the role of regime characteristics on economic outcomes.  For instance, Dr. Moreno was part of the Creighton University team (with Associate Political Science Professor Richard Witmer, Associate Dean of the Law School Mike Kelly, Director of the Werner Center, Patrick Borchers) that wrote the Report on the Resolution of Outstanding Property Claims Between Cuba and the United States (Creighton University Press 2007).  The report which proposes the creation of a mechanism to settle outstanding property claims by Americans against the Cuban government, was commissioned by the United States Agency of International Development and supported by a $750,000 grant.

In her spare time, Dr. Moreno enjoys running, kayaking, and spending time with her family.
 

Teaching Interests

  • Comparative Politics

Research Focus

  • Comparative politics
  • Democracy
  • Latin America
  • Interbranch relations and government accountability
  • Human rights

Department

Political Science and International Relations

Position

Professor

Books

  • The Quality of Democracy in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, Colombia: The Effects of Violence [Book Chapter] 2022
  • Almao Valia Pereira, The Quality of Democracy in Latin America 2022
  • Handbook of Latin American Studies, Vol. 75
    Moreno ERIKA, COLOMBIA [Book Chapter] 2021
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America: From Justitieombudsman to Defensor Del Pueblo 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, Principal-agent Theory and the Defensoría [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, The Missing Principal [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, Epilogue [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, Birth and Development of the Defensoría del Pueblo [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, The Defensoría del Pueblo in the Americas [Book Chapter] 2020
  • Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, The Defensoría and Gains in Human Rights Protections [Book Chapter] 2020
  • The Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Relationship: New Pathways and Policy Choices
    Kelly Michael J., Succession versus transition [Book Chapter] 2019
  • The Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Relationship: New Pathways and Policy Choices
    Kelly Michael J., Conclusion [Book Chapter] 2019
  • The Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Relationship: New Pathways and Policy Choices
    Kelly Michael J., Introduction [Book Chapter] 2019
  • The Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Relationship: New Pathways and Policy Choices
    Kelly Michael J., U.S. property claims in Cuba [Book Chapter] 2019
  • The Quality of Democracy in Latin America: Theory and Cases
    Moreno Erika, Colombia: the Detrimental Effects of Violence [Book Chapter] 2011
  • Pathways to Power: Political Recruitment and Democracy in Latin America.
    Moreno Erika, Mejor Solo que Mal Acompañado: Political Entrepreneurs in Colombia [Book Chapter] 2008
  • Borchers Patrick J., Report on the resolution of outstanding property claims between Cuba and the United States 2007
  • Peace, Democracy and Human Rights in Colombia
    Moreno Erika, Deepening Democracy by Renovating Political Practices: The Struggle for Electoral Reform in Colombia [Book Chapter] 2007
  • Democratic accountability in Latin America
    Moreno Erika, The accountability deficit in Latin America [Book Chapter] 2003
  • Moreno Erika, Small parties in Latin America 2001

Articles

  • Cuban Affairs
    Witmer Richard C., A proposed property claims settlement mechanism for the United States and Cuba
    2, p. 1 - 11 2007

Publications

  • The Cuba-U.S. bilateral relationship 2019
  • Human Rights Review
    Moreno Erika, The Power of the Pen: Human Rights Ombudsmen and Personal Integrity Violations in Latin America, 1982-2006
    17:2, p. 143 - 164 2016
  • Latin American Policy
    Moreno Erika, Improving the Democratic Brand through Institution Building: Ombudsmen and Corruption in Latin America, 2000-2011
    7:1, p. 126 - 146 2016
  • Latin American Politics and Society
    Moreno Erika, The Contributions of the Ombudsman to Human Rights in Latin America, 1982-2011
    58:1, p. 98 - 120 2016
  • Politics & Policy
    Moreno Erika, Where Capacity and Incentives Meet: Presidential Decree Authority and Property Rights in Latin America
    43:3, p. 315 - 346 2015
  • Latin American Politics and Society
    Moreno Erika, Precarious Democracies: Understanding Regime Stability and Change in Colombia and Venezuela
    55:3, p. 181 - 183 2013
  • Social Science Journal
    Moreno Erika, Policy mandates and re-election among single issue parties
    50:2, p. 189 - 194 2013
  • Social Science Journal
    Moreno Erika, Policy mandates and re-election among single issue parties
    50:2, p. 189 - 194 2013
  • Bulletin of Latin American Research
    Moreno Erika, Reclaiming Latin America: Experiments in radical social democracy [book review]
    30:3, p. 373 - 374 2011
  • Moreno Erika, Voting Amid Violence: Electoral Democracy in Colombia. 2010
  • Comparative Political Studies
    Thyne Clayton, Squeaky wheels and unequal policy
    41:7, p. 921 - 946 2008
  • Creighton Law Review
    Borchers Patrick J., Executive summary
    41:2, p. 207 - 218 2008
  • Electoral Studies
    Moreno Erika, Whither the Colombian two-party system? An assessment of political reforms and their limits
    24:3, p. 485 - 509 2005
  • Legislative Studies Quarterly
    Moreno Erika, Subnational determinants of national multipartism in Latin America
    28:2, p. 179 - 201 2003
  • Journal of Political and Military Sociology
    Baburkin Sergei, The 1992 coup attempts in Venezuela
    27:1, p. 141 - 154 1999

Presentations

  • The U.S.-Cuba bilateral relationship 2019

Other

  • A Tangled Web: Do Social Institutions Shape Support for Democracy?

  • A Tangled Web: Do Social Institutions Shape Support for Democracy?

Awards

  • CCAS Excellence Award (Service)
    Creighton College of Arts and Sciences