In my research I use the Dominican Republic as a case to reflect on issues of social development, state formation, social movements, and religion and politics. I have published "State and Society in the Dominican Republic" (Westview Press, 1995), which focuses on state formation and political development. More recently, I published "The Catholic Church and Power Politics in Latin American. The Dominican Case in Comparative Perspective" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2007) where I examine the role of the Catholic Church in political mediation in five Latin American nations. I have published numerous articles in Latin American Perspectives, the Journal of Church and State, NACLA, Caribe Contemporaneo, Revista Mexicana del Caribe, Socialism and Democracy and others venues. The courses I teach include Social Development of Latin America, Society and Politics in Latin America, Re-inventing Latin American Societies, Introduction to Sociology and Introduction to Latin American Studies.

See Betances' website for more information.