Research Interests
My research focuses on political sociology, the far right, authoritarianism, and elite radicalization across Europe and Latin America. I am particularly interested in how right-wing actors construct narratives of crisis, order, and exclusion in democratic settings.
Doctoral Research
Estallido Social and the Radicalization of Right-Wing Political Elites in Chile
My doctoral research at Freie Universität Berlin examined how Chilean far-right political elites constructed and deployed narratives of radicalization after the 2019 social uprising. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, the project analyzes how political actors adapt their strategies in moments of social crisis and how authoritarian responses are legitimized within democratic settings.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Renata C. Motta and Prof. Dr. Sergio Costa. Book manuscript under discussion with Manchester University Press.
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
- Santander, L. & Lotze, N. (2025). Positionalities of elitist complicity: Building rapport and reducing asymmetries in interviewing the neoliberal right in Chile, Germany, and the UK. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, early access, 1–24. [link]
- Santander, L. (2024). El neoliberalismo autoritario en la rearticulación discursiva de la derecha post Estallido Social. Propuestas Críticas en Trabajo Social — Critical Proposals in Social Work, 4(8). [link]
Book chapters and reviews
- Santander, L. (2024). Book Review: Flexible Authoritarianism: Cultivating Ambition and Loyalty in Russia by Anna Schwenck. Capital & Class, 48(3), 491–493. [link]
- Foit, M., Hodgson-Casson, A., Miquelasi, A., Santander, L., & Schirmer, R. (2024). Guaranteeing Green: Urban Sustainability, Citizen Participation, and Green Spaces in Cities. In Cowley, R., Costa, S., & Kon, F. (Eds.), Rethinking Sustainability in Urban Areas: São Paulo, London, Berlin. [link]
Forthcoming
- Santander, L. (forthcoming, 2026). Estallido Social and the Radicalization of Right-Wing Political Elites in Chile. Manchester University Press. (Under discussion.)
- Santander, L. & Koch, T. (forthcoming, 2026). Religious organizations and disaffiliation within far-right Catholicism in Chile. In N. van den Brandt & S. Page (Eds.), Gender, Sexuality and Religious Exit: Rethinking the Body, Politics and Methodologies. Routledge.
- Santander, L. (forthcoming, 2026). Tying loose ends (too) tightly: The populist radical right framework and its contextualization in Latin America. Rostocker Informationen zu Politik und Verwaltung, 41(1).
- Santander, L. (forthcoming, 2026). Authoritarian neoliberalism in the discursive rearticulation of the Chilean right post-Estallido. In A. Hermann & M. A. Madi (Eds.), Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy 80 years later: Looking at capitalism today in light of its past and possible future. Bristol University Press.
Research Networks and Projects
- TikTok in the European Elections — Researcher. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2024–present (PI: Prof. Dr. Laura Cervi).
- Sustainable Cities — Global Research — Researcher. Freie Universität Berlin · King’s College London · Universidade de São Paulo, 2022–2024 (PI: Prof. Dr. Sergio Costa).
- Contemporary Research on Far-Right Politics Berlin — Co-founder, 2023–2025.
Grants and Fellowships
- 2021–2025Doctoral Fellowship, Freie Universität Berlin · DAAD / BECAS Chile
- 2025–2026X-Student Research Group · Berlin University Alliance
- 2024Travel Grant — European Sociological Association (ESA), Porto · Ernst-Reuter-Gesellschaft
- 2023Travel Grant — World Congress of Sociology (ISA), Melbourne · Lateinamerika-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
- 2024Travel Grant — “The Rise of Authoritarian Neoliberalism: Ten Years On”, King’s College London · University of Sheffield
Selected Talks
Estallido Social and the Radicalization of Right-Wing Political Elites in Chile
Workshop: The Far Right between Institutions and Civil Society — WZB Berlin Social Science Center · October 2025
Elites' Radicalization Narratives: A Discursive Analysis of the Chilean Far Right after the Estallido Social
Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy, European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) — Queen Mary University of London · June 2025
Authoritarian Neoliberalism in the Discursive Rearticulation of the Chilean Far-Right
16th Conference of the European Sociological Association (ESA) — Porto · August 2024
Authoritarian Neoliberalism in the Discursive Rearticulation of the Chilean Far-Right
Workshop: The Rise of Authoritarian Neoliberalism — Ten Years On, King’s College London · June 2024
Authoritarian Mechanisms of Neoliberalism in Latin America
World Congress of Sociology, International Sociological Association (ISA) — Melbourne · June–July 2023
See the Lectures & Events page for the full record of conference talks and invited lectures.