Faisal Ahmed
Associate Professor of Political Science
B.A., M.A., Northwestern University Ph.D., University of Chicago Research focuses on political economy, international economics and politics.
I study and teach political economy with a substantive focus in international economics and politics. My work is interdisciplinary and has been published in various journals, such as the American Political Science Review, American Economic Journal – Macroeconomics, Explorations in Economic History, Review of Economics and Statistics, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization.
My research largely probes the strategic interactions of political actors and the international economy. Some of this research features in two books, The Perils of International Capital (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Conquests and Rents: A Political Economy of Dictatorship and Violence in Muslim Societies (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Other strands of my work explore topics in development, political violence, international economic law, and the political economy of migration. I am currently working on projects related to political connections and globalization, geopolitics and political violence, and the political economy of bureaucrats.
I earned a BA in mathematics and BA/MA in economics from Northwestern University and later completed my doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. Before transitioning to academia, I spent a few years as an international and macroeconomist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Current and upcoming courses
This seminar examines how politics affects the international economy, and vice versa. It will focus primarily on the political economy of international finance and development, across nations, issues, and time. We will explore some of the following questions: Why do financial crises occur? How does a nation’s currency affect its domestic and international politics? Are countries “punished” for defaulting on their debt? Is foreign aid “effective”? How does financial globalization affect domestic politics and vice-versa? The aim of the course is to equip students with the tools to better understand the relationship between financial globalization and politics.