Policy Work

For years, I have worked as a policy analyst and advocate on security, democracy, and foreign policy in the Americas. I deeply believe that information-makers should also be shapers, and be open about their own worldviews and preferences; we are also interested and active participants in the institutions we join. As such, my passion for providing good information has also been paired with my commitment to pushing institutions and political structures to be better, following standard democratic principles. This includes my work as a scholar for the Department of National Defence of Canada, as a consultant for U.S. Southern Command and other security agencies, and my on-and-off advising to diplomatic, police, and military services of countries around the hemisphere. My work has been cited by organizations including Freedom House, the Livermore National Laboratory, the International Bar Association, the European Union, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. I have produced policy reports on a variety of topics, including militarized policing operations, foreign assistance, lithium exploitation, crime reduction, sanctions policy, and human rights protections. I use statistics, fieldwork, case analysis, and other multi-methods tools to provide data-driven, field-informed, and human-first policy analysis and solutions, with first principles of democracy, justice, equality, and progress in mind. My deep experience in Latin America, and fluency in many of the region’s languages, helps ground my policy work into the region’s realities.

Policy Appointments

Policy Reports & Citations

Invited Policy Talks

Marcellus Fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington, DC, 2026-2027

Expert Witness and Reporter, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Washington, DC, 2026

Scholar, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2025-2028

Graduate Fellow, Karsh Institute of Democracy (University of Virginia), Charlottesville, VA, 2025-2026

Fellow, Middle East History & Peace Program (focus on LatAm-MENA), New York, NY, 2025

Consultant, United States Southern Command, Doral, FL, 2023-2025

Research Assistant, Macdonald-Laurier Institute — Natural Resources, Ottawa, ON, 2023-2025

Analyst, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Public Safety Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2023-2024

Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Scholar, Department of National Defence of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 2023-2024

Student Fellow, Bolivia & Colombia, Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University, TX, 2022-2024

Senior Analyst & Consultant, London Politica — Latin America, London, UK, 2022-2024

Graduate Fellow, Albritton Center for Grand Strategy, College Station, TX, 2022

Research Assistant, Brazil and Canada Institutes, Wilson Center, Washington, DC, 2022-2023

Research Assistant, Irregular Warfare Program, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (US DoD and German BdW), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 2021-2022

Intern, Department against Transnational Organized Crime, Organization of American States, Washington, DC, 2021

Policy Analyst, Canada Revenue Agency,Vancouver, BC, 2019-2020

  1. Bouchard, J. “Shadow Games: Russian Disinformation, Criminal Networks, and Strategic Encroachment in the Central Andes.” Florida International University Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy (in partnership with U.S. Southern Command). 2025.

  2. Bouchard, J. “Russia’s Energy Interests in the Central Andes.” Florida International University Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy (in partnership with U.S. Southern Command). 2025.

  3. Bouchard, J. “The U.S. Is Helping Brazilian Police Kill.” North American Congress on Latin America (at New York University). 2025.

  4. Bouchard, J. “Brazil’s Quest for Self-Reliance on Defence.” Countertrade and Offset Journal. July 2024 Edition. 2024.

  5. Bouchard, J. “Lithium and Conflict Politics in Bolivia: A Post-Trip Report.” Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University. 2024.

  6. Bouchard, J. and Roberts, E. “Report: Violent Crimes in Latin America’s Cities.” London Politica. 2023.

  7. Bouchard, J. “Report: The State of NGOs and Civil Society in Bolivia.” Florida International University. 2023.

  8. Bouchard, J. and Egar, S. “Aluminum Ore Mining in Southeastern Brazil: The Story of an Unjust Transition.” Perspectives: A Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Publication. 2023.

    Selected Citations

    1- U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (by Carolyn Bartholomew and Alex N. Wong). Report to Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

    2- Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs / United States Southern Command (by Maj. Gen. Evan L. Pettus). The Expanding Leverage of the People’s Republic of China in Latin America: Implications for US National Security and Global Order

    3- Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Union (by Louise Parks). Sustaining Violence — A Colonial Déjà Vu?

    4- Livermore Papers on Global Security No. 12 / Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (by Asmeret D. Asghedom). Examining the Energy Transition Through the Lens of Great Power Competition

    5- International Bar Association (by Anna Yamaoka-Enkerlin). Handbook: Multilateral Organisations

    6- Freedom House. Colombia: Beijing’s Global Media Influence – 2022

  1. “Latin America Turns Right: What Canada Needs to Know,” invited speaker on a panel of Canadian experts on Latin America (June 25, 2026) at the Canadian International Council in Ottawa, Canada.

  2. “Russia’s Interests in the Andes,” presented to a group of military staffers and leaders at the Centro de Estudios Estratégicos del Ejército del Perú for a visit (September 16, 2024) in Lima, Peru.

  3. “The Paradox of Progressive Governance and Police Violence in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil,” presented on a panel on policing and prisons for the Canadian Association for Latin American Studies Annual Congress (May 29, 2024) in Montreal, Canada.

  4. “Peru’s Great Power Landscape,” presented to a group of military staffers and leaders at the Centro de Estudio Estratégicos del Ejército del Perú for a visit (February 13, 2024) in Lima, Peru.