Personal profile
Research Interests
My research is focused on the sociolegal and criminological study of Puerto Rico and its legal and political relationship with the US. I am particularly interested in studying how the Puerto Rican case provides a better understanding of the connections between colonialism, law, emergency powers, crises, and corruption, and its social, criminological, economic and political consequences. I am also interested in the study of processes of criminalization of social, political and environmental movements, and contemporary manifestations of corporate crimes and state crimes. My book, Crisis by Design: Emergency Powers and Colonial Legality in Puerto Rico, analyzes the role of law, emergency powers, and anticorruption social movements in the current Puerto Rican multilayered crisis. My book asks how Puerto Ricans access a just recovery amid simultaneous crises and the continuous use and renewal of state of emergency declarations in response to these crises. In this project, I employ qualitative methodologies, such as ethnography, case studies, historical research, critical discourse analysis and policy analysis. My other research interest are:
Sociology of Law
Crime, Law and Deviance
Law and Society
Critical Criminology
Politica Sociology
Colonialism
Law and Political Economy
Puerto Rico, Latin America and the Caribbean
Latina/o Sociology
Education
Ph.D. University of the Basque Country (2015)
Ph.D. University of Coimbra (2014)
M.A. International Institute for the Sociology of Law, Oñati. University of the Basque Country (2009)
B.A. University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (2007)
Teaching
Soc 275 Criminology
Soc 310 Sociology of deviance
Soc 378 Sociology of Law
Soc 479 Law and Society
Soc 596/Law792 Law and Society
Office Address
702 S. Wright Street
3080 Lincoln Hall
Urbana, IL 61801
M/C 454
Office Phone
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Dispossession by production: the pharmaceutical industry and COVID-19 resource shortages in India and Puerto Rico
Atiles, J. & Sawhney, A., 2026, In: New Political Economy. 31, 2, p. 210-227 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Sovereignty Claims, Money Laundering, and Anti-Corruption in Puerto Rico
Atiles, J. & Villanueva, J., Mar 13 2026, Interrogating the Future of Puerto Rican Studies.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Vacationing on a Tax Haven: Law, Visitor Economy, and Offshore Finance in Puerto Rico
Atiles, J., Apr 6 2026, In: Law & Social Inquiry.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Weaponizing Necessity: Fuel Blockade and the US Economic Warfare Against Cuba
Atiles, J., Apr 7 2026, In: Verfassungsblog.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open Access -
Ecocidal impunity? Wars and the profitability of the chemical corporation in the global south
Atiles, J. & Rojas-Páez, G., May 12 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environmental Politics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Press/Media
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New book examines the impact of colonialism on Puerto Rico
11/7/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Puerto Rico’s anti-corruption laws promoted fraud by outsourcing government services
6/14/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research