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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