Catherine Herrold

• 2026 Spring
  • PAI 762 Challenges of International Management and Leadership
  • PAI 713 Governance and Global Civil Society
• 2025 Fall
  • PAI 762 Challenges of International Management and Leadership
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
• 2025 Spring
  • PAI 762 Challenges of International Management and Leadership
  • PAI 713 Governance and Global Civil Society
• 2024 Fall
  • PAI 762 Challenges of International Management and Leadership
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
• 2024 Spring
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
  • PAI 748 Seminar on Nonprofit Management

Catherine E. Herrold, Ph.D., is associate professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and associate professor of political science by courtesy appointment. Herrold has served as a visiting scholar at the American University in Cairo (Egypt), Birzeit University (Palestine), and the University of Belgrade (Serbia). She has conducted fieldwork in Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Serbia, Syria and Qatar. In 2020-21, Herrold served as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Herrold is an expert on civil society, international development and democracy promotion. Her first book, Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond (Oxford University Press, 2020), won the 2021 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Book Prize from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). Her second book, Sovereignty Struggles: Civil Society, Foreign Aid, and the Future of Social Change, is under contract with Oxford University Press. In a third book project, funded in part by a Fulbright Scholar grant, Herrold is studying locally led development and foreign aid in Serbia.

Her work has also appeared in the journals Public Administration and Development, Social Problems, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Policy Forum, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, Middle East Law and Governance, and Foreign Policy.

Herrold has extensive professional experience in the for-profit, nonprofit and government sectors. She has worked for Deloitte, the Urban Institute, the U.K. Parliament, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, and the George Gund Foundation. 

Herrold holds a Ph.D. in public policy from Duke University.

"Civil Society Thrives in the Kafana: Locally Led Development and Grassroots Civic Engagement in Serbia", Sponsored by US Department of Education.

"Innovating for Freedom and Prosperity: Civil Society, the Right to Movement, and the Right to Markets", Sponsored by Institue for Humane Studies.

"“Civil Society Thrives in the Kafana”: Locally Led Development and Grassroots Civic Engagement in Serbia", Sponsored by U.S. Department of Education Fulbright Hays Faculty Research Abroad Award.

"(Re)Mobilizing the Masses: Civil Society and Social Change in the 21st Century", Sponsored by SU Middle East Studies Program.

"Civil Society Thrives in the Kafana: Locally Led Development in Serbia", Sponsored by UMD Do Good Institute.

"Innovating for Freedom and Prosperity: Civil Society, the Right to Movement, and the Right to Markets", Sponsored by Institute for Humane Studies.

"Fulbright Scholar Grant", Sponsored by Institute of International Education.

"International Affairs Fellowship", Sponsored by Council on Foreign Relations.

• Book
  • Herrold, C. E., Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond. Oxford University Press, 2020.
• Journal Articles
  • Herrold, C. E., "Bankrolling the Belgrade Bandits? Civil Society, NGOs, and Foreign Aid Localization in Serbia." Public Administration and Development, 2025.
  • Herrold, C. E., AbouAssi, K., "Can service providing NGOs build democracy? Five contingent features." Public Administration and Development, 2023.
  • Zencirci, G., Herrold, C. E., "Project-Think and the Fragmentation and Defragmentation of Civil Society in Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2022.
  • Herrold, C. E., "Curating Sovereignty in Palestine: Voluntary Grassroots Organizations and Civil Society in the West Bank and East Jerusalem." Middle East Law and Governance, 2022.
  • Atia, M., Herrold, C. E., "Governing Through Patronage: The Rise of NGOs and the Fall of Civil Society in Palestine and Morocco." Voluntas, 2018.
  • Herrold, C. E., "A Conceptual Model of Foundations' Leadership Capacity in Times of Change: Lessons From Egypt." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2018.
  • Caren, N., Gaby, S. and Herrold, C. E., "Economic breakdown and collective action." Social Problems, 2017.
• Book Chapter
  • Herrold, C. E., "Giving in Egypt: Evolving Charitable Traditions in a Changing Political Economy." In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Philanthropy. , 2016.
• Monographs
  • Herrold, C. E., "Voluntary Grassroots Organizations, Civil Society, and the State in Palestine." In POMEPS Studies 41–Israel/Palestine: Exploring a One-State Reality. Project on Middle East Political Science, 2020.
  • Herrold, C. E., Bankrolling the Arab Spring: The Role of Philanthropy in Egypt’s Political Transition. Duke University, 2013.
  • Herrold, C. E., "Philanthropic Foundations in Egypt: Fueling Change or Safeguarding the Status Quo?." In Proceedings of Takaful 2012: The Second Annual Conference on Arab Philanthropy and Civic Engagement. The American University of Cairo, 2012.
  • Herrold, C. E., "High-Engagement Philanthropy: the grantee’s perspective." In Voluntary Sector Working Paper No. 4.. The London School of Economics and Political Science, 2006.
  • Herrold, C. E., The Effects of Women’s College Education on College Experiences and Post College Outcomes. Mount Holyoke College, 2000.
• Teaching Case
  • AbouAssi, K., Herrold, C. E., "New Funding, New Beginnings: To Collaborate or Not to Collaborate." In E-PARCC Teaching Case.. Maxwell School of Syracuse University Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, 2014.
• White Paper
  • Herrold, C. E., Localizing Democracy Promotion: Seven Steps to Transforming U.S. Democracy Assistance. Campbell Public Affairs Institute, 2023.

Responding to Closing Civic Space A New Voices in National Security Workshop, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Bridging the Gap Project, "Pluralizing and Resourcing Civil Society for Long-Term Social Impact" (November, 2025)

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Meeting, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, "The future of international NGOs: organizational transformation in times of crisis." (November, 2025)

International Studies Association Annual Conference, International Studies Association, "Research and Policy Roundtable" (March, 2025)

International Studies Association Annual Meeting, International Studies Association, "Research and Policy Roundtable" (March, 2025)

Campbell Conversations, WRVO, "Campbell Conversations" (February, 2025)

George Washington University Institute for Middle East Studies, "(Re)Mobilizing the Masses? Civil Society and Social Change in the 21st Century" (November, 2024)

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Meeting, "Bankrolling the Belgrade Bandits? NGOs and Locally Led Development in Serbia" (November, 2024)

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, "Nonprofits and Public Policy: Shaping Change at the International, National, and State Levels." (November, 2024)

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, "Bankrolling the Belgrade Bandits? NGOs and Locally Led Development in Serbia" (September, 2024)

Civil Society Summit 2024: Building Resilience for a Changing Civic Space, US Agency for International Development, "Resilience in the Face of Closing Civic Space: Building Strategic Capabilities for Civil Society to Thrive and Grow" (May, 2024)

The Power & Politics of Localization, George Washington University, "Voluntary Grassroots Organizations in Palestine: Revitalizing Local Civil Society" (February, 2024)

Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, "(Re)Mobilizing the Masses? Civil Society and Social Change in the 21st Century" (2023)

Annual Conference, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, "Applying Critical Theories to Civil Society in Asia: Processes, Challenges, and New Research Directions" (2023)

International Studies Association, Council on Foreign Relations, "Geopolitics in the Middle East" (2023)

Middle East and North Africa Social Policy Network, "Locally Led Development in the Middle East and North Africa" (2023)

International Policy Summer Institute, Bridging the Gap Project, "Responsible and Ethical Public Engagement" (2023)

Kenyon College Center for the Study of American Democracy, "(Re)Mobilizing the Masses? Civil Society and Social Change in the 21st Century" (2022)

2022 College and University Educators Workshop, Council on Foreign Relations, "Advancing Democracy Around the World" (2022)

United States Agency for International Development, "Building Democracy in Nonpermissive Environments: Insights and Recommendations from Egypt" (July, 2021)

Western Intervention in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings: Political Containment, Neoliberalism, and Imperial Legacies, Oxford University, "Negotiating Western Intervention: NGOs, Foreign Aid, and Civil Society in Post-Uprisings Egypt" (February, 2021)

Virginia Hodgkinson Research Book Prize, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (2021)

Trustees’ Teaching Award, Indiana University (2019)

Graduate Teaching Award, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (2018)

RGK-ARNOVA President’s Award for Research, The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (2018)

Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (2014)