Abby Córdova

Associate Professor of Global Affairs

Abby Córdova

214 Hesburgh Center for International Studies
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556

(574) 631-1496
acordov3@nd.edu

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Abby Córdova

Associate Professor of Global Affairs

On leave for 2024-25 academic year

Expertise

Comparative politics; political behavior; Latin American politics

Research & Biography

Abby Córdova is an associate professor of global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. She also is a faculty fellow of the Keough School’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies and a research affiliate of the Kellogg Institute’s Notre Dame Violence and Transitional Justice Lab (V-TJ).

Córdova’s research examines the consequences of inequality and marginalization for democracy, integrating topics related to crime and violence, gender inequality, economic inequality, and international migration in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. Her research seeks to identify public policies that can improve the well-being of disadvantaged citizens and in this way advance democratic consolidation across the world.

As an expert on survey research methodology, Córdova’s work relies extensively on public opinion and elite survey data. Her current research includes a book project that explores how criminal governance makes women more vulnerable to gender-based violence and its consequences for women’s political engagement. Her research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

Córdova holds two master’s degrees and a PhD in political science from Vanderbilt University, where she held a postdoctoral position as the lead researcher of USAID’s Central America Regional Security Initiative impact evaluation by the Latin American Public Opinion Project. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, she was an associate professor at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Political Science. She has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank’s Poverty and Gender section for Latin America and the Caribbean. More recently, she served as the principal investigator of a project funded by USAID that developed a methodology to measure community resilience in contexts of high crime.

Recognitions and Awards

  • Guggenheim Distinguished Scholar (2022)
  • Southern Political Science Association Marian Irish Award (2020)
  • College of Arts & Science Diversity and Inclusion Award, University of Kentucky (2018-2019)
  • Midwest Political Science Association Sophonisba Breckinridge Award, Best Paper on Women and Politics (2017)
  • Fulbright Scholarship

Professional Roles/Positions

  • Faculty fellow, Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (2024-25)
  • Associate editor for politics and international relations, Latin American Research Review (present)
  • Director, Women in Political Science and Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives, University of Kentucky
  • Central American Visiting Scholar, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University (2016-2017)

Recent Work

 

Courses

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