Ariel Taylor

Ariel Taylor is a PhD candidate with the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria and a Graduate Student Fellow at the Centre for Global Studies. Her dissertation focuses on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on democracy in Latin America and specifically the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the governance of mining activity.   

Ariel’s research contributes to a growing body of work on democratic participation in post-transition Latin America and the role of corporations and their partners as key drivers of global change. Her work brings a new perspective to scholarship on CSR by showing how the integration of NGOs advances competing conceptualizations of democracy.

Ariel’s thesis explores the neglected question of how CSR is used politically in order to advance (or undermine) democratic reform. She argues that some NGOs frame CSR in ways that promote more inclusive, participatory, and accountable decision-making.

She recently conducted research with a variety of NGO, state, and industry representatives in Lima, Peru engaged in mining governance and the resolution of mining conflicts.

Ariel is using her Fellowship at CFGS to complete the writing of her dissertation in a dynamic and encouraging environment.

She is also a member of the Latin American Research Group (LARG), an interdisciplinary forum for scholars pursuing issues relevant to Latin America at UVic.