Christoph Sponsel
Christoph D. Sponsel is a researcher at the intersections of peace & conflict, political violence, and social movement studies, with a regional focus on Latin America. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Los Andes University in Bogotá and previously held Visiting Researcher positions also at Los Andes and at Waseda University in Tokyo. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oxford and an MA in International & Development Economics from Yale University.
Christoph's research investigates political activism in societies transitioning from conflict. He explores how demobilized combatants participate in and influence protests and social movements, how authorities and elites respond, and the implications for political stability and dynamics of violence. Christoph employs a mixed-methods research approach, leveraging survey experiments and qualitative interviews conducted during extensive field research across urban and rural Colombia.
Christoph is particularly interested in the policy implications of his research. He has worked at the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, coordinating the ceasefire between the Colombian Government and the ELN armed group in Colombia’s Norte de Santander Department, and has advised diverse multilateral organizations, governments, philanthropies, and NGOs as a strategy consultant in the public and development sectors. Christoph's analyses of Latin American politics have been published in outlets such as The Japan Times, World Politics Review, Open Democracy, and The Conversation, among others. Christoph is fluent in German, English, Spanish, and French.
Research
Research Interests
My research investigates political activism and the development of democracy in societies transitioning from conflict, with a regional focus on Latin America, particularly Colombia. I explore how demobilized combatants participate in and influence protests and social movements, how authorities and elites respond, and the implications for political stability and dynamics of violence. My research thus aims to bridge the academic literature on peacebuilding and conflict resolution with the literature on activism and social movements. For my research, I employ a mixed-methods approach. For instance, I have created an original cross-country dataset on peace deal provisions, conducted a survey experiment in Colombia with over 3,000 participants, and conducted over 100 semi-structured interviews with demobilized rebels, politicians, and activists across urban and rural Colombia.
Publications
Sponsel, C. (2017). Effects of Childhood Conflict Exposure on Attitudes Toward Democracy, Trust in State Institutions, and Political Participation in Colombia. Pardee Periodical – Journal of Global Affairs 2(2)
Working Papers
“Participation Yielding Stigmatization? Demobilized Rebels’ Involvement During Colombia’s Paro Nacional,“ Revise and Resubmit
“When Rebels Turn Protesters – The Consequences of Former FARC Members’ Participation during the 2021 Colombian Mass Protests,“ under review
“Shall We Join? Factors Influencing Demobilized Rebels' Protest Participation During Times of Popular Unrest,” under review
“Widened Democratic Participation for Whom? Towards a More Nuanced Understanding of Electoral Participation Provisions in Civil Conflict Peace Agreements,” in preparation
Public Engagement
Op-eds and Analysis
"The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan" The Japan Times, 22 September 2025
"Migration in die USA: Gestrandet auf dem Weg in die Freiheit" der Freitag, 26 April 2025
"Colombia: Chiquita Judged in a US Court to Have Financed a Brutal Paramilitary Death Squad” Radio Interview, ORF FM4, 13 June 2024
"Colombia: former Farc fighters who signed 2016 peace deal now live amid threats and assassinations" The Conversation, 7 September 2023
"Petro Has a New Plan to Counter Deforestation in Colombia" World Politics Review, 21 November 2022
"En la COP27, Gustavo Petro recaba apoyos para la protección de la Amazonía" openDemocacy, 14 November 2022
"Colombia Faces Historic Presidential Elections" Fair Observer, 27 May 2022
"Colombia Takes First Step in Joining Latin America’s Left Turn" Fair Observer, 23 March 2022
"Colombia at the Crossroads? The Road Ahead in an Election Year" E-International Relations, 12 March 2022
"Indigenous Groups Occupy Bogotá Park in Protest" North American Congress on Latin America, 21 March 2022
"Indigenous Conflict Victims and the Growing Tent City in Bogotá" E-International Relations, 18 December 2021
"Colombian mass protests: Foretelling an emerging Latin American debt crisis?” OxPol Blog, 1 July 2021
Invited Talks and Speeches
"El Conflicto Armado en Colombia - Desarrollos Recientes," Chilean Defense Ministry (2025, Santiago de Chile)
"Protestas Durante el Proceso de Paz Colombiano," Democracy Workshop, Universidad Católica de Chile (2025, Santiago de Chile)
"Protests During Peace Processes - Insights from Colombia," Social Sciences Research Colloquium, Free University Berlin (2025, Berlin)
"When Rebels Turn Protesters," Seminario Finanzas, Economía Y Gobierno, Universidad EAFIT (2024, Medellín)
"When Rebels Turn Protesters – Former FARC Members’ Participation during the 2021 Colombian Mass Protests," Land, War, and Development Workshop: Colombia in Comparative Perspective, London School of Economics (2023, London)
"Protesting in Peace, Passing on Skills, and Reintegrating into Communities - Former FARC Members’ Participation during the 2021 Colombian Mass Protests," T. E. Lawrence Program on Conflict and Violence, University of Oxford (2023, Oxford)
"The involvement of demobilized insurgents during social uprisings in Colombia," Graduate Research Seminar, Waseda University (2023, Tokyo)
"Factors Influencing Demobilized Rebels’ Protest Participation During Times of Popular Unrest" T. E. Lawrence Program on Conflict and Violence, University of Oxford (2023, Oxford)
"Shall We Join? Conditions Enabling Demobilized Rebels’ Participation During Times of Popular Unrest," DPIR Research in Progress Seminar, University of Oxford (2023, Oxford)
"The role of conflict in the 2023 local elections in Colombia," Colombian Studies Initiative, NYU (2023, Online)
"Actitudes ciudadanas hacia la movilización social," Seminario de política, Universidad de los Andes (2023, Bogotá)
"Protests in Colombia," Latin American Studies Graduate Network, University of Oxford (2022, Oxford)
"Cuando los rebeldes protestan," Seminario de política, Universidad de los Andes (2022, Bogotá)
"Peace at the cost of democracy? The implications of electoral participation provisions in civil conflict peace agreements for democracy," T. E. Lawrence Program on Conflict and Violence, University of Oxford (2021, Oxford)
Academic Conference Presentations
Latin American Studies Association Annual Conference 2024 (Bogotá): Panel "Justice, Reintegration, and Peace Construction in Colombia: Current and Possible Future Challenges"
Latin American Peace Science Society Conference 2024 (Bogotá): Panel "Rebels Transition to Peace"
Social Movement and Conflict Research in Dialogue Conference 2023 (Berlin): Panel "Nonviolent Protests & Dissent in Conflict-Affected & Post-War Societies"
American Political Science Association Annual Conference 2023 (Los Angeles): Panel "Public Opinion and Experimental Methods in Comparative Perspective"
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference 2023 (Online): Panel "New Research on Participation and Civic Engagement in Latin America"
International Studies Association Annual Conference 2023 (Montréal): Panel "Peace in Colombia?"
Latin American Peace Science Society Conference 2023 (Medellín): Panel "Reintegration and Reconciliation"
International Studies Association Annual Conference 2022 (Nashville): Panel "The Political Dynamics of Armed Group Taxation"
Teaching
Contentious Politics – Rebellion, Protest, and Social Movements (Spring 2026, University of the Andes, Bogotá)
This graduate course for students in Master's and PhD programs in political science, sociology, journalism, and peacebuilding offers a broad introduction to the study of contentious politics across five parts. Part 1 of the course examines core concepts and definitions. Part 2 examines various theories that explain the emergence of social movements. Part 3 explores the dynamics of contentious politics, with particular attention to strategies, networks and leadership, transnational activism, and political violence. Part 4 analyzes reactions and consequences, including elite and state responses as well as movement outcomes such as revolutions. Part 5 examines selected case studies, including ethnic and anti-colonial movements, feminist and intersectional movements, student movements, and recent movements in Latin America and other regions worldwide. Across all five parts, students learn to apply academic theories to real-world cases and to conduct critical analyses and research across the different dimensions of contentious politics.
Foundations of Political Philosophy (Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford)
The aim of this graduate course for students in the Master of Public Policy program is to prepare them to evaluate, reflectively and critically, the moral commitments that do and should inform public policy. The course focuses on four framework questions: What is the aim of government? What are the limits on its action? Who gets what? Who decides? The course develops students’ understanding through practical reflection on policy areas of contemporary concern. These include: historical injustice, gender, religion, migration, war, populism, and freedom of speech. Finally, the course explores the ethical tensions that arise for individuals who develop public policy. The readings comprise a mix of classic texts, both contemporary and historical, from political philosophy and social thought.
Comparative Political Economy (Spring 2023, University of Oxford)
This undergraduate course introduces final-year students to the diversity of academic approaches scholars have used to understand the interaction between political institutions and economics across nations. The course engages students with the relative advantages of different theoretical frameworks and emphasizes reading existing scholarship through a critical lens. The course's central themes are: i) the balance struck between economic inequality across countries; ii) the historical development of national political and economic institutions; iii) comparisons of how nations differently organize their market economies and administer welfare provision; iv) the politics of economic performance, redistribution and inequality; v) the extent to which the political economies of both economically developed democracies and large developing economies are presently changing.
Principles of Microeconomics (Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Yale University)
This undergraduate course provides a comprehensive overview of microeconomic analysis: the study of how the economy allocates scarce resources among consumers and firms. The course develops a theoretical framework for this analysis and demonstrates its application to real-world issues, including poverty, global warming, health care reform, merger regulation, and the role of markets in the economy. The first third of the course focuses on models of supply and demand, consumer choice, and firm profit maximization. The second third examines the conditions for economic efficiency, the consequences of imperfect competition, and the role of government in a mixed economy. The final third examines economic behavior in dynamic, uncertain environments and provides an introduction to the global distribution of income and welfare.
Contact
I can be reached at: