Bio
Nina Hall is Assistant Professor of International Relations at SAIS Europe
Nina Hall is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Europe. Her research explores the role of transnational advocacy and international organizations in international relations. Her most recent book is
Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era, Think Global, Act Local (Oxford University Press, 2022). She has published research on advocacy organizations and multilateral institutions in: the
International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, Global Environmental Politics, and
Global Governance. Her first book explored how UNHCR, IOM and UNDP adapted to climate change
Displacement, Development and Climate Change: International Organizations Moving Beyond their Mandates? (Routledge, 2016).
Nina holds a DPhil (PhD) in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a master's degree from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She previously worked as a Lecturer at the Hertie School of Governance and is a co-founder of an independent think tank,
Te Kuaka (formerly New Zealand Alternative). In 2021 she was a Senior Fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute (the German Internet Institute) in Berlin, and a Research Associate at the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She is currently a Faculty Affiliate at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. For a full list of publications,
see personal webpage.
Courses
- Theories of International Relations
This course surveys a variety of broad theoretical approaches to analyzing international politics. Examines approaches to the study of power, state interests, peace and war, international law, and economic cooperation; presents a critique of realist, liberal, and constructivist conceptions of international politics; and introduces basic methodology, weighing the evidence to assess the relative merits of theories.
- Transnational Advocacy
The class will examine theories and practices of international advocacy. Students will examine different types of advocacy: from insider lobbying to people powered campaigns, from agenda-setting to rapid response and digital campaigning. They will read academic scholarship on advocacy alongside texts produced by and/or for practitioners. The first half of the course will focus on theoretical dimensions of advocacy – who drives norm change and who resists it? When is advocacy effective? The second half of the class will focus more on advocacy for refugee and migrant rights. Students will evaluate a campaign for refugee and/or migrant rights and develop their own campaign recommendations. Learning Objectives: critically assess theories of international advocacy; identify and compare different types of advocacy organizations, strategies and tactics; develop practical skills in designing and evaluating campaigns.