UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #516

Submission information
Submission Number: 516
Submission ID: 8851
Submission UUID: 35329b93-06b8-4d29-af5e-36eef21b1b48

Created: Sun, 08/20/2023 - 10:45 PM
Completed: Sun, 08/20/2023 - 11:45 PM
Changed: Tue, 09/19/2023 - 08:24 PM

Remote IP address: 98.230.25.156
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Zachary Houser
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Mr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) zhouser@fsu.edu
Position Title Graduate Student
Faculty Advisor Name
Faculty Advisor's FSU Email
FSU College (if applicable) Social Sciences and Public Policy
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Political Science
Headshot (optional) profpic.jpg
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above)
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable)
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Title of the Project Buying and Selling Foreign Aid: Donor Motivations and Public Perceptions of Foreign Aid
Project Keywords foreign aid, international relations, United Nations
Are you currently looking for research assistants? No
Number of Research Assistants Needed 1
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Political Science
International Affairs
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? No, the project is remote
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): Partially Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description With mass economic disparities between the Global North and the Global South, prosperous nations across the globe collectively allocate over 150 billion dollars a year in financial aid to developing countries. Foreign aid allocations have developed into a crucial tool that states use to advance their interests at home and abroad. Nations give countries foreign aid to achieve domestic and international political objectives, solve global crises, and to gain international or regional status and influence. Donor nations use foreign aid to help domestic industries by requiring recipient nations to open their markets for donor nation exports and by mandating that a certain percentage of the aid they allocate be used to buy products from the donor nation. The allocation of foreign aid can be instrumental for donor nations in achieving their foreign policy goals. States use foreign aid to bring conflicts to an end, buy United Nations Security Council (UNSC) votes, attain access to natural resources, and to influence the policies of the recipient. Additionally, donor nation can turn to foreign aid to enhance their international status.
This project explores how an aid-for-policy deal with one donor nation impacts other donor nation’s ability to make aid-for-policy deals with the same recipient state. I argue that the effect of foreign aid on a recipient state's behavior is conditional on 1) how much aid a recipient state receives from donor nations and 2) how many donor nations give the recipient state foreign aid. Viewing foreign aid as a network, where countries are the nodes and the directed weighted edges are the amount of foreign aid donor nations allocate to recipient states, I test to see how a state's position in the network (who they get aid from and how much they receive from each node) changes when they are serving as a nonpermanent member in the United Nations Security Council. I argue that a state’s position in the network before it’s term on the Security Council effects the amount of aid that is required to “buy” its vote.
Research Tasks literature review
data collection
combining datasets
data analysis (optional)
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Excel - required
R - recommended (not at all necessary but would be a plus!)
Mentoring Philosophy My mentoring philosophy is rooted in the idea that I should be helping my mentee’s further their own academic and future careers just as much as they help me with my research project. Therefore, I prioritize helping my mentees develop skills and experiences that will help students stand out on their graduate school and job applications. This means I am always open to helping students develop new skills, even if those skills don’t directly relate to my research project. Moreover, I think it is important to encourage my mentees to try new things and allow them the freedom to go about tasks in their own way. Finally, I strive to create a safe environment where mentees know it is entirely acceptable to fail and learn from their mistakes.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): https://wicked-solutions.blog/2022/03/14/research-spotlight-buying-monetary-status-chinese-foreign-aid-and-the-rise-of-the-renminbi/
Please add any additional information here (if applicable):
Roundtable times and Zoom links Wednesday, September 6th from 2:00-2:30 PM (https://fsu.zoom.us/my/zacharyhouser)
Wednesday, September 6th from 2:30-3:00 PM (https://fsu.zoom.us/my/zacharyhouser)
Wednesday, September 6th from 3:30-4:00 PM (https://fsu.zoom.us/my/zacharyhouser)
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Faculty Advisor Confirmation
Are you interested in attending in a UROP Research Mentor Workshop Series? No
Year 2023
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