A specialist on the origins and consolidation of democracy, Latin American politics, electoral systems, civil-military relations, political parties, regime transitions and U.S.-Latin American relations, Dr. Valenzuela is an expert on the politics of the Southern
Cone and Mexican politics. He is the author or co-author of nine books, including Political Brokers in

Chile and The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile. His recent work has focused on the consolidation of democracy and with Juan J. Linz published The Failure of Presidential Democracy. His academic articles have appeared in edited collections and scholarly journals including Comparative Politics, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica, Estudios Públicos and the Latin American Research Review. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Democracy, Current History, The Latin American Research Review and The Third World Quarterly and has published commentaries in leading newspapers in the United States, Latin America and Europe. He is currently a regular columnist for El Universal in Mexico and El Mercurio in Santiago, Chile.