Félix E. Martín

Biography

Félix E. Martín, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics & International
Relations in the School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University.

Professor Martín holds a B.A. (1979) in Economics and Political Science from Saint Peter's
College, Jersey City, New Jersey. He received his M.A. (1981) in Political Science from the
University of Chicago and his M. Phil. (1991) and Ph.D. (1998) in Political Science from Columbia
University, where he was the recipient of several fellowships. His dissertation, directed by
Professor Richard K. Betts and Chaired by Professor Jack L. Snyder, The Longer Peace in South
America, 1935-1995, was later revised and published in 2006 as Militarist Peace in South
America: Conditions for War and Peace. Professor Martín was awarded a Fulbright Research
Fellowship to Spain (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Comunidad de Madrid) in 2001 for his
research on Spanish direct investment in Latin America. Also, he was a Visiting Scholar at the
Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies in the Department of Political Science at
Columbia University (2015-2016). Professor Martín has taught a wide range of courses in
International Relations and Political Science at Florida International University (1999-present),
where he served as Director of Graduate Studies in International Relations (2011-2012) and is
currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations in the
School of International and Public Affairs.

Martín's research focuses on security and peace studies and international political economy. Using
a research strategy that primarily centers on interrogating standard theories of international
relations, much of his scholarship has examined conceptual aspects and the tensions between
mainstream causal variables and challenging empirical evidence from South America and the
Global South. Relatedly, his first book, Militarist Peace in South America: Conditions for War and
Peace (New York: Palgrave/MacMillan Press, 2006), advances an alternative explanation centered
on institutional socialization and the supranational, collective identity of the military in South
America. Martín has further pursued this idea in journals and book chapters such as Revista
Española de Estudios Norteamericanos, Foro Internacional, Revista Quórum, Peace Research
Journal: Canadian Journal of Peace Studies, Delaware Review of Latin American Studies,
Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Gamarra and Fonseca Eds., Culture
and National Security in the Americas, and Strategic Culture(s) in Latin America: Explaining
Theoretical Puzzles and Policy Continuities (London: Routledge, 2024).

Martín has also published on other topics in international political economy, international security,
alliance dynamics, great power relations, and grand strategy. First, in international political
economy, he co-edited (and contributed two chapters), Latin America's Quest for Globalization:
The Role of Spanish Firms (London: Ashgate, 2005). The volume is a comprehensive contribution
that surveyed Spain's multisectoral direct investments in Latin America in the 1990s. Second,
Martín co-authored Russia and Latin America: From Nation-State to Society of States (New York:
Palgrave, 2013), which explores the rise of a society of states in conjunction with a system of
states. In the areas of security, alliance dynamics, great power relations, and grand strategy, Martín
has authored several articles in journals such as Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Journal of
Strategic Security, All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace, and Asian Politics and
Policy. He also serves as a Contributing Editor and has authored several literature-review essays
(2014-2024) in the U.S. Library of Congress Handbook of Latin American Studies.

Martín is presently working on two book projects and two journal articles. First, Dis-development
in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis of Socio-economic and Political Regression is under
contract with Edward Elgar Publishing Limited (Forthcoming December 2025). This book
explains why a select group of countries in Latin America regressed from successful levels of
socio-political and economic expansion to economic underperformance and low levels of general
socio-political and institutional development. Second, Routledge Handbook of Latin American
International Political Economy, is under contract with Routledge (Forthcoming November 2025).
The Handbook comprehensively looks at critical areas in Latin America's international political
economy (IPE) today and in the coming decade. Finally, Professor Martín has advanced two
articles for prompt submission for publication: First, "Faulty Security Dilemma or Consolidation
of Intra-regional Interstate Peace in South America's Southern Cone?" and second "Power of the
Less-haves: How Cuba and North Korea Wagged the Dog in the 1960s."

Published Books

Militarist Peace in South America; Conditions for War and Peace (single-authored)
Latin America’s Quest for Globalization; The Role of Spanish Firms (co-edited)
Russia and Latin America: From Nation-State to Society of States (co-authored)
Strategic Culture(s) in Latin America: Explaining Theoretical Puzzles and Policy Continuities
(Co-edited).

Areas of Expertise

Positive International Relations Theory, Security/Peace Studies, International Political Economy

Degrees

BA, Saint Peter’s College, Economics and Political Science, 1979
MA, The University of Chicago, Political Science, 1981
MPhil, Columbia University, Political Science, 1991
PhD, Columbia University, 1998