Expertise

Topics:  Comparative Politics, Latin America, Presidential Leadership

Dr. Arana is a comparativist that focuses on two lines of inquiry. He specializes in elite behavior by analyzing how the personality traits and other individual differences of heads of government impact executive governance. Second, he studies the consequences of variation in political institutions across countries, with an emphasis on Latin America. He examines executive-legislative relations, informal institutions, gender and politics, and judicial politics.

He is currently writing the book The Psychology of Presidents, under contract with Cambridge University Press. His first book, Presidential Personalities and Constitutional Power Grabs in Latin America, 1945-2021, was recently published by Oxford University Press. His work has been published in The American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Political Psychology, Democratization, Journal of Legislative Studies, Latin American Politics and Society, Journal of Law and Courts, Latin American Perspectives, América Latina Hoy, Revista de Ciencia Política, Bolivian Studies Journal, and Política. He has also published or has forthcoming book chapters in Oxford University Press, Springer, and FLACSO.

Arana is an affiliated faculty at CMU’s Center for Informed Democracy & Social-Cybersecurity (IDeaS), part of the Democratic Erosion consortium, Chile’s country expert for Freedom House since 2016, and columnist for latinoamerica21.com. He also runs https://latinos-pittsburgh.com, a bilingual resource for Pittsburgh’s Latino community.

At the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology, Arana has benefitted from working with more than sixty-five research assistants developing projects such as the World Leaders Database Project, a database that contains biographical information about the nearly 2,000 leaders that have governed countries around the world since 1970.

For the 2021-2022 academic year, he received the Provost’s Inclusive Teaching Fellowship, which helped the students in his Comparative Politics class, one of the largest in CMIST, feel empowered to participate.

Media Experience

Keiko Fujimori: bidding to turn dynasty into destiny in Peru  — The Loop
Peru's most polarising politician is making an extraordinary fourth bid for the country’s presidency. Carolina Guerrero Valencia and Ignacio Arana Araya discuss how Keiko built her career on dynastic inheritance and the First Lady role: two shortcuts to power that push fragile democracies toward soft patrimonialism.

Washington’s Blind Spot in Latin America  — International Policy Digest
Ignacio Arana Araya, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Institute for Strategy and Technology, argues in his book Presidential Personalities and Constitutional Power Grabs in Latin America, 1945–2021, that U.S. policymakers often underestimate the role individual leaders play. In a region dominated by presidential systems, leadership style can shape national trajectories in ways that formal institutions alone cannot.

Presidential Personalities with Ignacio Arana Araya  — 35 West Podcast
In this episode, Christopher Hernandez-Roy sits down with Ignacio Arana Araya, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University and author of the book Presidential Personalities and Constitutional Power Grabs in Latin America, 1945-2021. Together, they discuss common trends in presidential power grabs, risk factors, and how institutions can guard against these.

Democratic backsliding or a blip?: Chile’s Kast withdraws from power transition talks  — Latin America Reports
Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University Ignacio Arana Araya tells Latin America Reports that by making his grievances public and halting the meetings, Kast is breaking with a “cherished informal institution.”

Cilia Flores and the role of first lady in Latin America  — DW
"From a political perspective, if it's a harmonious relationship, the first lady has advantages in being the president's most influential advisor. She knows him better than anyone, it's a relationship based on love, and therefore not instrumental, and she's the first and last face the head of government sees each day," Ignacio Arana, assistant professor of Political Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, told DW.