Bio
Nina Hall is Assistant Professor of International Relations at SAIS Europe
Professor Hall's core areas of expertise are: international organizations, transnational advocacy, climate adaptation, and global refugee governance. She 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 as a policy officer at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Hall is currently writing a book on transnational advocacy in the digital era, to be published by Oxford University Press. She is a co-founder of an independent think tank,
New Zealand Alternative, and frequently writes on New Zealand foreign policy.
For a recent curriculum vitae including a full list of publications,
see personal webpage
Courses
- Theories of International Relations
This course is an introduction to theories of international relations (IR). The course provides an overview of key concepts in international relations including: power, hegemony, anarchy, norms and networks.
Students by the end of the course will be able to explain and compare competing theoretical approaches (including liberalism, realism, constructivism). They will be able to evaluate these theories' strengths and weaknesses, and apply them to empirical examples. Students will have a strong foundation for further study in international relations, international organizations, US foreign policy, strategic studies, international development as well as the full range of area studies programs. Students will be expected to critically engage with current events in international affairs.
- Transnational Advocacy
The class will examine theories and practices of transnational advocacy. Students will learn about different types of advocacy – from lobbying to people powered campaigns, from agenda-setting to rapid response, digital campaigning. They will read academic scholarship on advocacy alongside texts produced by and/or for practitioners. The course explores current theoretical debates (Why do activists built transnational networks? When does advocacy have
an impact?) as well as the practitioner side (how can we evaluate advocacy campaigns? And what drives someone to become an activist?). Students should take away an understanding of
the skills needed to engage in advocacy, and the benefits and limitations of various strategies and tactics.