My research focuses on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), humanitarian relief, and human rights. I’ve also done more recent work on dialogue, deliberation, and constructive conflict.

In Fall 2025, I’ll be working on the shifting global relief and development landscape. Some first ideas:

• “US isn’t first country to dismantle its foreign aid office,” The Conversation, March 19, 2025 (link)
• “Foreign Aid Under Fire,” Faculty at Home Webinar Series, April 29, 2025 (link)

A few recent thoughts on humanitarianism, human rights, and higher ed:

• a chapter on inequality among humanitarian organizations in a new Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality (forthcoming February 2024): (link).
• my piece with Sarah Bush on the relationship between human rights and democracy promotion is now in print in International Theory (July 2023). DOI: 10.1017/S1752971922000161
• reflections on the Engaged Listening Project in a Chronicle of Higher Education report, Fostering Students’ Free Expression: how colleges can support and encourage tough conversations (September 2023) (link).

I have two books on international NGOs. In The Authority Trap, written with Wendy Wong (Cornell University Press, 2017), we argue that most INGOs have little recognition, but a select few cultivate deference from multiple authorities. We show that status shapes the strategic choices of “leading INGOs” and other INGOs as they engage with states, corporations, and their peers. We were honored with ARNOVA’s 2019 Outstanding Book Award. You can learn about the book here and here, and read our theoretical approach to INGO authority in a short review piece in Perspectives on Politics.

My interest in INGOs and non-state actors began in graduate school and led to my first book, Borders Among Activists (Cornell, 2012).  I explore how the national roots of international NGOs shape their strategies and structures, using case studies of humanitarian and human rights INGOs in the US, Britain, and France.