Julian E. Gerez

Biography

Julian E. Gerez, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and, by courtesy, the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. His research sits at the intersection of comparative politics and criminal justice, with a focus on the political logic of law enforcement, drug policy, and state violence in Latin America and the United States. Gerez received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 2025.

Gerez's work examines how governments make enforcement decisions—including counternarcotics operations, capital punishment, and lethal force—and how those decisions shape public trust and political accountability. He has methodological interests in quantitative research and causal inference and has conducted large-scale field and survey experiments.

Gerez has received external funding from the United States Institute of Peace-Minerva Research Initiative and the American Political Science Association's Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant. He has presented his research at major conferences including the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, and the Latin American Studies Association, and has appeared on CNN International.

Education

• Ph.D. in Political Science, Columbia University, 2025
• M.Phil. in Political Science, Columbia University, 2021
• M.A. in Political Science, Columbia University, 2020
• B.A. in Political Science, Northwestern University, 2017

Distinctions

• United States Institute of Peace-Minerva Research Initiative Peace and Security Scholar Fellowship, 2024
• Stephanie G. Neuman Fellowship in Comparative Defense Studies, Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, 2023