Michael Wakin is in the final year of his international relations D.Phil. at the University of Oxford, specializing in international political economy. His research investigates why some crisis-struck countries receive International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts right away while others wait much longer for financial assistance. It is a comparative case study analysis that foregrounds domestic distributional politics and interest group contestation in borrowing governments’ process to implement IMF conditionality and receive Executive Board approval. Michael is also the Senior Editor for Global Politics at the Oxford Political Review and an Editorial Assistant at Perspectives on Politics. Originally from New York City, he has prior work experiences at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Associated Press. As a journalist, Michael has reported from around the world, including Argentina, Lebanon, South Africa, Netherlands, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Michael was awarded the 2024 Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar Award. For his full body of work including his publications see https://michaelwakin.com/.