^{Program of the 18th Annual Conference on}

The Political Economy of International Organization

January 29-31, 2026

IE University

Wednesday, January 28

8:00 pm Dinner (optional, at own expense)

Restaurante Pasapán, Calle Colón, 5, 40001 Segovia

Thursday, January 29

Location: IE Segovia Campus, Refectory

9:15-9:30 am Opening remarks

9:30-11:15 am Session 1: Foreign Aid I

Chair: Axel Dreher

• Paper 1: Maria Nagawa (Stanford University), Foreign Aid and the Performance of Bureaucrats. Discussion openers: Susanna Campbell, Cleo O’Brien-Udry
• Paper 2: Erkan Gören (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg), Jürgen Bitzer (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg), Bernhard Dannemann (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg), Foreign Aid and Local Conflict Dynamics: A Monthly Grid-Cell-Level Analysis in Africa. Discussion openers: Samuel Brazys, Andreas Fuchs
• Paper 3: Christian Ambrosius (Freie Universität Berlin), Marina Monteiro Luna (Freie Universität Berlin), Aid Allocation and Deportation Enforcement. Discussion openers: Christopher Kilby, Maia King

11:15-11:45 am Group photo and coffee break

11:45-1:30 pm Session 2: UN Institutions and Peace

Chair: Christopher Kilby

• Paper 1: Jing-Rong Zeng (Paris School of Economics), In Search of Lost Peace: The Local Effects of Peacekeepers on Conflict Dynamics in Africa. Discussion openers: Tobias Heinrich, Carmela Lutmar
• Paper 2: Simone Dietrich (University of Geneva), Simon Hug (University of Geneva), Gino Pauselli (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Conflict-related Sexual Violence and the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Discussion openers: Lisa Dellmuth, Averell Schmidt
• Paper 3: Stefanie Walter (University of Zurich), Public Opinion on Foreign Policy Responses to Non-Cooperation. Discussion openers: Christina Davis, Yoram Haftel

1:30-2:30 pm Lunch

IE Segovia Campus, Cloister Corridor B

2:30-4:15 pm Session 3: Global Order, Geopolitics, and Strategic Competition

Chair: Katharina Michaelowa

• Paper 1: Sarah Brooks (Ohio State University), Erik Voeten (Georgetown University), Green Industrial Policy and the Geopolitics of Investment in Critical Minerals and Batteries. Discussion openers: Ryan Brutger, Austin Strange
• Paper 2: Johannes Scherzinger (University of Zurich), Matthew Stephen (Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg), Is China Building a Rival International Order and How Would We Know? Discussion openers: Jingke Pan, Sujeong Shim
• Paper 3: Nicolas Bau (University of Geneva), Zoe Ge (IE University), Layna Mosley (Princeton University), B. Peter Rosendorff (New York University), Measuring Debt Transparency in Developing Countries. Discussion openers: Silvia Marchesi, Tal Sadeh

4:15-4:45 pm Break

4:45-6:30 pm Session 4: Foreign Aid II

Chair: Christina Davis

• Paper 1: Faisal Ahmed (Wellesley College), Adeel Malik (Oxford University), Aiding Partial Liberalization. Discussion openers: Promise Kamanga, Jihye Park
• Paper 2: Alicia Chen (Stanford University), Decentralized Economic Statecraft. Discussion openers: Kerim Kavakli, Claas Mertens
• Paper 3: Niklas Hänze (University of Konstanz), Viktoria Jansesberger (University of Konstanz), Gabriele Spilker (University of Konstanz), Localized Disparities in Climate Finance: The Sub-National Allocation of World Bank Mitigation and Adaptation Aid in Least Developed Countries. Discussion openers: Ayse Kaya, Katharina Michaelowa

7:30 pm Dinner

Restaurante José María (Calle Cronista Lecea, 11, Junto Plaza Mayor, 40001 Segovia)

Friday, January 30

Location: IE Segovia Campus, Refectory

9:30-11:15 am Session 5: Europe, Redistribution, & Public Opinion

Chair: Nikitas Konstantinidis

• Paper 1: Catherine De Vries (IE University), Kerim Kavakli (Bocconi University), Ireri Hernandez (Bocconi University), Erik Voeten (Georgetown University), Economic Hardship Weakens European Support for Hard Power, But Not Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine. Discussion openers: Rachel Schoner, Jonas Tallberg
• Paper 2: Valentin Lang (University of Mannheim), Johannes Lattmann (University of Mannheim), A False Promise for the Left Behind: The Uneven Political Impact of Place-Based Policies. Discussion openers: Tyler Pratt, Carl Vikberg
• Paper 3: Christina Davis (Harvard University), Jialu Li (Independent Researcher), Sayumi Miyano (Osaka University), Shaping Trade Stability: WTO Rulings on Export Restrictions and Business Confidence in Supply Chains. Discussion openers: Richard Clark, Shing-hon Lam

11:15-11:45 am Break

11:45-1:30 pm Session 6: Climate Finance

Chair: Soo Yeon Kim

• Paper 1: Isabella Bellezza (Northwestern University), Ayse Kaya (Swarthmore College), The Distributive Consequences of Regime Complexity: Evidence from Multilateral Climate Finance. Discussion openers: Mirko Heinzel, Daniel Nielson
• Paper 2: Samuel Houskeeper (University of Oxford), Climate Finance as a Principal-Agent Problem. Discussion openers: Maria Berlin, Elise Pizzi
• Paper 3: Timon Forster (University of St. Gallen), Selective Responses to the Climate Crisis: International Financial Institutions, Strategic Ignorance, and Leader Speeches. Discussion openers: Merih Angin, Richard Clark

1:30-2:30 pm Lunch

IE Segovia Campus, Cloister Corridor B

2:30-4:15 pm Session 7: International Law, Compliance, and Backlash

Chair: Helen Milner

• Paper 1: Stephen Chaudoin (Harvard University), Taegyun Lim (Harvard University), Persuasion and Backlash from International Law in Global Swing States. Discussion openers: Hyeran Jo, Saliha Metinsoy
• Paper 2: Austin Beacham (Georgia Institute of Technology), Endangered and Exported: The Impact of CITES and Conflict on US Wildlife Trade. Discussion openers: Sara Mitchell, Alex Wais
• Paper 3: Maria Debre (Zeppelin University), Faradj Koliev (Stockholm University), Critical, Co-opted, Coerced? Non-state Actor Responses to Autocratization in the International Labor Organization. Discussion openers: Nikitas Konstantinidis, Yohan Park

4:15-4:30 pm Break

4:30-6:30 pm Poster Session and Wine Reception

IE Segovia Campus, Cloister Corridor A

Aid & Multilateral Finance

• Axel Dreher (Heidelberg University), Jingke Pan (Heidelberg University), Christina Schneider (University of California, San Diego), Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence. Discussants: Alicia Chen, Ayse Kaya
• Jihye Park (University of Geneva), Aid, Lending, and TRIPS. Discussants: Faisal Ahmed, Johannes Scherzinger
• Cleo O’Brien-Udry (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Lindsay Dolan (Wesleyan University), Dance Partners Matter: Client Country Bureaucrats and the World Bank. Discussants: Maria Nagawa, Paul Vernus
• Jing Qian (New York University Shanghai), James Raymond Vreeland (Princeton University), Jianzhi Zhao (University of Exeter), Strategic Evaluations: World Bank Responses to the Founding of China’s AIIB. Discussants: Bernhard Reinsberg, Sujeong Shim
• Tuuli-Anna Huikuri (University of Zurich), Sujeong Shim (New York University Abu Dhabi), Not Two Worlds: China’s Multilateralism and the Strategic Allocation of AIIB Projects. Discussants: Sarah Brooks, Jing Qian 
• Promise Kamanga (Hamilton College), Diplomatic Leverage and Political Signaling: Recipient Strategy in Securing ODA Commitments. Discussants: Avi Ahuja, Inken von Borzyskowski
• Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe (Princeton University), Simone Dietrich (University of Geneva), Alexandra Zeitz (Concordia University), The Preferred Partner? How Co-financing with the African Development Bank Shapes Public Perceptions of Foreign Assistance. Discussants: Isabella Bellezza, Keyi Tang
• Mirko Heinzel (Maastricht University), Jennifer Tobin (Georgetown University), Managing Turnover: Pre-Analysis Plan for a Survey of World Bank Staff. Discussants: Sabrina Arias, Inken von Borzyskowski
• Avi Ahuja (New York University), Mengfan Cheng (New York University), Beyond Foreign Aid: How do Developing Countries Substitute Concessional Financing? Discussants: Erkan Gören, Pablo Pinto
• Lauren Ferry (University of Mississippi), Junghyun Lim (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Anna Meyerrose (Arizona State University), Nina Obermeier (King’s College London), Making the Club Stronger: Enlargement and the Legitimacy of International Organizations. Discussants: Maria Debre, Christina Schneider
• Merih Angin (Koc University), Michael Breen (Dublin City University), Guardians of the Balance Sheet: Determinants of IMF Executive Board Sentiment. Discussants: Samuel Brazys, Randall Stone
• Maia King (King’s College London), Motivation and Information in Foreign Aid: Paternalism, Responsiveness and Ownership. Discussants: Samuel Houskeeper, Daniel Nielson
• Andreas Fuchs (University of Göttingen), Valentin Lang (University of Mannheim), Andrea Presbitero (International Monetary Fund), Shifting Influence? China and the 2025 U.S. Aid Retrenchment. Discussants: Axel Dreher, Marcela Ibáñez
• Paul Vernus (Université Clermont Auvergne), Beg or Bargain? The Impact of Disastrous Extreme Weather Events on Foreign Aid Delivery. Discussants: Timon Forster, Katharina Michaelowa
• Jessica Braithwaite (University of Arizona), Alex Bruens (University of Arizona), Susanna Campbell (American University), Cecilia Cavero Sanchez (Penn State University), Madeline Fleishman (University of Virginia), Hatem Zayed (American University), Who Keeps the Peace? Reconceptualizing Aid Actors through Networks of Influence and Support. Discussants: Tobias Heinrich, Jing-Rong Zeng

China, Geopolitics & Trade

• Ryan Brutger (University of California, Berkeley), Richard Clark (University of Notre Dame), Kelebogile Zvobgo (William and Mary), Rules of Engagement: Elite Cues and Public Support for the World Trade Organization. Discussants: Helen Milner, Eric Thai
• Maria Berlin (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics), Lev Lvovskyi (Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center), Russia’s Involvement in Africa and its Consequences for Development Cooperation. Discussants: Faisal Ahmed, Christian Ambrosius
• Austin Strange (University of Hong Kong), Xiaonan Wang (Baruch College, CUNY), Yuan Wang (Peking University), Can Public Diplomacy Repair Reputation? Evidence from Chinese-sponsored Infrastructure in Indonesia and Kenya. Discussants: Sarah Brooks, Layna Mosley
• Lorenzo Crippa (University of Strathclyde), Edmund Malesky (Duke University), Lucio Picci (University of Bologna), Unpacking Compliance and “Leakages” in International Regimes: The Case of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Discussants: Bernhard Reinsberg, Helen Milner
• Daniel Jones (University of Pittsburgh), Irene Menéndez (IE University), Erica Owen (University of Pittsburgh), The China Shock in Emerging Economies: Unbundling the Electoral Consequences of Trade Exposure in Brazil. Discussants: Layna Mosley, Stephanie Rickard
• Sebastian Ahlstich (Copenhagen Business School), Country-Level Explanations for the Underutilization of Preferential Trade Agreements. Discussants: Soo Yeon Kim, Kenneth Stiller
• Karolina Milewicz (University of Bayreuth), Duncan Snidal (University of Oxford), Kenneth Stiller (University of Bayreuth), Friendship and Trade Agreements. Discussants: Soo Yeon Kim, Stephanie Rickard
• Elise Pizzi (University of Iowa), Tianhui Wu (University of Iowa), Sara Mitchell (University of Iowa), Reducing Post-Disaster Conflict Risk through Migrant Remittances. Discussants: Rod Abouharb, Niklas Hänze
• Mengfan Cheng (New York University), B. Peter Rosendorff (New York University), Sujeong Shim (New York University Abu Dhabi), The Geopolitics of Debt Sustainability Analysis. Discussants: Marcela Ibáñez, Valentin Lang
• Ruofan Ma (Harvard University), Licheng Liu (University of Michigan), BIT by BIT: How Bilateral Investment Treaty Network Shapes Foreign Direct Investment. Discussants: Nicolas Bau, Pablo Pinto

IO Institutions, Cooperation & Design

• Boram Lee (London School of Economics), Organizing for Issue Linkage: How External Ties Shape Domestic Support for Liberalization. Discussants: Christina Schneider, Erik Voeten
• Yoram Haftel (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Omer Solodoch (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Educational Reforms and Public Support for International Organizations: The Roles of Skill Enhancement, Socialization, and Information. Discussants: Sabrina Arias, Stefanie Walter
• Tobias Heinrich (University of Houston), Yoshiharu Kobayashi (University of Leeds), Domestic Opposition as Messengers for International Organizations. Discussants: Gabriele Spilker, Stefanie Walter
• Nikitas Konstantinidis (IE University), A Model of Electoral Accountability and Union Secession Under Supranational Policy Constraints. Discussants: B. Peter Rosendorff, Jonas Tallberg
• Leopoldo Biffi (Princeton University), Balancing Sovereignty and Cooperation: The Logic of Deferred Contracting in International Agreements. Discussants: Nicolas Bau, Stephen Chaudoin
• Andrew Fairley (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Jon Pevehouse (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Jonas Tallberg (Stockholm University), Carl Vikberg (Stockholm University), Democracy, Autocracy, and International Organization Membership. Discussants: Rod Abouharb, Simon Hug
• Kerim Kavakli (Bocconi University), Giovanna Marcolongo (Bocconi University), Diego Zambiasi (Newcastle University), Sanction Havens: Offshore Financial Centers and Financial Sanction Evasion. Discussants: Alicia Chen, Julia Gray
• Christina Davis (Harvard University), Qi Liu (Harvard University), Network Ties, Social Capital, and Multilateral Cooperation. Discussants: Austin Beacham, Isabella Bellezza
• Stefan Eschenwecker (University of Mannheim), Thomas König (University of Mannheim), The European Court of Justice and Legal European Integration. Discussants: Taegyun Lim, Gabriele Spilker

International Law & Institutions

• Hyeran Jo (Texas A&M University), Beth Simmons (University of Pennsylvania), Yohan Park (Trinity College Dublin), Justice v. The Terminator: Militants, Civilian Killing, and the International Criminal Court. Discussants: Soohyun Cho, Sara Mitchell
• Averell Schmidt (Cornell University), International Monitoring and Domestic Accountability: Evidence from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Discussants: Soohyun Cho, Simon Hug
• Ada Ruohonen (University College Dublin), Samuel Brazys (University College Dublin), In the Room Where it Happens: The Dynamics of Gender Presence and Power in the International Monetary Fund. Discussants: Taegyun Lim, Carmela Lutmar
• Alex Wais (Stockholm University), Lisa Dellmuth (Stockholm University), The Paradox of the Wealthy: Local Economic Decline and the Backlash Against Global Governance. Discussants: Saliha Metinsoy, Erik Voeten
• Lorenzo Crippa (University of Strathclyde), Patrick Bayer (University of Glasgow), The Politics of National Ties in International Organization Reports. Discussants: Erica Owen, Wei Li
• Tal Sadeh (Tel Aviv University), Bernhard Reinsberg (University of Glasgow), Ben Cormier (University of Strathclyde), Sovereign Debt Management Institutions – Introducing a New Database. Discussants: Avi Ahuja, Silvia Marchesi
• Claas Mertens (University of Oxford), Sanctions, Countersanctions, and Power: When and How International Organizations De-Escalate Geoeconomic Conflict. Discussants: Jing-Rong Zeng, Zoe Ge
• Shing-hon Lam (University of California, Los Angeles), Backtracking Under Scrutiny: Evidence and Regulation in the WTO. Discussants: Stephen Chaudoin, Elise Pizzi
• Richard Clark (University of Notre Dame), Julia Morse (University of California, Santa Barbara), Tyler Pratt (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Perceptions of Power: How Elites Evaluate Threats and Opportunities in International Politics. Discussants: Maria Debre, Cecilia Cavero Sanchez
• Elena McLean (University at Buffalo, SUNY), Negotiating over Transparency: How Authoritarian Ties Influence World Bank Conditionality. Discussants: Christian Ambrosius, Rachel Schoner
• Christopher Kilby (Villanova University), Kathleen Heraty (Villanova University), Understanding Vote Switching in the UN. Discussants: Erkan Gören, Julia Morse

8:00 pm Dinner

Restaurante Mesón de Cándido (Plaza Azoguejo, 5, 40001 Segovia)

Saturday, January 31

Location: IE Segovia Campus, Refectory

9:00-10:45 am Session 8: International Monetary Fund

Chair: Julia Gray

• Paper 1: Rod Abouharb (University College London), Bernhard Reinsberg (University of Glasgow), Keyi Tang (ESADE Business School), IMF Programs and the Distributional Politics of Human Rights Repression. Discussion openers: Ada Ruohonen, Randall Stone
• Paper 2: Stephanie Rickard (London School of Economics), James Raymond Vreeland (Princeton University), Pablo Pinto (University of Houston), How the IMF Influences Public Opinion towards Policy Reform: A Meta Analysis. Discussion openers: Cecilia Cavero Sanchez, Anna Meyerrose
• Paper 3: Wei Li (Beihang University), Jianzhi Zhao (University of Exeter), How China’s Currency Swap Arrangements Can Be Alternatives to IMF Lending? Discussion openers: Mengfan Cheng, Qi Liu

10:45-11:15 am Break

11:15-1:00 pm Session 9: IO Governance, Delegation, and Funding

Chair: Stephanie Rickard

• Paper 1: Qi Liu (Harvard University), The Scope Expansion of International Organizations. Discussion openers: Patrick Bayer, Yoshiharu Kobayashi
• Paper 2: Inken von Borzyskowski (University of Oxford), Felicity Vabulas (Pepperdine University), Domestic Politics and Participation in International Organizations: How US Legislators Affect IO Funding. Discussion openers: Irene Menéndez, Erica Owen
• Paper 3: Sabrina Arias (Lehigh University), Allison Carnegie (Columbia University), Richard Clark (University of Notre Dame), Politicizing the Global Bureaucracy: Populism and the Erosion of Expertise in IOs. Discussion openers: Julia Gray, Jennifer Tobin

1:00-2:00 pm Lunch

IE Segovia Campus, Cloister Corridor B

2:00-4:20 pm Session 10: Foreign Aid and Trade

Chair: Christina Schneider

• Paper 1: Marcela Ibáñez (University of Zurich), Alain Schläpfer (Stanford University), China in Latin America: Economic Partner, Cultural Force, and Democratic Powerhouse? Discussion openers: Valentin Lang, Elena McLean
• Paper 2: Soohyun Cho (Bowdoin College), Soo Yeon Kim (University of British Columbia), Seeing Red: Perceptions of the AIIB and its Funding Activities. Discussion openers: Tuuli-Anna Huikuri, Jing Qian
• Paper 3: Avi Ahuja (New York University), Layna Mosley (Princeton University), B. Peter Rosendorff (New York University), The Other China Shock: Chinese Finance and Bond Markets. Discussion openers: Ruofan Ma, Jianzhi Zhao
• Paper 4: Eric Thai (University of California, San Diego), Courting the Median: Strategic Presidents and the Distribution of Tariff Phaseouts in U.S. Free Trade Agreements. Discussion openers: Karolina Milewicz, Jennifer Tobin

4:20-4:30 pm: Closing Remarks

7:30 pm Dinner (optional, at own expense)

Restaurante Convento de Mínimos (Calle Valdeláguila, 7, 40001 Segovia)