Ben Christian
@benchristian.bsky.social
810 followers 450 following 42 posts
Postdoctoral Researcher @goetheuni.bsky.social // International Organizations: learning & change, internal criticism, self-legitimation, cynicism, trust https://ben-christian.com/
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benchristian.bsky.social
Why do many IOs struggle to learn despite a plethora of formal learning processes and tools?

In my new ISQ article, I argue that the criticism culture—the way IOs deal with criticism from their employees—is an overlooked but crucial variable to explain (the lack of) learning in IOs. 🧵

lmy.de/DsCjm
Reposted by Ben Christian
benchristian.bsky.social
UN funding is under pressure. In a new article @the-peio.bsky.social, my colleagues Alex Tokhi and Lisbeth Zimmermann (@goetheuni.bsky.social) show that the participation of far-right parties in government has significant negative effects on the funding of IOs.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The far right and international organizations: How the far right in government affects foreign aid funding - The Review of International Organizations
The far right is on the rise, winning elections, entering governments globally, and politicizing international cooperation. Existing research finds only very limited effects of far-right governments on international organizations (IOs), however.. We argue that the far right in government undermines IOs by systematically reducing their earmarked funding, as it cannot fully align its anti-migration agenda with the liberal mandates and purposes of most IOs. Using new data on earmarked funding to IOs from 37 OECD donor states between 1990 and 2020, we examine how far-right participation in government affects IO funding. Expanding the data on far-right parties beyond Western Europe, we employ three-way fixed effects and dynamic balancing weights to address both static and dynamic confounding with marginal structural models. Our results show that governments with far-right parties reduce earmarked funding contributions to IOs by almost 30%, without affecting bilateral aid commitments. This suggests that the far right not only politicizes IOs but also attempts to directly undermine their operation when IOs cannot be aligned with their anti-migration agenda.
link.springer.com
benchristian.bsky.social
Tokhi & Zimmermann argue that the far right in government does so because it cannot fully align its anti-migration agenda with the liberal mandates and purposes of most IOs.

Have a look at this very cool paper, it's open access!
#UN80 #Trump #EarmarkedFunding #FarRight
benchristian.bsky.social
Tokhi & Zimmermann demonstrate that governments with far-right parties reduce earmarked funding contributions to IOs by almost 30%, yet they do not alter bilateral aid commitments.
benchristian.bsky.social
UN funding is under pressure. In a new article @the-peio.bsky.social, my colleagues Alex Tokhi and Lisbeth Zimmermann (@goetheuni.bsky.social) show that the participation of far-right parties in government has significant negative effects on the funding of IOs.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The far right and international organizations: How the far right in government affects foreign aid funding - The Review of International Organizations
The far right is on the rise, winning elections, entering governments globally, and politicizing international cooperation. Existing research finds only very limited effects of far-right governments on international organizations (IOs), however.. We argue that the far right in government undermines IOs by systematically reducing their earmarked funding, as it cannot fully align its anti-migration agenda with the liberal mandates and purposes of most IOs. Using new data on earmarked funding to IOs from 37 OECD donor states between 1990 and 2020, we examine how far-right participation in government affects IO funding. Expanding the data on far-right parties beyond Western Europe, we employ three-way fixed effects and dynamic balancing weights to address both static and dynamic confounding with marginal structural models. Our results show that governments with far-right parties reduce earmarked funding contributions to IOs by almost 30%, without affecting bilateral aid commitments. This suggests that the far right not only politicizes IOs but also attempts to directly undermine their operation when IOs cannot be aligned with their anti-migration agenda.
link.springer.com
Reposted by Ben Christian
franziskahoehne.bsky.social
📢 Our biannual #EarlyCareer #IR conference in beautiful Tutzing will take place in late February 2026! @dvpw.bsky.social @apbtutzing.bsky.social

Check out the #CfP and apply until 30 Sep! Feel free to share in your networks ✨
⬇️⬇️⬇️
ecib-dvpw.bsky.social
📣 #CfP The 18th Early Career Conference on International Relations (25–27 Feb 2026) once again invites PhD candidates & postdocs to present and discuss their research in beautiful Tutzing! Abstracts can be submitted until 30 Sept 2025. Further details can be found in the attached call.
benchristian.bsky.social
Interested in International Political Sociology? Join us today at 2 pm! :)
benchristian.bsky.social
Book Launch: Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology

Interested in all things IPS? Join us for our online book launch featuring Co-Editor Ole Jacob Sending and Discussant Ingvild Bode on June 16 at 2 pm (CEST).

Details for the @dvpw.bsky.social event: www.dvpw.de/gliederung/a...
benchristian.bsky.social
Book Launch: Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology

Interested in all things IPS? Join us for our online book launch featuring Co-Editor Ole Jacob Sending and Discussant Ingvild Bode on June 16 at 2 pm (CEST).

Details for the @dvpw.bsky.social event: www.dvpw.de/gliederung/a...
Reposted by Ben Christian
mattkranke.bsky.social
📢 Job announcement – 1 PhD researcher in my "Global Sustainability Governance" research group

Please share this opportunity within your networks and encourage suitable candidates to apply (or consider applying yourself)! Happy to answer questions!

Deadline: 4 June 👇
www.uni-due.de/karriere/ste...
Stellenausschreibung
www.uni-due.de
benchristian.bsky.social
Great to see @reformworks.bsky.social featuring findings from my ISQ article on internal criticism and organizational learning in IOs. In light of the recent developments, Katja asks: Will the UN Ever Learn to Reform? #UN80
reformworks.bsky.social
Despite a professionalized learning architecture, the #UN struggles to learn. What is the missing piece? A culture of criticism.

With member states stressing that #UN80 be informed by lessons from past reforms, we explore new research that shows how learning can really happen.

👉 bit.ly/UNlearns
Reposted by Ben Christian
reformworks.bsky.social
Despite a professionalized learning architecture, the #UN struggles to learn. What is the missing piece? A culture of criticism.

With member states stressing that #UN80 be informed by lessons from past reforms, we explore new research that shows how learning can really happen.

👉 bit.ly/UNlearns
Reposted by Ben Christian
benchristian.bsky.social
How can trust be rebuilt when states leave international organizations? #Brexit

Happy to see that Dirk Peters @prif.org and my article on this question has been assigned to the new issue @jeppjournal.bsky.social.

Thread below, open access article here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Abstract of the article
benchristian.bsky.social
This not only sheds light on an under-researched dimension of the Brexit process. It also contributes to trust research, which has yet to fully acknowledge both the significance of signals of trustworthiness & leadership transitions in creating windows of opportunity for changes in trust dynamics.
benchristian.bsky.social
Rishi Sunak’s government countered the signals sent by its predecessor. By demonstrating its integrity and benevolence, it succeeded in rebuilding trust and facilitated the conclusion of the ‘Windsor Framework’.
benchristian.bsky.social
Our analysis shows that during Boris Johnson’s premiership, the EU lost trust in the UK government’s benevolence and integrity, mainly because the UK repeatedly failed to honour previous commitments.
benchristian.bsky.social
Building on insights from trust research in International Relations, we argue that the former partners gauge whether the other side can be trusted based on two types of signals: signals of benevolence and of integrity.
benchristian.bsky.social
In a nutshell, we argue that from a trust perspective, withdrawals from IOs are highly significant events. When states leave a common institution and their relationship with each other is deprived of previous institutional certainties, trust becomes both necessary & precarious.
benchristian.bsky.social
Using the case of #Brexit, we examine how trust was lost and later rebuilt during the exit negotiations between the #UK and the #EU
benchristian.bsky.social
How can trust be rebuilt when states leave international organizations? #Brexit

Happy to see that Dirk Peters @prif.org and my article on this question has been assigned to the new issue @jeppjournal.bsky.social.

Thread below, open access article here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Abstract of the article
Reposted by Ben Christian
benchristian.bsky.social
Wichtiges Symposium in Frankfurt, Anmeldungen sind weiterhin möglich. @dominikherold.bsky.social und ich organisieren einen Workshop zur Wissenschaftsfreiheit, kommt vorbei! :)
dominikherold.bsky.social
Frankfurt, save the date: Am 25/26.4. veranstalten wir im offeneshaus.bsky.social ein Symposium zu den neuen autoritären Verhältnissen weltweit. Es gibt zwei Tage lang Vorträge, Diskussionen und Workshops. Alle Infos und Anmeldung via: transnationale-demokratie.de/symposium-de...
benchristian.bsky.social
Wichtiges Symposium in Frankfurt, Anmeldungen sind weiterhin möglich. @dominikherold.bsky.social und ich organisieren einen Workshop zur Wissenschaftsfreiheit, kommt vorbei! :)
dominikherold.bsky.social
Frankfurt, save the date: Am 25/26.4. veranstalten wir im offeneshaus.bsky.social ein Symposium zu den neuen autoritären Verhältnissen weltweit. Es gibt zwei Tage lang Vorträge, Diskussionen und Workshops. Alle Infos und Anmeldung via: transnationale-demokratie.de/symposium-de...
benchristian.bsky.social
I contributed a brief chapter on 𝗖𝘆𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, which was a lot of fun to write.

You can find my chapter here (let me know if you don’t have access…): www.elgaronline.com/display/book...
benchristian.bsky.social
Beate Jahn & Sebastian Schindler have compiled a fantastic “Elgar Encyclopedia of International Relations." What makes it special is that it not only covers well-known IR concepts but also many less-established ones—such as art, failure, friendship, or post-truth. A great resource! 🙏
lmy.de/mjCbh