Maxwell Makes a Strong Showing at ISA Annual Convention

By Jessica Youngman

April 24, 2026

Political Science Department

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Alumni Experience

Student Experience

Faculty and graduate students presented research, led panels and shaped the conversation at one of international studies’ premier gatherings.

The Maxwell School was well-represented at the 67th annual convention of the International Studies Association (ISA), one of the world’s largest and oldest interdisciplinary associations dedicated to understanding global affairs.

Two individuals stand in front of an — Anna M. Agathangelou, Maxwell doctoral alumna in political science and professor at York University, is shown with former ISA president Siba N'Zatioula Grovogui at the organization's annual convention.

Held March 25-27 in Columbus, Ohio, the convention was co-chaired by Anna M. Agathangelou, doctoral alumna in political science and professor at York University. Incoming ISA president Audie Klotz, professor of political science and Heighberger Family Faculty Fellow of Public Service, was joined by several Maxwell faculty colleagues and graduate students who participated in panel discussions and presented their research, as well as numerous alumni who serve on committees within the organization.

“Seeing so many current and former Maxwell community members sharing their research and contributing their expertise to leadership roles at ISA was truly gratifying,” said Klotz. “In Columbus, I realized just how much ISA relies on our alumni, whose own engagement began with participation as graduate students. This convention remains one of the field’s crucial venues to advance scholarship, forge collaborations and mentor the next generation. Maxwell’s participation reflects our collective commitment to that essential work.”

Founded in 1959, the ISA comprises more than 7,000 members around the world, including academics, practitioners, policy experts, private sector workers and independent researchers. A hub for the exchange of ideas, networking and programmatic initiatives, its conferences, virtual programs and sponsored journals encompass a range of topics that foster the development of new ideas, relationships and skillsets.

At the convention, Klotz participated in several meetings and a distinguished scholar panel honoring Fiona B. Adamson, a leading scholar of international migration and diaspora politics. Klotz received this same honor from the Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration (ENMISA) section in 2018.

This convention remains one of the field’s crucial venues to advance scholarship, forge collaborations and mentor the next generation. Maxwell’s participation reflects our collective commitment to that essential work.”

Audie Klotz

professor of political science and Heighberger Family Faculty Fellow of Public Service

Faculty attendees included Catherine Herrold, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and associate professor of political science by courtesy appointment; Minju Kim, assistant professor of political science; Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science; and Margaret Hermann, professor emerita of political science and former director of the Maxwell-based Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. Hermann is a past president of ISA.

Kim presented co-authored research examining how investment treaty design reflects the advisory role of arbitrators. Griffiths was one of the conference’s most active participants: his recent book, Before Colonization: Non-Western States in the Nineteenth Century, co-authored with Charles Butcher of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, was the subject of an “Author Meets Critics” panel. He also co-presented a paper on public goods and international order with Maxwell graduate student Falak Nur Hadi, and served as discussant on two additional panels. Hermann participated in a pre-conference workshop and a roundtable marking the 30-year reunion of the National Science Foundation’s Research Training Group grant.

Maxwell’s political science doctoral students were equally active:

Maria Fernanda Cabezas Astorga presented two papers on post-conflict reconciliation—one examining peace preferences in Colombia and another exploring community well-being and interethnic attitudes in postwar Sri Lanka.
Michael McCall presented research on interdependence in the multiplex international system.
Kirin Raynor Taylor presented on social movements and the right to housing and volunteered at the convention.
Jingding Wang presented two papers on digital cross-border payment networks and central bank digital currencies and co-organized a panel on international regimes in a post-unipolar world.
Sobia Paracha presented two papers on security, elite strategy and territorial discourse in Pakistan’s borderlands and chaired a panel at the convention.

Still more Maxwell connections: Next year’s convention will be co-chaired by political science doctoral alumni Asli Ilgit and Deepa Prakash.