Originally from Mexico, Alina is a Senior Research Fellow at the Developmental Leadership Program at the University of Birmingham, where she leads a stream of work on Political Settlements and the Politics of Inclusion. Currently on secondment from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Alina has particular expertise on the challenges of democratisation, linkages between state and society, and state-building in comparative perspective. Alina has been involved in a series of projects and assignments that seek to bridge the gap between research and policy in thinking about governance issues and processes of institutional transformation. She is a prolific writer and has built a considerable body of publications on these issues.