Hello! My name is Tomás Gold, I am a sociologist interested in understanding political strategy-making from a cultural and historical perspective. In my work, I examine how widely different actors - ranging from populist leaders to grassroots organizations - attempt to influence ideas, practices, and institutions, and why they sometimes fail to do so.
My research is particularly focused on right-wing and free-market advocacy in Latin America, although I often draw comparisons with social processes across Europe, Southeast Asia and North America. My book project, based on my dissertation, focuses on the main causes behind the transnational expansion and uneven success of free-market think tank networks in the region.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs at Brown University, and I hold a PhD in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame. My work has been generously funded by the Fulbright Program, the Social Science Research Council, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
My research has been published at the American Journal of Sociology, Sociological Theory, Social Movement Studies, Information, Communication & Society, and Latin American Politics & Society, among other outlets. I have received the best student paper award from the Culture section, American Sociological Association (ASA).