Jan Aart Scholte is Professor of Global Transformations and Governance Challenges at Leiden University. Previous appointments were at the University of Duisburg-Essen, University of Gothenburg, London School of Economics (Centennial Professor), University of Warwick, Institute of Social Studies, and University of Sussex. Research interests cover globalisation, governing global problems, civil society and global governance, global democracy, legitimacy in global governance, multistakeholder global governance, and internet governance. Key publications include Contesting Global Governance (2000); Globalization: A Critical Introduction (2005); Building Global Democracy (2011); Legitimacy in Global Governance: Sources, Processes, Consequences (2018); Power and Authority in Internet Governance (2021); Global Governance: Fit for Purpose? (2023); and Polycentrism: How Governing Works Today (2023). Over the years Jan has pursued research-practice exchanges across the world with local, national, regional and global governance organizations, civil society associations and social movements, foundations, and media outlets.

Dr Kseniya Oksamytna is a Reader (Associate Professor) in the Department of International Politics at City St Georges, University of London. Her research interests are international security, international organizations, and peace operations. Her book, Advocacy and Change in International Organizations: Communication, Protection, and Reconstruction in UN Peacekeeping (Oxford University Press, 2023), is the winner of the Chadwick F. Alger Best Book Award by the International Studies Association. In 2025-2026, she will be seconded to the International Crisis Group to investigate regional peace diplomacy in the Great Lakes region of Africa. She sits on Editorial Boards of International Peacekeeping and Global Governance.

Bernhard Reinsberg is a Professor of International Political Economy and Development at the University of Glasgow and a Research Associate in Political Economy at the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Zurich, an MA in Comparative and International Studies at ETH Zurich and BA degrees in Political Science (Freie Universität Berlin) and Mathematics (University in Hagen). His research is on the political economy of international organisations—such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund—and seeks to contribute to a better understanding of what drives their behavior and when their development interventions are effective. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as American Journal of Sociology, Journal of European Public Policy, Journal of Politics, Governance, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, Regulation and Governance, Review of International Organizations, and World Development, among others.

Sarah Bermeo is a political economist, associate professor of public policy and political science at Duke University, co-director of the Program on Climate, Resilience, and Mobility, and non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. Her research lies at the intersection of international relations and development, with a focus on foreign aid, migration, climate change, food security, and the intersection of these areas, particularly with regard to climate change adaptation and the development of institutions for global public goods. She is author of Targeted Development: Industrialized Country Strategy in a Globalizing World (Oxford, 2018), journal articles that have appeared in BMJ: Global Health, International Organization, Journal of Politics, and World Development, and multiple invited contributions and policy reports. She has advised or consulted with the United States Department of State, USAID, and the World Bank and regularly engages with broad audiences through news media, blog posts, podcasts, webinars, and invited talks. Bermeo received her PhD in Politics and Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University and her BA from the University of Rochester.

Carla Guapo Costa holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Lisbon. She is a Full Professor at the School of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP). She is a researcher at the Center for Public Administration and Public Policies and the Orient Institute, both acknowledged and funded by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. Her main research areas are international political economy and geoeconomics. She has authored several books and papers in national and international journals. She has developed consultancy work in Asian, South American, and African countries and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Brasilia and Santa Catarina in Brazil. Currently, she is a Guest Lecturer at the Royal Academy of Defence Studies in London in the fields of Geoeconomics and Economic Security.