Ignacio
Cid Pozo
Chilean sociologist studying lethal violence, religiosity, and social inequality in Latin America — combining spatial analysis, quantitative methods, and comparative criminology.
University of Lausanne
- 📍 Lausanne, Switzerland
- ✉️ ignacio.cidpozo@unil.ch
- 🎓 PhD since 2024
- 🌍 ES · EN · FR · PT
About Me
I completed my Bachelor's degree in Sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (2010–2015), where I also earned my Master's degree in Sociology with a thesis on deviant religious groups, or cults, in the Chilean context.
I later moved to France, where I pursued a Master's programme at the École Pratique des Hautes Études. My thesis focused on secularization theory and the extent to which its assumptions can be generalized across cultural contexts.
In 2021, I briefly studied sociology of religion at Baylor University in Texas, United States, where I became particularly interested in the relationship between religion and fertility.
In 2022, I joined the Center for Strategic Studies of Carabineros de Chile, the national police force of Chile, as a strategic and sociological advisor. In this role, I designed and implemented the institution's first national diagnostic study on the mental health of police officers.
I am currently pursuing a PhD in Criminology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, under the supervision of Professor Marcelo Aebi.
- → Homicide & lethal violence in Latin America
- → Spatial concentration of crime
- → Comparative & subnational criminology
- → Sociology of religion & violence
- → Quantitative & spatial methods
- PhD in CriminologyUniversity of Lausanne · 2024–present
- MA in SociologyÉcole Pratique des Hautes Études · 2019–2021
- MA in SociologyPontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · 2015–2017
- BA in SociologyPontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · 2010–2015
Lethal Violence in Latin America
Context & Motivation
I grew up in one of the most violent regions of the world: Latin America. Despite accounting for only 8% of the global population, the region concentrates roughly 40% of the world's homicides. My research explores how macro- and meso-social, institutional, geographic, and territorial conditions shape patterns of lethal violence across the region.
I am especially interested not only in where and why violence concentrates in certain places, but also in why "peace" and "resilience" persist in some territories despite structural risks and their location within a violent macro-region.
Thesis Focus
My PhD thesis focuses particularly on subnational territories, and how they challenge national-level accounts and classification of high-violence and low-violence nations. I suggest that lethal violence must be understood through the interaction between structural disadvantage, spatial opportunity, and transnational connectivity.
For this reason, my project studies homicide at both the subnational and transnational levels, under the supervision of Professor Marcelo Aebi at the University of Lausanne.
Methods
The project combines comparative and spatial approaches, including spatial analysis, longitudinal models, multilevel methods, and count-data models. I also use programming tools, especially R and Stata, for spatial data analysis, data visualization, and the construction of comparative datasets.
Beyond the Dissertation
✝️ Religion & Mental Health
One of my first publications examined the effects of religiosity on individual mental health across three levels of analysis. A related article explored the impact of pornography consumption on the lives of religious individuals — a topic at the intersection of moral incongruence and psychological wellbeing.
👶 Religion & Fertility in Chile
I became interested in the role of religion in shaping fertility preferences and reproductive behavior in Chile, one of the countries with one of the fastest fertility declines in Latin America. I have published two articles examining how religious norms interact with individual reproductive choices.
🗺️ Homicide in Chile
More recently, my research has shifted toward criminology — particularly the factors behind the distribution, concentration, and spatial patterns of homicide in Chile. Forthcoming work on these topics is expected in 2026.
📋 Penal Statistics
As part of my work at the University of Lausanne, I contribute to the SPACE II project — the Council of Europe's Annual Penal Statistics on persons serving non-custodial sanctions and measures, a major comparative dataset covering European criminal justice systems.
Teaching Experience
- TAIntroduction to SociologyBaylor University, USA
- TAIntroduction to SociologyUniversity of Chile · 2015 / 2017
- TASociology of EducationCatholic University of Chile · 2016
- TAIntroduction to Political TheoryCatholic University of Chile · 2015
- TASocial EthicsCatholic University of Chile · 2015 / 2016
- TASociological ParadigmsCatholic University of Chile · 2011 / 2013
- InstructorLatin American HistoryLycée Jean Lurçat, Paris · 2020–2021
Curriculum Vitae
Languages
Software
Get in Touch
I am happy to connect regarding research collaborations, conference participation, or academic discussions. Do not hesitate to reach out.