Barbara Koremenos

Barbara Koremenos is a Political Science Professor at the University of Michigan. She received an MPP and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Koremenos won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award — the first such winner to study international relations and law. In her book, The Continent of International Law: Explaining Agreement Design (Cambridge University Press), she draws on contract theory and game theory to develop comparative static predictions regarding how international law can be structured to make international cooperation most successful given harsh international political realities. She tests these predictions with an original scientific dataset across the issues of economics, environment, human rights, and security. Her current projects include explaining the subnational diplomacy undertaken by the U.S. fifty states and designing solar geoengineering institutions that incentivize mitigation rather than discourage it. Her journal publications include American Political Science Review, International Organization, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Legal Studies, Law and Contemporary Problems, and Review of International Organizations. Koremenos has served on two National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees and one American Academy of Arts and Sciences panel using her expertise to shed light on international law and norms frameworks, medicine regulation, and international health cooperation for future pandemics. She regularly consulted for the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government from 2019-2024.