On April 2, I was invited to give an online methods masterclass for the members of the Evaluation and Statistics cadres of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom, speaking about “Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) for Foreign Policy Analysis”. The talk comprised a concise introduction to the method and approach of QCA, based on my 2021 book with Georgetown University Press. For the second part, the FCDO members asked me to speak about my applied QCA study on the Unintended Consequences of UN Sanctions, an open-access article that was co-authored with Katharina Meissner (replication data for this article is available here: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/9BGOYQ). Many thanks to Harry Achillini for the invitation and organization–and to all participants for the intriguing questions during the Q&A!

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On March 18–20, I attended the 5th Annual QCA Conference of the Americas (AQCA 2026), held at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. I was invited to give the keynote speech, where I talked about “Uncovering Causal Symptoms: QCA in Multi-Method Research,” based on a book manuscript co-authored with Hilde van Meegdenburg (Leiden University). The talk explored how QCA can be combined with case study research and process tracing as part of a multi-method research strategy—an issue that is becoming increasingly relevant as configurational approaches continue to expand across disciplines.

AQCA brings together a broad, cross-disciplinary community of QCA empirical researchers and methodologists, offering opportunities to present and receive feedback on current research, share methodological developments, and discuss new directions in configurational-comparative research. A hallmark of the conference is its inclusive character, welcoming contributions not only from QCA’s traditional strongholds in sociology, political science, and management but also from fields such as education, environmental studies, health policy, and information systems.

Thanks to the AQCA 2026 Organizing Committee–Joanna Campbell (University of Cincinnati, local organizer), Claude Rubinson (University of Houston-Downtown), Gary Goertz (University of Notre Dame), and Peer Fiss (University of Southern California)—for putting together an engaging program and for inviting me to Cincinnati. And thanks to all participants who made this a fantastic event!

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The recently published book The Changing Fights and Fighters of Contemporary War, edited by Marie Robin (Leiden University), Amelie Theussen (Royal Danish Defense College), and Kerstin Bree Carlson (Roskilde University), includes my chapter “Explaining European Military Engagement in the Fight Against Daesh”. A first draft of this chapter was presented in 2020 at the annual conference of the Center for War Studies (CWS) conference of the University of Southern Denmark. Many thanks to Marie Robin, Amelie Theussen, and Kerstin Bree Carlson for shepherding this book project to publication, despite numerous obstacles along the way! Thanks also for the constructive comments and suggestions on my chapter, also to the other participants and discussants at the CWS conference.

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The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has acquired funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a four-year research project to better understand the complex interplay between contextual and intervention features in care delivery for patients that undergo invasive mechanical ventilation (total budget: USD 2,816,250). The project involves nine researchers across five domains. I will serve as methodological consultant on the QCA component of the multi-method research design.

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The program for the 30th Summer School in Social Sciences Methods at the Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland has been announced: I’m offering Exploring Causal Complexity with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) during the week of August 17-21, 2026. For impressions from previous years, see here. This course provides a complete introduction to QCA, including R software packages (see detailed course description below). For more information, also on registration, please see the USI Summer School Website. If you have any questions about the course, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

From the course description: Causal complexity is everywhere in the social sciences—yet most researchers lack the systematic tools to capture it rigorously. In this intensive 5-day workshop (28 contact hours) you will learn how to design, apply, and publish empirical research with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in the R software environment. The course follows the comprehensive framework developed in Mello (2021, Georgetown University Press), progressing systematically from the foundations of QCA to advanced applications.

The course emphasizes research design alongside analytical techniques, addressing both conceptual foundations and practical application of QCA. You will follow an ideal-typical research process, starting with empirical illustrations of where and how QCA is used in the social sciences. Foundational sessions explore key principles, such as set theory, Boolean algebra, and the calibration of crisp and fuzzy sets, while guiding you through the analytical protocol for identifying patterns of causal complexity using truth tables and Boolean minimization.

The course progresses step by step, from study design to the interpretation of results, incorporating hands-on exercises with examples from published studies and R script templates to adapt for your own purposes. Advanced topics—including multi-method research, robustness tests, and recent developments in QCA—will be tailored to your needs and research interests. Opportunities to present your individual project and explore potential applications further enhance the workshop.

Designed to be inclusive, the workshop welcomes participants at all levels—from PhD students to senior researchers—and strikes a balance between theory, practical exercises, and individualized support. A strong emphasis on collaboration and dialogue in a small group setting ensures ample time for consultation, group discussions, and networking. By the end of the workshop, you will be equipped with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to apply QCA effectively, providing a robust framework for addressing causal complexity in comparative social science research.

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From December 9 to 11, I was invited to participate in the European QCA Conference 2025 at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. The annual EQCA conference brings together researchers from across the social sciences who engage in QCA-related work. The event is split into a Paper Development Workshop (PDW), where QCA experts discuss and comment on work in progress, and an Expert Workshop with several panels on developments in QCA and related methods. Besides chairing one of the PDW sessions, I also taught a module on set-theoretic analysis for academic teachers in organizational and media studies. During the expert workshop, I presented a paper on “Solutions in Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Evaluating Model Similarity”, co-authored with Bart Cambré (University of Antwerp) and Barbara Vis (Utrecht University). EQCA 2025 was organized by Anna Sławik, Aleksandra Rudawska, Seweryn Krupnik and Esther Staes. Many thanks to the organizing team for creating such a superb event!

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On September 17, I gave a talk on “Exploring Causal Complexity with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)” for the International Studies Association (ISA). The recording has now been made available on ISA’s YouTube channel. In my talk, I provide a compact introduction to the method and approach of QCA, with a bit of background on its methodological evolution, complemented by an empirical illustration (based on this open access article and replication data). In the last part of the talk, I address questions from the audience. ISA is the scholarly association devoted to the discipline of international studies. The association represents over 100 countries and has over 7,000 members worldwide (see data here). Thanks to Sarah Dorr, Kat Folker, and everyone at ISA for making this event possible, and especially to the live participants–it was wonderful to see that 86 people from 27 countries joined this session online.

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During the week of August 11-15, I taught the course “Exploring Causal Complexity with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)” at the 29th Summer School in Social Sciences Methods of the Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. This has been the 7th time teaching this course in Lugano (since 2016). Thanks to the organizing team and to all participants for their engagement and motivation! It is always a pleasure to see how QCA can be applied to diverse settings across the social sciences. If you’re interested in taking part in 2026, please let me know (registration usually opens in December/January). For impressions from previous years of the USI Summer School, see here. 

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A recording of the online information session on the Dissertation Completion Fellowship of the International Studies Association (ISA) has been posted on YouTube. Dissertation Completion Fellowships (DCF) are open to applicants from across the social sciences and humanities working in the field of international studies, broadly conceived. The DCF Committee is a permanent standing committee of the ISA. Its members are appointed by the ISA President and confirmed by the ISA Governing Council. The fellowship program aims to support graduate students in the final stages of writing their dissertation, typically in the last year of their PhD program. While the fellowship is open to all eligible graduate student members of ISA, the committee particularly encourages applications from groups, genders, and nationalities that have been historically under-represented in the field of international studies. Preference will also be given to students without access to other sources of funding to assist with dissertation completion. For more information, see the Call for Applications on the ISA website.

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On July 2-4, I attended the 12th European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS) in Krakow, Poland. I presented the paper “Pacifism, Isolationism or Anti-Americanism? Explaining Public Opposition to Supporting Ukraine against Russia’s War of Aggression”, co-authored with Wolfgang Wagner, in the workshop “Configuring Collective Deterrence and Defense on NATO’s Northern and Eastern Flanks: Towards a Resilient Force Posture”, organized and chaired by Monika Sus (Polish Academy of Sciences) and Tobias Bunde (Hertie School). Thanks to everyone involved for the engaged and constructive discussions around European security!

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