School of Social & Political Sciences

Professor Patrick Shea

  • Professor of International Political Economy (Political & International Studies)

Biography

I am a Professor in International Political Economy at the University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences. My research examines how international finance, sovereign debt, and economic power shape conflict, state-building, and domestic politics. My book, Hierarchy and the State (Cambridge University Press, 2025), shows how American economic power reshapes governance in partner states. My work appears in leading journals including the Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and International Studies Quarterly. I received my Ph.D. from Rutgers University and was an Associate Professor at the University of Houston before moving to Glasgow. I currently lead the International Political Economy and Development subject group. 

Research interests

My research focuses on:

  • Sovereign debt and default
  • International political economy
  • Conflict finance and war economy
  • State capacity and state-building
  • Chinese development finance
  • Economic hierarchy and great power politics
  • Gender and foreign economic policy
  • Critical minerals and resource politics
  • Domestic politics of international relations
  • Quantitative methods and causal inference

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022
Number of items: 14.

2026

Kirkland, Justin H. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) Legislative financial asset disclosure, firm motivations, and macroeconomic outcomes in the US states. Regulation and Governance, (doi: 10.1111/rego.70203) (Early Online Publication)

Shea, Patrick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) Chinese lending and sovereign debt distress in developing countries. Economics and Politics, (doi: 10.1111/ecpo.70064) (Early Online Publication)

Imamverdiyeva, Ulkar, Pinto, Pablo M. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) An examination of trade liberalization as a gendered foreign policy instrument. Review of International Political Economy, (doi: 10.1080/09692290.2026.2678297) (Early Online Publication)

2025

Cormier, Ben and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Global finance, political business cycles, and the politics of foreign reserves. International Studies Quarterly, 69(3), sqaf050. (doi: 10.1093/isq/sqaf050)

Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443, Reinsberg, Bernhard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-413X and Kern, Andreas (2025) China lending and the political economy of leader survival. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 69(4), pp. 571-598. (doi: 10.1177/00220027241263036)

Ferry, Lauren L. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Crises and consequences: the role of U.S. support in international bond markets. Journal of Conflict Resolution, (doi: 10.1177/00220027251327970) (Early Online Publication)

DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Information, uncertainty, and public support for brinkmanship during the 2023 debt limit negotiations. British Journal of Political Science, 55, e14. (doi: 10.1017/S0007123424000462)

Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Hierarchy and the State: State-Building in the Shadow of American Economic Power. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. ISBN 9781009609319 (doi: 10.1017/9781009609272)

2024

Brown, Kathleen J., DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Ethnic politics and sovereign credit risk. Review of International Political Economy, 31(2), pp. 589-621. (doi: 10.1080/09692290.2023.2225143)

Kern, Andreas, Reinsberg, Bernhard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-413X and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Why cronies don’t cry? IMF programs, Chinese lending, and leader survival. Public Choice, 198, pp. 269-295. (doi: 10.1007/s11127-023-01114-4)

Cappella Zielinski, Rosella and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Global war finance in the twenty-first century. In: Aggarwal, Vinod K. and Cheung, Tai Ming (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Geoeconomics and Economic Statecraft. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 9780197673577 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197673546.013.19) (In Press)

2023

Artabe, Eugenia, Chapa, Samantha, Sparkman, Leah and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2023) External threats, capacity, and repression: how the threat of war affects political development and physical integrity rights. British Journal of Political Science, 53(4), pp. 1311-1327. (doi: 10.1017/S0007123422000692)

2022

Imamverdiyeva, Ulkar and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2022) Re-examining women leaders and military spending. Journal of Peace Research, 59(5), pp. 679-693. (doi: 10.1177/00223433211055909)

DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2022) US patronage, state capacity, and civil conflict. Journal of Politics, 84(2), pp. 767-782. (doi: 10.1086/715598)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 15 14:03:42 2026 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections
Number of items: 14.

Articles

Kirkland, Justin H. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) Legislative financial asset disclosure, firm motivations, and macroeconomic outcomes in the US states. Regulation and Governance, (doi: 10.1111/rego.70203) (Early Online Publication)

Shea, Patrick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) Chinese lending and sovereign debt distress in developing countries. Economics and Politics, (doi: 10.1111/ecpo.70064) (Early Online Publication)

Imamverdiyeva, Ulkar, Pinto, Pablo M. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2026) An examination of trade liberalization as a gendered foreign policy instrument. Review of International Political Economy, (doi: 10.1080/09692290.2026.2678297) (Early Online Publication)

Cormier, Ben and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Global finance, political business cycles, and the politics of foreign reserves. International Studies Quarterly, 69(3), sqaf050. (doi: 10.1093/isq/sqaf050)

Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443, Reinsberg, Bernhard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-413X and Kern, Andreas (2025) China lending and the political economy of leader survival. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 69(4), pp. 571-598. (doi: 10.1177/00220027241263036)

Ferry, Lauren L. and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Crises and consequences: the role of U.S. support in international bond markets. Journal of Conflict Resolution, (doi: 10.1177/00220027251327970) (Early Online Publication)

DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Information, uncertainty, and public support for brinkmanship during the 2023 debt limit negotiations. British Journal of Political Science, 55, e14. (doi: 10.1017/S0007123424000462)

Brown, Kathleen J., DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Ethnic politics and sovereign credit risk. Review of International Political Economy, 31(2), pp. 589-621. (doi: 10.1080/09692290.2023.2225143)

Kern, Andreas, Reinsberg, Bernhard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-413X and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Why cronies don’t cry? IMF programs, Chinese lending, and leader survival. Public Choice, 198, pp. 269-295. (doi: 10.1007/s11127-023-01114-4)

Artabe, Eugenia, Chapa, Samantha, Sparkman, Leah and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2023) External threats, capacity, and repression: how the threat of war affects political development and physical integrity rights. British Journal of Political Science, 53(4), pp. 1311-1327. (doi: 10.1017/S0007123422000692)

Imamverdiyeva, Ulkar and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2022) Re-examining women leaders and military spending. Journal of Peace Research, 59(5), pp. 679-693. (doi: 10.1177/00223433211055909)

DiGiuseppe, Matthew and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2022) US patronage, state capacity, and civil conflict. Journal of Politics, 84(2), pp. 767-782. (doi: 10.1086/715598)

Books

Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2025) Hierarchy and the State: State-Building in the Shadow of American Economic Power. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. ISBN 9781009609319 (doi: 10.1017/9781009609272)

Book Sections

Cappella Zielinski, Rosella and Shea, Patrick E. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5051-4443 (2024) Global war finance in the twenty-first century. In: Aggarwal, Vinod K. and Cheung, Tai Ming (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Geoeconomics and Economic Statecraft. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 9780197673577 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197673546.013.19) (In Press)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 15 14:03:42 2026 BST.

Prior publications

Book Section

(2022) Survival analysis in international relations Handbook of Research Methods in International Relations Patrick E. Shea. (doi: 10.4337/9781839101014.00037)

Article

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Patrick E. Shea (2021) Alliances, signals of support, and military effort European Journal of International Relations Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1460-3713 (doi: 10.1177/13540661211033890)

Jeffrey J. Harden, Justin H. Kirkland, Patrick E. Shea (2021) Legislative Transparency and Credit Risk Legislative Studies Quarterly Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1939-9162 (doi: 10.1111/lsq.12272)

Patrick Shea, Paul Poast (2020) Leaders and Default International Studies Quarterly Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1468-2478 (doi: 10.1093/isq/sqaa003)

Patrick E. Shea (2020) Money Talks: Finance, War, and Great Power Politics in the Nineteenth Century Social Science History Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1527-8034 (doi: 10.1017/ssh.2020.3)

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Patrick E. Shea (2019) The Devil’s Haircut: Investor–State Disputes over Debt Restructuring Journal of Conflict Resolution Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1552-8766 (doi: 10.1177/0022002718811531)

Patrick E. Shea, Paul Poast (2018) War and Default Journal of Conflict Resolution Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1552-8766 (doi: 10.1177/0022002717707239)

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Patrick E. Shea (2018) Sovereign credit and political survival in democracies Business and Politics Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1469-3569 (doi: 10.1017/bap.2018.2)

Markie McBrayer, Patrick E. Shea, Justin H. Kirkland (2018) The Financial Crisis, Fiscal Federalism, and the Creditworthiness of US State Governments Statistics, Politics and Policy Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 2194-6299 (doi: 10.1515/spp-2018-0003)

Patrick E. Shea, Jonathan A. Solis (2018) Leaders, Tenure, and the Politics of Sovereign Credit International Interactions Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1547-7444 (doi: 10.1080/03050629.2018.1406932)

Patrick E. Shea, Charlotte Christian (2017) The Impact of Women Legislators on Humanitarian Military Interventions Journal of Conflict Resolution Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1552-8766 (doi: 10.1177/0022002716631105)

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Patrick E. Shea (2016) Borrowed Time: Sovereign Finance, Regime Type, and Leader Survival Economics & Politics Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1468-0343 (doi: 10.1111/ecpo.12081)

Patrick E. Shea (2016) Borrowing Trouble: Sovereign Credit, Military Regimes, and Conflict International Interactions Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1547-7444 (doi: 10.1080/03050629.2016.1100611)

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Patrick E. Shea (2015) Sovereign Credit and the Fate of Leaders: Reassessing the “Democratic Advantage” International Studies Quarterly Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 0020-8833 (doi: 10.1111/isqu.12181)

Patrick Shea, Terence K. Teo, Jack S. Levy (2014) Opposition Politics and International Crises: A Formal Model International Studies Quarterly Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 0020-8833 (doi: 10.1111/isqu.12126)

Patrick E. Shea (2014) Financing Victory Journal of Conflict Resolution Patrick E. Shea. ISSN 1552-8766 (doi: 10.1177/0022002713478567)

Supervision

I am most interested in supervising PhD students on the following topics:

  • International political economy
  • Sovereign debt and default
  • Development finance and foreign aid
  • Conflict finance and war economy
  • State capacity and state-building
  • Economic hierarchy and great power politics
  • Critical minerals and resource competition
  • Gender and foreign economic policy
  • Quantitative methods and causal inference

If you wish me to supervise your PhD project, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Send me a short research proposal and curriculum vitae. 

Current supervision projects: 

  • Heneghan, Matthew
    Labour Migration, Financial Remittances and Sovereign Development in Central Asia
  • Ramela, Rhulani
    Title:Household financialisation and structural inequality in South Africa: An intersectional analysis of household debt, financial inclusion, and economic disparities.
  • Velazquez, Julian
    International influences over the subnational extractive model: the interplay between foreign actors, provinces and the central administration around policies regulating lithium in Argentina (2015-2027)
  • Wu, Zhihang
    Principles or Pragmatism? Social Standards in FTAs

Additional information

Google Scholar page

Personal website