Prof. Dr. Yoram Haftel opens the new Visiting Fellow Program at the Graduate School

2025-02-03 Yoram Haftel, a Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is conducting research on international organizations and economic policy and is now teaching in the doctoral and complementary master's programs. With the Visiting Fellow Program, the Graduate School is underlining the importance of high-quality teaching and commits to its continuous internationalization. This year, three more internationally renowned fellows will be guests at the Graduate School.

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“It is not uncommon for the proliferation of international organizations to lead to an overlap of policy competencies and state membership, as is the case with NATO and the EU. While both want to advance international peace and security, they may potentially find themselves in turf wars,” says Yoram Haftel.

The numbers vary widely: it is estimated that there are between 100 and 400 associations of states similar to the EU, NATO or the African Union worldwide. The objectives of these international organizations range from trade liberalization, to development aid, to peacekeeping. Prof. Dr. Yoram Haftel is one of the most renowned researchers in this field internationally. Together with Prof. Dr. Tobias Lenz, Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science, he conducted research on the effects of organizational overlap on the authority of international organizations. The project was funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture as part of the “Research Cooperation Lower Saxony-Israel” program. “It is not uncommon for the proliferation of international organizations to lead to an overlap of policy competencies and state membership, as is the case with NATO and the EU. While both want to advance international peace and security, they may potentially find themselves in turf wars,” says Yoram Haftel.

Nevertheless, international organizations are also very different. One aspect on which they diverge is the level of authority. Some have powerful bureaucracies and independent courts, while others, sometimes labelled ‘zombie organizations,’ make decisions only by consensus and get very little done. Referring to a recent study on international organizations in Africa, conducted jointly with Prof. Lenz, Prof. Haftel explains that ‘overlap has led to a growing gap in the authority of international organizations in this continent.’

The activities of international organizations are also affected by crises, suggests Prof. Haftel. One example is China and the expansion of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) into health policies as a response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. As low-income countries pleaded for economic assistance from international organizations, China had to decide whether to channel such help through the AIIB, which it established and controls, or through the World Bank, which has overlapping competencies but also more resources and expertise and is controlled by the United States and Global North. Prof. Haftel points out that China, indeed, supported deeper engagement of the AIIB in health policies. At the same time, “our analysis shows that China pursued a hedging strategy within the World Bank, oscillating between superficial support and superficial resistance, welcoming measures that benefited the Global South while advocating institutional reforms,” describes Yoram Haftel.

The seminar “The Politics of International Trade: Interests, Institutions, and Power” deals with international trade policies across time and countries from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Despite strong reasons to believe that free trade benefits everyone, states frequently adopt protectionist policies. After the Second World War, states made strong commitments to trade liberalization through international organizations like the EU and the World Trade Organization. “Just recently, however, President Donald Trump threatened to raise trade barriers against many other countries, friends and foes alike, and the EU continues to offer generous subsidies to European firms and farmers," points out the scholar. The course examines the role of interest groups, national power, and international organizations in shaping these foreign policy choices. 

Yoram Haftel is looking forward to the exchange with the master's and doctoral students: “Germany is at the heart of Europe and the national elections will soon be taking place here. This is likely to have far-reaching implications for European cooperation and economic globalization in years to come. I am eager to hear the students' perspectives and thoughts on such issues.”

Prof. Dr. Zeev Yoram Haftel is a Professor at the Giancarlo Elia Valori Chair in the Study of Peace and Regional Cooperation in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University and had taught at the University of Illinois-Chicago. His research agenda touches on the sources, design, and effects of international organizations and agreements. His book „Regional Economic Institutions and Conflict Mitigation: Design, Implementation, and the Promise of Peace (2012)“ explores the relationships between variation in regional economic organizations (REOs) and regional security. In other projects, he analysed the relationships between crises and IOs, regime complexity, and the authority of IOs as well as the politics of global investment treaty regime. He has published peer-reviewed articles on these and other topics in such journals as International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and the Review of International Organizations and the Review of International Political Economy.