Professor Dr. Rachel Wellhausen

Biography

Rachel Wellhausen is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Her primary research interests lie in political economy, particularly focusing on international investment finance and the dynamics of governmental contract enforcement with foreign firms. Wellhausen's book, 'The Shield Nationality: Governments Break Contracts Foreign Firms,' published in 2015, investigates the conditions under which governments may breach contracts with international investors, underpinned by fieldwork that included interviews with executives and government officials across countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and follow-up research in Russia and Azerbaijan. She has also co-edited 'Production Innovation Economy' (2014), an outcome of an interdisciplinary project at MIT centered on innovation in production. Her scholarly work has been featured in notable journals including the American Political Science Review, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution. Wellhausen earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012, and her academic journey includes an M.S. in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and dual B.A. degrees from the University of Arizona. She is recognized for her contribution to the field, having received the Mancur Olson Award from the American Political Science Association for her dissertation on political economy.

Research Interests

Awards