Rafael Alexandre Mello
Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
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 2026
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…
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Comparative politics is a broad field of study that compares issues and institutions across countries or analyzes political institutions and processes within one country. This course introduces the comparative method to interrogate four main questions: Why do countries adopt certain institutions and…
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…