César Estrada, PhD
About me
I am a peace and conflict studies practitioner and scholar specialized in the study of criminal violence in the context of organized crime and human rights violations. With a disciplinary training in international relations, political science, development studies and sociology of violence, my expertise involves the analysis of criminal conflicts and the design of public policies to address the roots of violence from a comprehensive perspective.
Currently, I serve as a Director within the Unit for Policies and Strategies for Peacebuilding at Mexico's Secretariat for Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC). I am also a part-time lecturer at the Department of Sociopolitical and Legal Studies at the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), the Jesuit University in Guadalajara, Mexico.
I hold a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, at George Mason University. I hold a Masters in International Cooperation for Development from Instituto Mora, in Mexico City, and a Bachelors in International Relations from El Colegio de San Luis, Mexico.
I have been a Visiting Research Fellow hosted by both the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, at the University of Notre Dame.
My professional practice also includes fostering dialogue with local governments and institutions to craft responses to episodes of crisis and specific cases of populations in the need of protection. I also have experience in drafting reports and public policy reccomendations for the National Cabinet of Security.
My academic lines of research examine Mexico from a genocide lens to explore how during extreme criminal conflicts certain groups are targeted and become victims of genocidal violence. I also study the role of narratives in the justification or rejection of these forms of violence.
I have taught upper-level courses in US and Mexican universities on: Culture and Conflict Resolution; Human Rights and Inequality; Narratives and Violence; and Critical Approaches to the War on Drugs.