Einaudi Center for International Studies
Is (Cutting) International Aid Good?
October 22, 2025
5:00 pm
Goldwin Smith Hall, G76, Lewis Auditorium
Lund Critical Debate
Since January 2025, the United States has slashed billions in international aid—and effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), responsible for administering U.S. development and humanitarian aid around the world. In what has become the largest restructuring of aid in the nation’s history, thousands of UN-administered programs have also lost funding, disrupting critical programs and services, breaking supply chains, and leading to widespread closures and layoffs.
These sweeping cuts affect food security, global health, democratic governance, and more—and the stakes have never been higher. As the landscape of international aid evolves, the world faces new questions about the impact of aid on communities, what makes international aid effective—and how to move forward.
This year's Lund debate from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies brings together policy and practice experts for an unfiltered look at the future of international aid. Join Einaudi Center faculty Chris Barrett (Dyson/Brooks) and Muna Ndulo (Law) as they tackle these questions: Who benefits from aid? Do some types of aid work better than others? Should we pursue new approaches to international development? What are the best ways to take strategic action in the world while investing in America’s security, economy, and global position?
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Panelists
Chris Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and a professor in the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. He is coeditor-in-chief of the journal Food Policy and a frequent commentator and policy advisor on food security and agricultural economics. Barrett won the USAID Science and Technology Pioneers Prize (2013), among many other awards for research, teaching, and public outreach. Read recent Chronicle coverage of Barrett's research.
Muna Ndulo is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of International and Comparative Law at Cornell Law School and an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of constitution making, governance and institution building, international criminal law, African legal systems, and human rights. Ndulo has served as consultant to the African Development Bank, World Bank, Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Development Program, and other international organizations. He led the Einaudi Center's Institute for African Development from 2001 to 2020.
Moderator
Paul Kaiser is the Einaudi Center's practitioner in residence in fall 2025. Kaiser has extensive experience in international development, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. His career spans roles at USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and World Bank. Previously, Kaiser taught political science and African studies at Mississippi State University and the University of Pennsylvania.
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About the Debate
The Lund Critical Debate is a signature event of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Established in 2008, Einaudi's Lund Debate series is made possible by the generosity of Judith Lund Biggs '57.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
US Says 'Framework' for TikTok Ownership Deal Agreed with China
Sarah Kreps, PACS
Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, raises concerns about data security and algorithm control in the proposed TikTok ownership deal.
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Kidney Disease and Climate Change in Nicaragua’s Sugarcane Zone
Alex Nading, LACS Director
“What is happening to the kidneys of sugarcane workers is not a result of climate change. It is climate change,” writes LACS director Alex Nading in his new book.
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Research at Risk: Cultural and Language Fluency
SEAP and SAP lose funding, seek solutions
The federal government has announced the end of National Resource Center and FLAS funding, which have supported area studies training for decades.
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Faculty Research Seed Grants: Global Hubs Info Session
October 1, 2025
12:00 pm
Join this info session to learn about 2026 Global Hubs Faculty Research Seed Grants offered by Global Cornell as part of our Global Hubs initiative. Info session attendees will learn about the grant opportunity and application tips through a short presentation and Q&A.
Through these seed grants, Cornell faculty from across the university are invited to apply for research funds to work with collaborators at Hubs partner institutions. Funded projects should lead to tangible outcomes, including the submission of at least one co-authored peer-reviewed publication and at least one application for external grant funding.
Up to 20 applications for research with a Global Hubs collaborator will be funded.
Successful proposals will receive up to $5,000 from Cornell, with the potential for matching funds from some Global Hubs partner universities.
Application deadline: October 15, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET
Project duration: January 1–December 31, 2026
Virtual information sessions:
September 18, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)
October 1, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)
Learn more and apply for a Global Hubs joint seed grant.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
Faculty Research Seed Grants: Global Hubs Info Session
September 18, 2025
12:00 pm
Join this info session to learn about 2026 Global Hubs Faculty Research Seed Grants offered by Global Cornell as part of our Global Hubs initiative. Info session attendees will learn about the grant opportunity and application tips through a short presentation and Q&A.
Through these seed grants, Cornell faculty from across the university are invited to apply for research funds to work with collaborators at Hubs partner institutions. Funded projects should lead to tangible outcomes, including the submission of at least one co-authored peer-reviewed publication and at least one application for external grant funding.
Up to 20 applications for research with a Global Hubs collaborator will be funded.
Successful proposals will receive up to $5,000 from Cornell, with the potential for matching funds from some Global Hubs partner universities.
Application deadline: October 15, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET
Project duration: January 1–December 31, 2026
Virtual information sessions:
September 18, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)
October 1, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)
Learn more and apply for a Global Hubs joint seed grant.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
East Asia Program
Southeast Asia Program
Institute for African Development
Institute for European Studies
South Asia Program
Migrations Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
Einaudi Welcomes SWANA Program
Four New Program Directors
We welcome the Einaudi Center's new Southwest Asia and North Africa Program and four new program directors this fall.
We're excited to introduce the Southwest Asia and North Africa Program! SWANA is Einaudi's new hub for research, learning, and engagement with the cultures and peoples of the vast geographical region stretching from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east.
SWANA gathers expertise and perspectives from across Cornell's colleges and schools under the leadership of the program's inaugural director, Seema Golestaneh. Golestaneh is an associate professor of Near Eastern studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Her research focuses on contemporary Islamic thought in the Persian-speaking world.
“We approach the Middle East as a region of complex engagements, shifting boundaries, and shared histories.”
Golestaneh looks forward to partnering with communities in the SWANA region and scholars around the world, she said, noting plans this year to “further develop our burgeoning relationship with the American University in Cairo.”
Extending beyond the Middle East, Southwest Asia and North Africa is a place-based description that highlights geographical and cultural inclusion. Golestaneh hopes SWANA will embody that spirit on campus by serving as a social and intellectual home for Cornell's diverse community of researchers and students.
“This year we'll host interdisciplinary scholars whose work represents the cutting edge of the field,” she said. “We are particularly excited about the graduate student conference we have scheduled for spring 2026.”
SWANA premiered as an initiative through a cosponsored speaker series last spring. Don't miss its first event as an Einaudi program: a lecture by Islamic art historian Margaret Graves on September 25.
New Program Directors
Joining SWANA's Seema Golestaneh are new program directors in the East Asia Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, and Southeast Asia Program.
EAP: Nick Admussen
Nick Admussen is an associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies (A&S). His research on contemporary Chinese poetry focuses on inventing and refining methods of interpretation through which people separated by linguistic or political distance can come to understand one another.
LACS: Alex Nading
Alex Nading is a medical and environmental anthropologist (A&S). His research—mostly focused on Nicaragua—has examined transnational campaigns against dengue fever, bacterial disease, and chronic kidney disease, as well as grassroots movements to address these issues.
SEAP: Eric Tagliacozzo
Eric Tagliacozzo is the John Stambaugh Professor of History in A&S. His research centers on the history of people, ideas, and material in motion in and around Southeast Asia, especially in the colonial age.
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Scholarship, Not Ideology, Guides Western Civilization Curricula
Michael Fontaine, IES
Michael Fontaine, professor of classics, writes a letter to the editor in response to an earlier article.
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Nepal Internet Crackdown Part of Global Trend Toward Suppressing Online Freedom
Aditya Vashistha, SAP
Aditya Vashistha, assistant professor of information science at Cornell University, comments on Nepal's social media crackdown as part of a broader pattern of governments controlling online narratives.
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Stablecoin Not a Cure-all for Current Financial System Inefficiencies
Eswar Prasad, SAP
Eswar Prasad of Cornell University discusses how stablecoins could affect countries with weak payment systems.