
Ryan C. Berg is director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America and visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Programme. His research focuses on U.S.-Latin America relations, authoritarian regimes, armed conflict, strategic competition, and trade and development issues. He also studies Latin America’s criminal groups and the region’s governance and security challenges. Previously, Dr. Berg was a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he helped lead its Latin America Studies Program. Dr. Berg has served as a research consultant to the World Bank, a Fulbright scholar in Brazil, and a visiting doctoral fellow at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. He has lived and worked in Peru and Brazil and is an expert member of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime and the Urban Violence Research Network.
Dr. Berg has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed academic and policy-oriented journals, including The Lancet, Migration and Development, the SAIS Review of International Affairs, and the Georgetown Security Studies Review. In the popular press, his articles have appeared in CNN.com, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The Hill, World Politics Review, the National Interest, and RealClearWorld, among other outlets. He has appeared on Voice of America and National Public Radio and has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Dr. Berg obtained a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in political science and an M.Sc. in global governance and diplomacy from the University of Oxford, where he was a Senior Hulme fellow. Earlier, he obtained a B.A. in government and theology from Georgetown University. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has a working knowledge of French and Slovenian.
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In the News
There’s another energy skirmish to worry about
Ryan C. Berg in Yahoo Finance — December 7, 2023
Venezuela’s government and opposition agree on appeal process for candidates banned from running
Ryan C. Berg in AP — December 1, 2023
Venezuela Opens Path for Opposition to Run in Presidential Vote
Ryan C. Berg in Bloomberg — November 30, 2023
In Brief: Milei Wins in Argentina
Ryan C. Berg in War on the Rocks — November 29, 2023
Las elecciones de 2024 vistas desde un Think Tank extranjero
Ryan C. Berg in El Universal — November 26, 2023
Argentina’s New Leader Is an Inflation Hawk. That’s What Got Him Elected.
Ryan C. Berg in Barrons — November 21, 2023
APEC unites on WTO reform, as war frays ties
Ryan C. Berg in Politico — November 20, 2023
Washington's easing of Venezuela oil sanctions stirs up questions
Ryan C. Berg in CNA — November 17, 2023
All Ryan C. Berg Content
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POSTPONED: The Evolution of U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela
Event — December 8, 2023
The Entirely Manufactured and Dangerous Crisis over the Essequibo
Critical Questions by Ryan C. Berg and Christopher Hernandez-Roy — December 8, 2023
On the Uses and Misuses of Venezuela Sanctions
Commentary by Ryan C. Berg — November 29, 2023
"On the Uses and Misuses of Venezuela Sanctions”: Audio Brief with Ryan C. Berg
Podcast Episode by Ryan C. Berg — November 29, 2023

Presidential Elections and a Fragmenting Political Landscape in Mexico
Commentary by Ryan C. Berg and Gerardo Penchyna Cárdenas — November 8, 2023
“Presidential Elections and a Fragmenting Political Landscape in Mexico”: Audio Brief with Ryan Berg
Podcast Episode by Ryan C. Berg — November 8, 2023

CANCELED: A Conversation with H.E. Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
Event — November 2, 2023
“Paper Tiger or Pacing Threat”: Audio Brief with Ryan Berg
Podcast Episode by Ryan C. Berg — October 31, 2023

Paper Tiger or Pacing Threat?
Report by Ryan C. Berg and Henry Ziemer — October 19, 2023
The Only Threat of Violence in Venezuela’s Opposition Primaries Comes from the Regime
Commentary by Ryan C. Berg and Henry Ziemer — October 17, 2023