Layna Mosley, a professor of politics and international affairs, has spent the past two months flexing her scholarly muscles. In October, Mosley presented “Sovereign Debt Transparency: The Oversight Role of Parliamentarians” at an International Monetary Fund event. Her presentation focused on the politics surrounding debt transparency, what her research finds in terms of how the electoral cycle matters for debt transparency, and how investors (sometimes) reward governments that are more transparent.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation also invited Mosley to participate in its “Lessons from History for America Today” series. In it, Mosley joined other economic experts, including her Princeton SPIA colleague Harold James, in writing individual essays that “present challenges through a historical lens to offer comparisons, valuable insights and lessons learned for navigating our nation onto a stronger, more prosperous path.” Mosley’s essay, “Exorbitant Politics? The Future of U.S. Debt and Fiscal Policy,” looks at the United States’ borrowing habits in a new, uncertain, and unstable environment. 

Mosley, who directs the Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab, part of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance, was also a co-organizer and co-host of the DebtCon8 meetings, which bring together academics, policy practitioners, and private market participants working on issues related to sovereign debt and development finance. Princeton’s SPIA DC Center hosted the first day of the three-day meeting. Mosley moderated a session on debt sustainability, featuring policymakers and academics.

“Governments worldwide borrow to finance their activities, including improving infrastructure, providing education and health care, and responding to climate change,” Mosley said. “Understanding the domestic and international politics surrounding sovereign debt allows us to better prevent debt crises and to promote development and growth.

Ethan Kapstein, a lecturer and executive director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, visited Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel for a panel discussion entitled “Europe’s dependence on the US defence industrial base: source of transatlantic strength or geopolitical vulnerability?”

During the discussion, Kapstein argued that the transatlantic relationship between the United States and its European allies is strong.

“You have to separate out the signal from the noise,” he said. “If you look at the depth of defense-industrial cooperation across the Atlantic, with such partners as Germany and Italy assembling F-35 fighter aircraft and with the U.S. purchasing Norwegian-built Joint Strike and Naval Strike Missiles, you’d conclude that the relationship is really an interdependent one—we’re joined at the hip.”