Alexandra O. Zeitz

Dr. Alexandra O. Zeitz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University, Montréal, Canada. She holds a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a B.A. from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on international political economy, particularly developing countries' engagement with global financial systems, including topics like sovereign debt, Chinese financial diplomacy, and international development aid. She teaches courses on International Political Economy and supervises MA/PhD students in Political Science.

Dr. Zeitz has been recognized with the 2022 Faculty of Arts and Science Dean's Award for Excellence in Scholarship (Junior Scholar). Her work explores how African governments leverage external financing (e.g., Chinese loans) to negotiate better terms in aid agreements, a concept she terms the 'financial statecraft of borrowers.' She has conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya, analyzing aid negotiations and borrowing strategies.

Her publications appear in top journals like the British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, and Review of International Political Economy. Current research includes studies on bilateral sovereign lending, the G20 Common Framework for debt crises, and public opinion on aid conditionality in recipient countries. She maintains an active presence in academic networks, including prior roles as a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute (2019–2020).