Political Science
Office: Founders Hall 2242
Phone: 308-865-8776
avilesw1@unk.edu
Education Background
B.A., Florida International University
M.A. and Ph.D., University of California, Riverside
Dr. Avilés joined the department in 2002. His teaching assignments have included courses on Latin American politics, the politics of developing nations and comparative politics.
Dr. Avilés' scholarly interests focus on civil-military relations, U.S. foreign policy, globalization, and political violence in Latin America. He has published in the Journal of Latin American Studies and Latin American Perspectives and presented his work at professional conferences such as the Latin American Studies Association, the American Political Science Association and the Western Political Science Association. His book Global Capitalism, Democracy and Civil-Military Relations inColombia was published by SUNY press in March of 2006.
Dr. Avilés has also contributed book reviews to Perspectives on Politics as well as Latin American Perspectives. His present research has focused upon civil-military relations and democracy in Colombia and the Andes, globalization, as well as U.S. "democracy promotion" strategies in Latin America.