Raul Zepeda Gil

Raúl is a Mexican interdisciplinary sociologist and political scientist focused on the nexus between socioeconomic inequalities and conflicts, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. His analytical lenses span from political economy, critical policy analysis, history of ideas, analytical Marxism, and stratification sociology. 

Raúl is currently researching several topics, mainly on youth recruitment by criminal organisations and labour market inequalities in the Latin American drug wars. He also studies on climate change politics, teachers’ education policy, civil-military relations and austerity, inequalities and criminal violence, and international politics of the war on drugs. Moreover, Raul is commencing to craft a research agenda on the political theory of existential risk and human nature discourses due to the climate change crisis. 

In his previous work, he has discussed criminal wars in Latin America, schooling and homicide, the political economy of drug wars, youth, economic policy, human rights, higher education funding, civil-military relations in United Nations peacekeeping operations, disaster management and climate change, peace-making with the Colombian drug cartels, and Mexican politics. 

His pieces have been published in journals like Third World Quarterly, Crime and Justice, Illicit Economies and Development, Política y Gobierno, Foro Internacional, and Estudios Sociológicos. His book chapters have been published in the series of Routledge Studies in Latin American Politics, Edinburgh University Press, El Colegio de México and Fondo de Cultura Económica. The Friedrich Ebert Foundation and The UK in a Changing Europe have published some of his reports. He has presented papers at the International Political Science Association and the Latin American Studies Association.

Raul has also consulted for the Cooperation Program between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on drug policy (COPOLAD), the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and the Mexican National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH).

Before working in academia, Raul had an extensive career in government. After graduating from the University, he became a Junior Officer on Democratic Culture and Peace in the Morelos Government. After obtaining his master’s degree, he was hired as a junior researcher on Mexican politics at the Mexican Senate think tank. Later, he became an external advisor on legislative affairs for the Undersecretary of Budget of the Mexican Finance Secretariat. He was appointed Director General of Legislative Liaison of the Secretariat of Economy before his doctoral studies. 

Raul holds a PhD in Sociology of War from the School of Security Studies in King’s College London (KCL), a master’s degree in political science from El Colegio de México and a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM). 

Please note Dr Zepeda Gil is not available to supervise doctoral students.