As instructor of record, I have taught (or currently teach) the following undergraduate courses at the University of Geneva:
Political Economy of Foreign Aid
Offered Fall 2023, 2024; Spring 2025.
This undergraduate seminar introduces students to the systematic study of foreign aid and its distributive effects. They will examine why the poorest populations often do not benefit most from aid. The seminar will further explore how recipient characteristics influence the reception of aid. Students will investigate how aid can address broader challenges to international stability, such as promoting democracy, controlling migration flows, preventing epidemics and fighting climate change. Finally, we will analyse the impact of the fragmentation of the global order, characterised by intensified international competition over development finance and the rise of populism in OECD Development Assistance Committee donor countries, on the traditional foreign aid regime. More broadly, this seminar prepares students for the third-year Research Project as each session introduces a distinct research method.
International Development Organizations
Offered Spring 2023, 2024.
This undergraduate seminar explores the role of international financial institutions (IFIs) in international development affairs. Students are introduced to the core debates in the political economy of international cooperation and development finance. The seminar covers both IFIs and regional development banks. We review classic studies on the politics of IMF and World Bank lending, examining their differential effects on borrowing countries. In the second half of the semester, we will explore increasingly important topics in the governance of international finance. Firstly, we examine the growth of IFI lending to the private sector of developing countries in response to rising sovereign debt levels. Secondly, we examine the growing significance of regional cooperation, with a focus on the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Finally, we examine the role of illicit financing and global governance responses to it.
Bachelor Thesis Seminar
Offered AY 2022-2023, 2023-2024.
This seminar runs throughout the academic year. The aim is to provide adequate supervision and support for the completion of a political science research project. The first semester (Fall) is divided between joint methodology sessions, which provide a uniform methodological framework, and group supervision sessions, which allow for more personalized guidance on research projects. The methodology sessions present the different stages of producing a research project, from formulating a research question to choosing a theoretical framework, method, and analysis. The group sessions allow students to discuss the progress of their research. The emphasis is on formulating a clear and relevant research question. In the second semester (Spring), students continue their research independently and are encouraged to meet with the instructor at least twice to discuss their progress. Discussions will focus on the more empirical aspects of their work.
Nicolas Bau 