Amy Risley

Teaching

I am a . Students describe my teaching as rigorous yet compassionate. I will challenge you, but I will also support you. Since 2006, I have helped more than 180 International Studies majors complete their capstone projects in Senior Seminar! I also offer courses on Latin American politics, comparative politics, gender and politics, migration, and social movements. I strive to make my courses meaningful, interesting, and thought-provoking. It is my sincerest hope that students will develop a passion for politics that endures long after the semester has ended.

In recent years, I have joined other faculty who are working on integrating moral character development into our curriculum with support from the Wake Forest’s Educating Character Initiative. I ask students to consider the perspectives and lived experiences of diverse political actors across the globe to foster empathy. I also want students to cultivate the skills needed for democratic citizenship, including the ability to engage in dialogue across differences. In 2025, I was awarded a Periclean Faculty Leadership Course Enhancement grant to design a series of deliberative dialogues for my Politics of Migration course. 

Research

The central themes of my research are human rights and civil society activism. My recent work focuses on US migration policies and their effects on immigrant families and children. These projects grew out of previous research on children’s rights in Latin America. My book, analyzes the discursive and policy shifts that followed the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and pressing issues such as child labor, child soldiers, and child sexual exploitation.

I have long been fascinated by groups’ efforts to influence policy. My first book, Civil Society Organizations, Advocacy, and Policy Making in Latin American Democracies: Pathways to Participation, identifies issue framing and alliance building as important civil society strategies for achieving a greater presence in policy debates. This comparative study covers three different policy issue areas and three countries (Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay). I have published work on related themes in multiple journals and edited volumes, as well. Additionally, my studies of gender-based violence, sex trafficking, and counter-trafficking policy have appeared in such venues as Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, and International Feminist Journal of Politics. 

Beyond the Classroom

I proudly hail from Madison, WI but have also lived in Buenos Aires, Santiago, Madrid, New York, and Austin. I enjoy traveling, cooking and baking, and watching films. Above all, I love spending time with my family.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

“‘This is what happens when you come to my country:’ Family separations, reproductive violence, and the criminalization of migrant motherhood in the United States”: Chapter in Feminist Security Studies in the Americas: Pushing the fronteras (ed. Priscyll Anctil Avoine), Palgrave Macmillan. (2026).

“A ‘Moral Imperative:’ Family Reunification Efforts under the Biden Administration”: chapter in Families and Migration: Examining the Human Meaning of Migration, (ed. Sampson Lee Blair and Josip Obradović, Emerald Insights. (2025).

"Chaos and Cruelty: Family Separations and the Rights of Immigrant Children": chapter in (ed. Salvador Santino Fulo Regilme Jr), Manchester University Press. (June 2024)

"." International Journal of Children's Rights (2023).

“.” Social Justice (2023).

“Think Globally, Act Locally: Community-Engaged Comparative Politics.” PS: Political Science & Politics (2019).

“America Will Not Tolerate Slave Traders: Anti-Trafficking Policies and US Power.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy (2015).

“Protecting Children and Adolescents in Uruguay: Civil Society’s Role in Policy Reform.” Social Sciences (2014).

“It’s Not Easy Being Green: Environmental Advocacy and Policy Making in Chile.” Society & Natural Resources (April 2014).

“Human Rights in Argentina.” In Contention in Context: New Opportunities in Social Movement Research, ed. Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper, 2012.

“The Power of Persuasion: Issue Framing and Advocacy in Argentina.” Journal of Latin American Studies (November 2011).
“From ‘Perverse’ to ‘Progressive’?: Advocating for the Rights and Well-Being of Argentina’s Children.” International Journal of Children’s Rights (Vol. 19, 2011).

“Sex Trafficking:  The ‘Other’ Crisis in Mexico?” The Latin Americanist (March 2010).

“Trafficking and the International Market in Women and Girls.” In Women and Politics Around the World: A Comparative History and Survey, ed. Joyce Gelb and Marian Lief Palley, 2009.

“Joining Forces: Civil Society Alliances and Policy Influence in Argentina and Chile.” In Interest Groups and Lobbying: Volume Three - Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, ed. Conor McGrath, 2009.

 “Putting People First:  Globalization and Human Security.”  International Studies Review (Fall 2008).

“Framing Violence: Argentina’s Gender Gap.” International Feminist Journal of Politics (December 2006). 

 “The Political Potential of Civil Society:  Advocating for Freedom of Information in Argentina.” The Latin Americanist (Spring 2006).