Rafael Alexandre Mello
Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
Associations
Politics
Latin American and Latinx Studies
About
B.A., University of the Pacific; M.A., Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil; Ph.D., University of Brasília, Brazil.
Rafael Alexandre Mello (he/him) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics. His research focuses on unequal international political-economic relations, primarily concerned with the repercussions these interactions have on economic development and on the democracy-authoritarian nexus in Latin America and the broader Global South. He is particularly interested in emerging power politics and their organizations as they seek to impact world governance and world order.
Expertise
Current Courses
Fall Semester 2025
States and Markets
Given the current debate over globalization, questions about the relationship between states and markets-domestic and global-have become increasingly contested. With that in mind, this course examines how the relationship between states and markets has changed over the past fifty years, exploring su…
Geopolitics of Rising Powers: BRICS and Beyond
After the fall of the Soviet Union and the emergence of United States as the sole superpower, scholars began foreseeing the emergence of a multipolar world in which rising powers would gain relative economic and political importance. This course analyzes the rise of the BRICS coalition (Brazil, Russ…
Senior Thesis
Discussion of methods of research and writing, oral reports, and regular individual consultation with instructors. Students undertake a one-semester thesis by registering for PLTC 457 in the fall semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both PLTC 457 and 458. Prerequisite(s): one 300-l…
Winter Semester 2026
International Political Economy
This course offers an introduction to the theories and debates regarding the politics of trade, multinational corporations, money and finance, and regional integration of developed and developing countries. Students explore the connections between international politics and economics both historical…
Latin America Debates Dependency and Development
The history of Latin American and Caribbean political development is also a history of how the region grappled with struggles for economic development and autonomy in relation to the more powerful Western states. This course surveys the progression of the dependency-development debate by contextuali…
Global Political Economy of Development
The problem of development became a focus of global debate following World War II. This course interrogates the role of colonialism/imperialism in shaping the possible paths of development in Global South (GS) countries by engaging a global political economy approach. In addition to a historical and…