Brian Wampler
Professor, Political Science
Environmental Research Building 5141
bwampler@boisestate.edu
(208) 426-2650
Office Hours: By Appointment Only
Biography
Professor Brian Wampler focuses his research and teaching on Brazil and Latin America. Wampler has lived and conducted research in Brazil, Mexico, and Spain. Wampler earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas, Austin, and his BA in Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family.
Research Interests
Brian Wampler is Professor of Public Scholarship and Engagement, Office of the President at Boise State University, and Professor of Political Science in the School of Public Service.
He is the author of five books, including Participatory Budgeting in Global Perspective (2021, Oxford University Press, with Dr. Stephanie McNulty and Dr. Michael Touchton, Democracy at Work: Pathways to Well-being in Brazil (2020, Cambridge University Press, with Dr. Natasha Borges Sugiyama and Dr. Michael Touchton, Activating Democracy in Brazil: Popular Participation, Social Justice and Interlocking Institutions (University of Norte Dame Press, 2015) and Participatory Budgeting in Brazil: Cooperation, Contestation, and Accountability (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007).
Wampler has published extensively on democracy, participation, civil society, and institution building in journals such as American Political Science Review, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, World Development,Polity, Latin American Research and Review, and Latin American Politics and Society. Wampler has conducted field research in Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Spain.
Books
In Participatory Budgeting in Brazil: Contestation, Cooperation, and Accountability, Dr. Wampler draws evidence from eight municipalities in Brazil to show the varying degrees of success and failure Participatory Budgeting (PB) has experienced. He identifies why some PB programs have done better than others in achieving the twin goals of ensuring governmental accountability and empowering citizenship rights for the poor residents of these cities in the quest for greater social justice and a well-functioning democracy.
Selected Papers
- Adopting Participatory Democracy
- Following in the Footsteps of Policy Entrepreneurs
- When Does Participatory Democracy Deepen the Quality of Democracy? Lessons from Brazil
- Participatory Publics: Civil Society and New Institutions in Democratic Brazil
- Participatory Governance Wilson Center
- Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Why Most Mexican Immigrants are Choosing to Remain Permanently in the United States
- Improving Social Well-Being Touchton and Wampler
More of Dr. Wampler’s publications can be viewed on ScholarWorks.