Catherine Herrold

• 2024 Spring
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
  • PAI 748 Seminar on Nonprofit Management
• 2022 Fall
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
  • PAI 748 Seminar on Nonprofit Management
• 2022 Spring
  • PAI 732 Collaborative and Participatory Governance
  • PAI 670 Experience Credit
  • PAI 713 Governance and Global Civil Society

Catherine Herrold (she/her) in an associate professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She is a senior research associate in Maxwell’s Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration and a faculty affiliate of the Political Science Department. 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.

Herrold’s research centers on civil society, international development, and democracy promotion. Her first book, Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond, was published by Oxford University Press in 2020. The book uncovers the strategies that Egyptian NGOs used to advance the aims of the country’s 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. It was awarded the 2021 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Book Prize from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).

(Re)Mobilizing the Masses: Youth, Civil Society, and Social Change in the 21^st Century, Herrold’s second book project, studies the role of Palestinian voluntary grassroots organizations, social enterprises and community philanthropy groups in mobilizing citizens for social change.

In a third book project, funded in part by a Fulbright Scholar grant, Herrold is studying locally led development in Serbia.

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

In 2020-21, Herrold served as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Before joining Maxwell, Herrold was an associate professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a faculty affiliate of the Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She also 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. 

An avid swimmer, Herrold was an NCAA Division III All-American and is a member of the Mount Holyoke College Athletics Hall of Fame.

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

"(Re)Mobilizing the Masses: Civil Society and Social Change in the 21st Century", Sponsored by Maxwell School Appleby-Mosher Fund for Faculty Research.

"(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.

"Belgrade Bandits? The Promises and Pitfalls of NGO Professionalization in Serbia", Sponsored by Faculty Creative Activities and Research (FCAR) Grant Program.

"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.

"Fellowship for US Scholars Conducting Field-Based Research on Palestine", Sponsored by Palestinian American Research Center.

• Books
  • Herrold, C. E., Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond. Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • Herrold, C. E., "Giving in Egypt: Evolving Charitable Traditions in a Changing Political Economy." In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Philanthropy. , 2016.
• Journal Articles
  • 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.
  • Herrold, C. E., Atia, M., "Competing Rather than Collaborating: Egyptian Nongovernmental Organizations in Turbulence." Nonprofit Policy Forum, 2016.
  • Herrold, C. E., "NGO Policy in Pre-and Post-Mubarak Egypt: Effects on NGOs' Roles in Democracy Promotion." Nonprofit Policy Forum, 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.
• Review, Journal
  • Caren, N., Gaby, S. and Herrold, C. E., "Economic breakdown and collective action." Social Problems, 2017.
• 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.

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)

Council on Foreign Relations Virtual Event, "U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East Under a Biden Administration" (November, 2020)

54th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Middle East Studies Association, "Negotiating Western Intervention: Social Change Actors, Foreign Aid, and Civil Society in Palestine" (October, 2020)

116th American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, American Political Science Association, "Project Think: Effects on Civil Society and Democracy in the Middle East" (September, 2020)

Bridging the Gap Project Webinar, "What to Do When Your Research Gets Disrupted?" (August, 2020)

Future Strategy Forum, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Kissinger Center Virtual Roundtable, "COVID-19, Democracy, and Governance" (June, 2020)

Cook, S., Hawthorne, A., Jentleson, B., Herrold, C. E., Bridging the Gap Project Virtual Roundtable, "Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond" (June, 2020)

61st Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, International Studies Association, "Acquiescence or Agency? Response of Grassroots Actors to Aid Colonization" (March, 2020)

Zencirci, G., Herrold, C. E., 61st Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, International Studies Association, "Project Think?: A Critical Perspective on NGOs, Social Justice, and Democracy in the Middle East" (March, 2020)

53rd Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Middle East Studies Association, "Project-Think and Fragmentation of Civil Society in the Middle East" (November, 2019)

European Foundation Centre Grantmakers East Forum 24th Annual Meeting, "Common Actions for Social Change: Mobilising People, Creating Spaces, Using Technologies" (October, 2019)

TÜSEV: Türkiye Üçüncü Sektör Vakfi, "The Role of Grant Making Organizations in Social Change" (October, 2019)

Project on Middle East Political Science, The George Washington University, "Voluntary Grassroots Organizations and Civil Society-State Relations in Palestine" (October, 2019)

The American University in Cairo, "The Status of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in Egypt" (September, 2019)

Rawa: Creative Palestinian Community Fund, "What is Philanthropy? Insights from Academia, Lessons for Rawa" (July, 2019)

60th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, International Studies Association, "Palestinian NGOs and the Cultivation of Resistance Through Everyday Acts" (March, 2019)

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)