Isabel Güiza-Gómez

Isabel Güiza-Gómez graduated in 2025 with a Ph.D. in political science and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame. Her research centers on the conditions under which marginalized actors can forge development and democracy in contexts marked by inequality and violence, particularly in Latin America. In her dissertation, Isabel examines the strategies employed by opposition actors, including unarmed social movements and insurgent negotiators, to forge land redistribution during civil war peace processes in Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Her research has been supported by prestigious grants, including the United States Institute for Peace – Peace Scholar Fellowship, the Graduate Women in Science National Fellowship, the Fulbright Program, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Notre Dame Graduate School.

In collaborative projects, Isabel investigates how grassroots actors can become influential brokers for leftist politicians when new institutions propel collective action from local and national politics. She also investigates why citizens show violence justification attitudes toward lethal violence against grassroots activists who advocate for redistribution in the context of comprehensive peace agreements. Her collaborative research also examines policy conflict between reparation programs and developmental projects in transitional context, and the future-oriented trajectories of collective action following splits within social movements.

Isabel has over a decade experience of working on peacebuilding, transitional justice, and land policies in Colombia. She is the co-author of The Constitution of the Peasantry. Struggles for Recognition and Redistribution in the Legal Field, originally written in Spanish and awarded the Alejandro Angel Escobar Prize. She has served as a researcher at the Notre Dame Violence and Transitional Justice Lab, as a researcher and project coordinator at the Notre Dame Eliminating Violence Against Women Lab, and as an associate researcher at Dejusticia.