Department of Sociology

Takeshi Wada
Assistant Professor

Takeshi Wada received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2003. Before he joined the sociology department in 2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. His areas of specialization are economic and social development, social movements, democratization, and research methods.

Research Interests

My research focuses on the impact of globalization and democratization upon the ordinary citizens' ability to participate in politics. How have the processes of neoliberal economic transformation at the end of the twentieth century changed the ways civil society actors make claims upon the authorities?

My current research addresses important inconsistencies between theories elaborated mostly from the experiences of industrialized countries and empirical studies conducted in developing countries. For instance, while the literature of social movements would predict an increase in the number of popular protests after democratization because favorable political opportunities would allow citizens to demonstrate safely, a number of empirical studies have demonstrated that democratization has had de-mobilizing effects on popular protest. Also, while civil society literature celebrates the rise of civic associations around the world, others see these emergent associations as a convenient tool of neoliberal elites who want to transfer the burden of economic reforms to society. I address these inconsistencies by constructing a systematic empirical database of over three thousand events of popular protests in Mexico between 1964 and 2000.

My methodological expertise includes the application of "event analysis." The event analysis, which is an increasingly popular research method in sociology, political science, and international relations, involves the construction of quantitative data sets of political events from qualitative accounts of these events. For my new research project, I expand the scope of my event analysis by carrying out a cross-national study of political events. The project involves developing a database of political events worldwide using computer-automated coding technology. The database will let me explore a series of comparative questions that traditional protest event research focusing on a single country has not been able to address adequately. Examples of these questions include: What is the relationship between political regime types and popular protests? Are popular protests under democratic regimes more likely than those under authoritarian regimes to succeed? Do the citizens in the developing world tend to make material claims while the citizens in the industrialized countries more culturally-oriented claims? Is the degree of citizens' participation in cross-border political activities and transnational social movements related to the degree of their integration into the global economy?

Recent Publications

Wada, Takeshi. 2005. "Civil Society in Mexico: Popular Protest Amid Economic
      and Political Liberalization." International Journal of Sociology and Social
      Policy 25(1/2): 87 117.

Wada, Takeshi. 2004. "Event Analysis of Claim Making in Mexico: How Are
      Social Protests Transformed into Political Protests?" Mobilization: An
      International Journal 9(3): 241-257.

El-Bassel, Nabila, Louisa. Gilbert, Susan. Witte, E. Wu, T. Gaeta, Robert F.
      Schilling, and Takeshi Wada. 2003. "Intimate Partner Violence and
      Substance Abuse among Minority Women Receiving Care from an Inner-
      City Emergency Department." Womens Health Issues 13(1): 16-22.

Moreno, Claudia L., Nabila El-Bassel, Louisa Gilbert, and Takeshi Wada. 2002.
      "Correlates of Poverty and Partner Abuse among Women on Methadone."
      Violence Against Women 8(4): 455-475.

El-Bassel, Nabila, Susan Witte, Takeshi Wada, Louisa Gilbert, and J. Wallace.
      2001. "Correlates of Partner Violence among Female Street-Based Sex
      Workers: Substance Abuse, History of Child Abuse and Hiv Risks." AIDS
      Patient Care and STDs 15(1): 41-51.

El-Bassel, Nabila, Louisa Gilbert, Robert F. Schilling, and Takeshi Wada. 2000.
      "Drug Abuse and Partner Violence among Women in
      Methadone Treatment." Journal of Family Violence 15(3): 209-228.

Witte, Susan S., Takeshi Wada, Nabila El Bassel, Louisa Gilbert, and Joyce
      Wallace.2000. "Predictors of Female Condom Use among Women
      Exchanging Street Sex in New York City. "Sexually Transmitted Diseases
      27(2): 93-100.

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