Axel Dreher

Call for two Stephan Klasen Fellowships at the University of Göttingen,
for postdoctoral researchers in development economics from low- and middle-income countries.

Applications close 16th November 2025.

www.uni-goettingen.de/en/632637.html

Another call for better aid reporting. Axel Dreher says we should distinguish & report separately on:

1. Humanitarian aid
2. Global public goods
3. Development aid

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Deadline for PEIO 2026: September 30.

Aid program must return to its roots Foreign aid isn't dying; it's in deep trouble. Just look at Seville, where the United States — the world's largest development donor not long ago — didn't even bother to send a delegation to the globa...

Some of my thoughts on how to reform foreign aid in China Daily: global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202509/13/... (uncensored version here: axel-dreher.de/wp-content/u...)

Again, a highly interesting and timely paper in @the-peio.bsky.social. Thanks to @benchristian.bsky.social for distributing it! @adreher.bsky.social - is there a way to push ROIO authors to have a bluesky-account? 😉

Map of the world by ADM1 regions showing the number of years with targeted political violence in each region, 1990-2020. Western donors drastically cut foreign aid in 2025, reigniting the familiar debate over whether aid works. This column examines how aid affects targeted political violence, looking at assassinations and attacks against politicians in 121 countries between 1990 and 2020. In regions receiving aid, targeted killings of politicians are 15%-20% higher in the years with aid inflows, especially where institutions are weak and elections are upcoming. Donors should avoid large transfers immediately before elections, consider direct cash transfers in fragile contexts, and incorporate political dynamics in risk assessments.

@adreher.bsky.social, Jingke Pan, & @cjschneider.bsky.social find that in regions receiving foreign aid, targeted killings of politicians are 15-20% higher in the years with aid inflows. Direct cash transfers should be considered in fragile contexts.
cepr.org/voxeu/column...
#EconSky

Richard Clark. 2025. Cooperative Complexity: The Next Level of Global Economic Governance. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) - The Review of International Organizations The Review of International Organizations -

Many thanks to Michael Breen @dublincityuni.bsky.social for this thoughtful review of my book, Cooperative Complexity: The Next Level of Global Economic Governance, in The Review of International Organizations @the-peio.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New Paper Alert!📢
"Foreign Aid and Targeted Political Violence" by @adreher.bsky.social‬ Jingke Pan @cjschneider.bsky.social

To understand how foreign aid can unintentionally fuel political violence in fragile democracies, read the full study here:
🔗 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu...

Looking forward to present new research (with @hannaeback.bsky.social and @michaelimre.bsky.social) on the relationship between ideological polarization, coalition governance and the number of party members in the German states at the Sogang Conference on Party Activism and Democracy next week 😊

The Review of International Organizations The Review of International Organizations publishes original scientific contributions in the entire field of international political economy, with a focus on ...

📌The special issue "Illiberal Regimes and International Organizations" is now published as Vol. 20 Issue 2 in RIO! @the-peio.bsky.social
link.springer.com/journal/1155...
Summary thread with each piece-- 🧵

🚨 Big News for European Political Science 🚨

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the European Political Science Society (EPSS): a new, member-led, not-for-profit association built to support our scholarly community.

🔗 epssnet.org

Here’s a thread with everything you need to know.

🧵

I look forward to this week's dialogue on a (sadly) timely topic: Sudden aid cuts @langlotzsarah.bsky.social @isdcberlin.bsky.social @adreher.bsky.social @kiel.institute @uni-goettingen.de @fuchsa.bsky.social

🚨 JOB ALERT 🚨 2 exciting PreDoc positions in my team at the University of Bern, starting late summer/early fall! Collaborate on cutting-edge research in Political Economy, Development &Behavioral Economics, using experimental and quasi-experimental methods.

Armutsbekämpfung: „Es kostet 5000 Dollar, ein Menschenleben zu retten“ Wie effektiv ist die westliche Entwicklungshilfe an den globalen Süden? Der Entwicklungsökonom Axel Dreher fordert neue Konzepte - und gibt Donald Trump in einer Sache recht.

Wie effektiv ist die westliche Entwicklungshilfe an den globalen Süden? Der Entwicklungsökonom Axel Dreher fordert neue Konzepte - und gibt Donald Trump in einer Sache recht.

Study #Development #Economics in #Göttingen! We accept applications for our Master of students with either citizenship or Bachelor from EU/EEA countries until May 15. Info: uni-goettingen.de/en/203661.html. @unigoettingen.bsky.social @agrarunigoe.bsky.social igoe.bsky.social @3dseminar.bsky.social

I received a heartbreaking email today: A paper in a special issue I’m editing is being retracted because one of its authors is afraid of losing their job and their legal status in the U.S. if they publish a scientific study on evolution. Yes, on evolution, nature's engine of diversity.

A picture of a bus ad that says “TARIFFS ARE A TAX ON HARDWORKING AMERICANS”

Salute to the Canadians for putting these ads up in downtown DC, they’re right and they should say it more 🫡

The Review of International Organizations invites papers using geocoded data on foreign aid for a special issue “Analyzing Global Development with the Geocoded Official Development Assistance Dataset (GODAD).” See godad.me, godad.uni-goettingen.de/uploads/RIO_...

This is a pretty remarkable set of results. I got fixated on adults in this, since it seems like a big change!

One fact that I discovered by digging into the original reports is that this masks some pretty interesting heterogeneity:

www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.

The world's richest man stole food from the world's poorest children. Now they are beginning to die
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The RIO allows manuscripts rejected at APSR, IO, ISQ to be transferred to the RIO (and v.v.). Interested in discussing the draft of RIO’s transfer policy? Share your thoughts and suggstions for improvement: shorturl.at/9jbQb,
@the-peio.bsky.social, @iojournal.bsky.social, @apsrjournal.bsky.social

I really liked this idea of using a histogram as a legend in a choropleth map (since land isn't unemployed; people are), so I made a little guide to doing it with #rstats, {ggplot2}, and {patchwork}

www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2025/02...

Thanks to @eu-renew.bsky.social, the main findings of our recent @the-peio.bsky.social article on the link between IO design, cosmopolitan identity and potential domestic effects (uni.ms/m1ckl) are now also available in the format of an audio book: eu-renew.eu/podcast/, ep. 18. Strongly recommended!

Some thoughts on the suspension of USAID in an interview with @wirtschaftswoche.bsky.social: wiwo.de/politik/ausl... (in German)

Locking in democracy? Transitions, returning autocratic elites, and human rights treaty commitment - The Review of International Organizations Under what conditions are new democracies more committed to human rights? Existing explanations focus on the logic of the democratic lock-in as elites in new democracies commit their countries to inte...

New publication alert @the-peio.bsky.social
Under what conditions are new democracies more committed to human rights? More specifically, what role do former autocratic elites play in shaping ratification of international human rights treaties?

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Power by Proxy: Participation as a Resource in Global Governance - The Review of International Organizations Member state participation is essential in global governance, affording international organizations (IOs) legitimacy and translating member state preferences into institutional attention. We contend t...

Some IOs - like the IMF, UNSC, and the WHO - group small states together in 'proxy' systems, while powerful states speak for themselves. In new (open access!) work with @rickyclark.bsky.social and Ayse Kaya in @the-peio.bsky.social, we focus on the case of climate change in the IMF. 1/3

Who benefits from today’s illegal elimination of all US aid workers worldwide?

China. China will fill the gaping void.

Chinese aid greatly raises pro-China attitudes & influence across the world:

@adreher.bsky.social et al.—> doi.org/10.1086/729539

Ungated—> www.aiddata.org/publications...

Join us for the Political Economy of International Organization Conference (@the-peio.bsky.social) at IE University in Segovia, Spain, January 29-31, 2026. Submission is now open at peio.me. Thanks to Nikitas Konstantinidis for hosting!

*Extremely* timely EDCC article #econtwitter #econsky about effectiveness of foreign aid in building soft power. . .for China! Completion of Chinese foreign aid projects ⬆️ support for Chinese gov in recipient countries @elwellner @DreherAxel @fuchs_andreas @AustinMStrange