MIT World Speakers

Diane E. Davis

Diane Davis' research interests include the politics of urban policy and cities in comparative perspective. She is currently developing a taxonomy of cities in conflict that could serve as a basis for assessing the unique planning challenges and priorities faced by these cities.

Davis is the author of Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century (1994; Spanish translation 1999). In addition to her extensive writings on the history and politics of urbanization and urban social movements in Mexico, Davis has published articles on local governance, leftist mayors, and democratic transition in Latin America in such journals as the Journal of Urban Affairs, Comparative Urban and Community Research, and Politics and Society. Davis is also editor of the research annual Political Power and Social Theory, and is a recent recipient of fellowships from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for her research on police impunity and deteriorating rule of law in Mexico City, Moscow, and Johannesburg.