Kota Miura

My research interest lies in social movements and protests in Latin America, Chilean politics and society, and the relationship between state and civil society.

From the standpoint of social movement studies, I have studies under what conditions the Chilean student movement had a greater impact on policy making. Specifically, I have analyzed why the student movement was able to push a new policy idea, free higher education, onto the political agenda, but why it resulted in policies that were different from their demands.

From the standpoint of area studies, I have also examined the significance of the student movement by placing it in the context of the macro sociopolitical changes seen in Chile in the 2010s, such as the surge of protests and the turn away from neoliberalism.

As an extension of my dissertation on the Chilean student movement, I am studying the political impact of social movements in Latin America. In particular, I am studying the mechanisms that determine the political impact of social movements, focusing on the interaction between social movement organizations, politics, and civil society.

In addition, I am studying Chile's recent changes. Since the 2019 protest movement, Chile has been going through major changes. I would like to capture the big picture of these changes and what direction Chile is heading in.

As a new research topic, I am conducting research on political parties, called “movement parties,” that emerge from social movements. Movement parties, a new type of political party, have been seen in Chile and other countries around the world in recent years. I am interested in what makes them different from social movements, how they develop from social movements, and whether they lead to a deepening of democracy.