María Verónica Elías
Biographic Data
| ID | 4100671 |
|---|---|
| NAME | María Verónica Elías |
| GIVEN NAMES | María Verónica |
| FAMILY NAME | Elías |
| SIGNATURE | ELIAS M V |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Texas at San Antonio |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8414-6303 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 27 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Interorganizational Governance of Asylum Seekers: Between Human Rights Activism and Political Backlash
Majority Nationalism and the Trump Administration: Implications for Puerto Rico and Latinos
This article examines how the Trump administration’s embrace of ethnic majority nationalism—rooted in white identity and anti-Latino sentiment—shaped its policies toward Puerto Rico and Latino communities more broadly. It argues that Puerto Rico’s treatment following Hurricane María in 2017 exemplified this dynamic: despite devastation comparable to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the mainland, federal aid to the island was slower, smaller, and mor…
Between statecraft and management at the US–Mexico border: Activism as counter-conduct
Revealing white supremacy culture in an organization that supports queer and trans youth
Purpose This study aims to illustrate how white supremacy culture can be produced within nonprofit organizations with a mandate to serve marginalized communities and provide practical suggestions for preventing oppression. Design/methodology/approach The site of inquiry was a nonprofit organization in south central Texas that provides social support to queer and trans youth. Through critical ethnography, the researchers evaluated the organization…
CSO Advocacy and Managing Risk in Hybrid Regimes: An Exploration of Human Rights Organizations in Colombia
The following study examined advocacy strategies of human rights CSOs in Colombia; how they defended and expanded civic space for vulnerable populations, managed risk and characterized their relationships with INGOs. Twenty-six organizational leaders were interviewed. Results indicate that when under pressure, CSOs mitigate their mission, focus on culturally expressive activities, and avoid regions or topics. Proactive strategies used to advance …
Opening the “black box” of public administration: The need for interpretive research
Important research questions in public administration and management cannot be studied through the scientific method. A fundamental example is how public administrators utilize their discretion and judgment in their everyday work. Inquiring into the process of administrative practice has been characterized as “opening the black box” of public administration and policy implementation—that is, how people in public administration and management situ…
Managing Security and Immigration at the U.S.–Mexico Border: A Foucauldian Perspective
This paper investigates the dual, yet contradictory roles of freedom and restriction that public administration plays at the U.S.–Mexico border. The state bureaucracy allows for the free circulation of capital and goods while it routinely limits the movement of people. Michel Foucault’s neoliberal state and his notion of governmentality as a unique type of rational governing practice shed light on this apparent dichotomy. This theoretical framewo…
Reimagining Otherness, Recreating the Public Space: Public Administration and the U.S.-Mexico Border
How can public administrators tasked with enforcing immigration laws bring care and commitment to human relationships and public connections? The contemporary anti-immigrant (anti-Other) “narrative” related to immigration policy is provided as exemplary socio-political-administrative terrain for exploring this question. Considering the undocumented alien as the “other” that possess a threat to the whole is problematic for democratic immigration p…
The U.S.-Mexico border as liminal space: Implications for policy and administration
This paper examines the U.S.-Mexico border by exploring the concepts of otherness and liminality in light of restrictive immigration discourses that otherize undocumented Hispanics as a ‘threat to the whole.’ Through the use of ethnographic sources this paper argues that face-to-face interactions unveil a much more complex picture of life in the borderlands. The border emerges as a diverse realm of pull and push forces, with most people experienc…
The listening hermeneutic of public servants: Building on the implicit
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of phenomenological or attuned listening and explore its implications for deliberative governance. Drawing on examples from urban planning and city administration, we make a case for listening as a hermeneutic phenomenological practice of crucial importance for public organizations. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on interpretive phenomenology, critical reflection, and p…
Phenomenology in Public Administration: Bridging the Theory–Practice Gap
Phenomenology is the study of things as they “appear” (phenomena) to us in their own terms, prior to formal conceptualization. This article traces the development of phenomenology in public administration within the larger realm of interpretive approaches. It describes applied phenomenology as developed by Ralph Hummel and discusses its usefulness in the study of public organizations and administrative practice. As a way of studying process, phen…
Authenticity and community process
How does community process constitute an opening to an authentic existence? Martin Heidegger suggests that authentic Being-in-the-world is rooted in self-reflection and isolation from others—far from the public realm. Conversely, Mary Parker Follett argues that collaborative processes embed action with meaning that have far-reaching implications for individual development as well as for democracy. Drawing on classical political philosophy's publi…
Life in State of Fear: The Secret in Their Eyes and the Recreation of a Shared World
This article reflects on the film The Secret in Their Eyes as a platform to discuss fear of government and fear of the different other as obstacles to attain freedom. Oppressive administrative practices subsume the individual into fear and deep dread and truncate the basic human drive for interrelational experiences. In that context, not only is public space under siege but also sheer human existence. The author argues that parrhesia—free and dir…
Introduction to the Forum: Stories in Tribute: The Legacy of Ralph P. Hummel
Constructive Conflict, Participation, and Shared Governance
This article discusses citizen participation in the governance process in light of two theoretical approaches: hooks’s talking back as a way to empower citizens and Mary Parker Follett’s constructive conflict as a form of participation founded in political dialogue. The authors argue that constructive conflict not only allows citizens and government to jointly define and redefine the governance process in truly collaborative ways but also permits…
Bridging the Bureaucracy-Democracy Gap: Civic Capacity as Problem Solving
Constructive Conflict, Participation, and Shared Governance
This article discusses citizen participation in the governance process in light of two theoretical approaches: hooks’s talking back as a way to empower citizens and Mary Parker Follett’s constructive conflict as a form of participation founded in political dialogue. The authors argue that constructive conflict not only allows citizens and government to jointly define and redefine the governance process in truly collaborative ways but also permits…
CSO Advocacy and Managing Risk in Hybrid Regimes: An Exploration of Human Rights Organizations in Colombia
The following study examined advocacy strategies of human rights CSOs in Colombia; how they defended and expanded civic space for vulnerable populations, managed risk and characterized their relationships with INGOs. Twenty-six organizational leaders were interviewed. Results indicate that when under pressure, CSOs mitigate their mission, focus on culturally expressive activities, and avoid regions or topics. Proactive strategies used to advance …
Opening the “black box” of public administration: The need for interpretive research
Important research questions in public administration and management cannot be studied through the scientific method. A fundamental example is how public administrators utilize their discretion and judgment in their everyday work. Inquiring into the process of administrative practice has been characterized as “opening the black box” of public administration and policy implementation—that is, how people in public administration and management situ…
Between statecraft and management at the US–Mexico border: Activism as counter-conduct
The U.S.-Mexico border as liminal space: Implications for policy and administration
This paper examines the U.S.-Mexico border by exploring the concepts of otherness and liminality in light of restrictive immigration discourses that otherize undocumented Hispanics as a ‘threat to the whole.’ Through the use of ethnographic sources this paper argues that face-to-face interactions unveil a much more complex picture of life in the borderlands. The border emerges as a diverse realm of pull and push forces, with most people experienc…
Phenomenology in Public Administration: Bridging the Theory–Practice Gap
Phenomenology is the study of things as they “appear” (phenomena) to us in their own terms, prior to formal conceptualization. This article traces the development of phenomenology in public administration within the larger realm of interpretive approaches. It describes applied phenomenology as developed by Ralph Hummel and discusses its usefulness in the study of public organizations and administrative practice. As a way of studying process, phen…
Managing Security and Immigration at the U.S.–Mexico Border: A Foucauldian Perspective
This paper investigates the dual, yet contradictory roles of freedom and restriction that public administration plays at the U.S.–Mexico border. The state bureaucracy allows for the free circulation of capital and goods while it routinely limits the movement of people. Michel Foucault’s neoliberal state and his notion of governmentality as a unique type of rational governing practice shed light on this apparent dichotomy. This theoretical framewo…
Reimagining Otherness, Recreating the Public Space: Public Administration and the U.S.-Mexico Border
How can public administrators tasked with enforcing immigration laws bring care and commitment to human relationships and public connections? The contemporary anti-immigrant (anti-Other) “narrative” related to immigration policy is provided as exemplary socio-political-administrative terrain for exploring this question. Considering the undocumented alien as the “other” that possess a threat to the whole is problematic for democratic immigration p…
Authenticity and community process
How does community process constitute an opening to an authentic existence? Martin Heidegger suggests that authentic Being-in-the-world is rooted in self-reflection and isolation from others—far from the public realm. Conversely, Mary Parker Follett argues that collaborative processes embed action with meaning that have far-reaching implications for individual development as well as for democracy. Drawing on classical political philosophy's publi…
Bridging the Bureaucracy-Democracy Gap: Civic Capacity as Problem Solving
Constructive Conflict, Participation, and Shared Governance
This article discusses citizen participation in the governance process in light of two theoretical approaches: hooks’s talking back as a way to empower citizens and Mary Parker Follett’s constructive conflict as a form of participation founded in political dialogue. The authors argue that constructive conflict not only allows citizens and government to jointly define and redefine the governance process in truly collaborative ways but also permits…
Introduction to the Forum: Stories in Tribute: The Legacy of Ralph P. Hummel
Life in State of Fear: The Secret in Their Eyes and the Recreation of a Shared World
This article reflects on the film The Secret in Their Eyes as a platform to discuss fear of government and fear of the different other as obstacles to attain freedom. Oppressive administrative practices subsume the individual into fear and deep dread and truncate the basic human drive for interrelational experiences. In that context, not only is public space under siege but also sheer human existence. The author argues that parrhesia—free and dir…
Authenticity and community process
How does community process constitute an opening to an authentic existence? Martin Heidegger suggests that authentic Being-in-the-world is rooted in self-reflection and isolation from others—far from the public realm. Conversely, Mary Parker Follett argues that collaborative processes embed action with meaning that have far-reaching implications for individual development as well as for democracy. Drawing on classical political philosophy's publi…
The listening hermeneutic of public servants: Building on the implicit
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of phenomenological or attuned listening and explore its implications for deliberative governance. Drawing on examples from urban planning and city administration, we make a case for listening as a hermeneutic phenomenological practice of crucial importance for public organizations. Design/methodology/approach This research relies on interpretive phenomenology, critical reflection, and p…
Phenomenology in Public Administration: Bridging the Theory–Practice Gap
Phenomenology is the study of things as they “appear” (phenomena) to us in their own terms, prior to formal conceptualization. This article traces the development of phenomenology in public administration within the larger realm of interpretive approaches. It describes applied phenomenology as developed by Ralph Hummel and discusses its usefulness in the study of public organizations and administrative practice. As a way of studying process, phen…
The U.S.-Mexico border as liminal space: Implications for policy and administration
This paper examines the U.S.-Mexico border by exploring the concepts of otherness and liminality in light of restrictive immigration discourses that otherize undocumented Hispanics as a ‘threat to the whole.’ Through the use of ethnographic sources this paper argues that face-to-face interactions unveil a much more complex picture of life in the borderlands. The border emerges as a diverse realm of pull and push forces, with most people experienc…
Managing Security and Immigration at the U.S.–Mexico Border: A Foucauldian Perspective
This paper investigates the dual, yet contradictory roles of freedom and restriction that public administration plays at the U.S.–Mexico border. The state bureaucracy allows for the free circulation of capital and goods while it routinely limits the movement of people. Michel Foucault’s neoliberal state and his notion of governmentality as a unique type of rational governing practice shed light on this apparent dichotomy. This theoretical framewo…
Reimagining Otherness, Recreating the Public Space: Public Administration and the U.S.-Mexico Border
How can public administrators tasked with enforcing immigration laws bring care and commitment to human relationships and public connections? The contemporary anti-immigrant (anti-Other) “narrative” related to immigration policy is provided as exemplary socio-political-administrative terrain for exploring this question. Considering the undocumented alien as the “other” that possess a threat to the whole is problematic for democratic immigration p…
Revealing white supremacy culture in an organization that supports queer and trans youth
Purpose This study aims to illustrate how white supremacy culture can be produced within nonprofit organizations with a mandate to serve marginalized communities and provide practical suggestions for preventing oppression. Design/methodology/approach The site of inquiry was a nonprofit organization in south central Texas that provides social support to queer and trans youth. Through critical ethnography, the researchers evaluated the organization…
CSO Advocacy and Managing Risk in Hybrid Regimes: An Exploration of Human Rights Organizations in Colombia
The following study examined advocacy strategies of human rights CSOs in Colombia; how they defended and expanded civic space for vulnerable populations, managed risk and characterized their relationships with INGOs. Twenty-six organizational leaders were interviewed. Results indicate that when under pressure, CSOs mitigate their mission, focus on culturally expressive activities, and avoid regions or topics. Proactive strategies used to advance …
Opening the “black box” of public administration: The need for interpretive research
Important research questions in public administration and management cannot be studied through the scientific method. A fundamental example is how public administrators utilize their discretion and judgment in their everyday work. Inquiring into the process of administrative practice has been characterized as “opening the black box” of public administration and policy implementation—that is, how people in public administration and management situ…
Between statecraft and management at the US–Mexico border: Activism as counter-conduct
Interorganizational Governance of Asylum Seekers: Between Human Rights Activism and Political Backlash
Majority Nationalism and the Trump Administration: Implications for Puerto Rico and Latinos
This article examines how the Trump administration’s embrace of ethnic majority nationalism—rooted in white identity and anti-Latino sentiment—shaped its policies toward Puerto Rico and Latino communities more broadly. It argues that Puerto Rico’s treatment following Hurricane María in 2017 exemplified this dynamic: despite devastation comparable to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the mainland, federal aid to the island was slower, smaller, and mor…
Political science (16 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Politics (9 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (5 works)