Layna Mosley is a Professor of Politics and International Affairs and the Associate Chair of the Department of Politics. She focuses on the politics of the global economy, as well as international relations generally. She teaches courses on the politics of the global economy, global political risk analysis and qualitative research methods. In April 2023, she will host the DebtCon6 meeting at Princeton University, which seeks to bring together scholars and practitioners who study and work on sovereign debt. 

Mosley’s research explores the connections between domestic politics and the global economy. I'm especially interested in the political economy of sovereign borrowing and debt. My research explores how governments, as borrowers, interact strategically with their creditors. These creditors include investors who purchase sovereign bonds, as well as commercial banks, other governments and international financial institutions. When governments experience debt crises, a key challenge is coordinating among these often-diverse creditors. She also investigates how governments choose among creditors; how creditors evaluate government policies and political events; how governments structure the terms of their borrowing; and how governments market themselves to potential bond buyers. This research allows us to understand better the extent to which financial globalization creates opportunities, as well as constraints, for governments – and under what conditions the demands of financial markets might limit democratically-elected governments’ ability to meet the demands of their citizens.

Another stream of Mosley’s research examines the effect of multinational production and global supply chains on workers’ rights in developing countries, as well as the ways in which U.S. trade policies affect workers’ rights abroad. I’m also interested in private sector efforts to govern labor rights, such as the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety. She seeks to understand the conditions under which participation in global supply chains can motivate labor-related upgrading among developing country firms, as well as the conditions under which global competition puts downward pressure on labor standards.

Mosley currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of International Organization.  She’s also a member of the executive committee of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance. She helped found the Global Research in International Political Economy (GRIPE) webinar series, co-directing it from May 2020 to September 2022. From 2017 to 2022, she was an executive board member of the Women Also Know Stuff initiative.