Research team

Laura Chaqués Bonafont

Laura Chaqués Bonafont is professor of Political Science at the University of Barcelona and research fellow at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). She holds a Phd in Political Economy (University of Barcelona) and a MA in Political Science (New School for Social Research, New York). She is the director of the Spanish Policy Agendas Project, a competitive research project aimed to the analysis of the interrelation between the political agenda, the media and public opinion in Spain in comparative perspective, with the institutional support of the European Science Foundation (Eurocores programme), the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia and the Agaur (Generalitat de Catalunya). She has published two books "Estructura y Política farmacéutica" (2002) and " Redes de Políticas Públicas" (2004) and several articles in journals like Comparative Political Studies,  Revue Internationale de Politique Comparée,  Revista Española de Ciencia Política, the Journal of Public Policy and West European Politics. Most of her research activities are focused on public policy analysis –especially on policy networks and the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry— and the study of political organizations. At present her main research interests are are the analysis of agenda setting dynamics in comparative perspective, with special reference to the impact of the media, and interest groups. (laurachaques@ub.edu) Access to CV.

Anna Palau Roque is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science at the University of Barcelona. She finished her post-graduate studies at the University of Essex (UK) where she got an MA in Politics (with distinction) and received her PhD from the University of Barcelona. She has studied in other prestigious institutions like the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Washington, and has participated in different research projects financed by national and European institutions. She has mainly done work in the analysis of policy dynamics, particularly in the food safety sector, although her research interests include more broadly the study of agenda setting and the role of mass media as political actor. At present, the analysis of the European Union as agenda setter and its relationship with other levels of government is one of her main research interests. (apalau@ub.edu). Access to CV.

Luz Muñoz Marquez is a researcher of the Spanish Policy Agendas Project and a PhD candidate at the University of Barcelona. She hols a MA in Political Science (University of Barcelona) and a BA in International Relations (Universidad Autónoma de México) (with honors). She has been visiting research student at the Center for American Politics and Public Policy, University of Washington (2009). She is a grant-holder of the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (FPU) and has developed several teaching actitivies in the area of public policy at the University of Barcelona. Her current research focuses on NGOs; issue framing, transnational social movements and advocacy networks. (luzmunozma@ub.edu). Access to CV.

Ferran Davesa Heras is a researcher of the Spanish Policy Agendas Project at the Barcelona University (UB). He holds a MA in International Relations from the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), and a BA in Political Science from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) where he has began his first research assignments with the Department of International Relations and International Law. His Masters dissertation analyzed the theme of political cooperation in the Mediterranean. Davesa also has a journalist experience writing on economic and international themes for the Diari de Girona. His main fields of interest are terrorism, international security and the dynamics of political communication.

Mariel Julio

Mariel is a researcher for the Spanish Policy Agendas Project. She holds a BA in Political Science (with honors) and a BA in International Law from Buenos Aires University. She is currently working on her doctoral dissertation on the impact of mass media in environmenal policies at University of Barcelona. She was awarded a grant from Fundación Carolina to attend a postgraduate course at the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales (Madrid). Mariel has extensive experience in research activities at prestigious institutions in Europe, the United States and Argentina, such as IESE Business School (Barcelona), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington DC), the Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL; Buenos Aires) and the Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC;Buenos Aires). She also worked as a consultant for the Organization of American States (Washington DC) on the implementation of Convention Belém do Pará to eradicate violence against women. Her fields of interest include the interaction between mass media and environmental policy as well as human rights, and gender equality.

Associate members

Jordi Capo
Professor of Political Science
University of Barcelona

Pere Vilanova
Professor of Political Science
University of Barcelona

Lluís Medir
Research Assistant
University of Barcelona