Wealthy nations regularly deploy economic statecraft—foreign aid and investment—to achieve political objectives, yet its effectiveness remains debated. This study answers whether the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) extensive financial engagement in the Middle East contributes to its dual foreign policy goals of regional stability and soft power. The research employs quantitative panel regressions alongside qualitative case analysis by utilizing unique dataset spanning financial flows from GCC states to ten Middle Eastern countries (2003–2024), sentiment analysis of over 5,000 local newspaper articles, and established stability indices, The results reveal a statistically significant, qualitatively validated, nuanced impact: GCC financial interventions enhance recipient states’ security apparatus, thereby improving stability, yet simultaneously reduce domestic state legitimacy. However, no sustained positive effect on soft power is observed, as media-driven perceptions fluctuate dramatically with context and events, ultimately showing transient rather than enduring gains. Through detailed analysis of Egypt, the largest GCC financial recipient, the paper illustrates these dynamics vividly, highlighting conditions under which economic statecraft boosts state security but struggles to generate state legitimacy and lasting soft power.

China’s “ghost cities” are often portrayed as symbols of failure—empty monuments to overbuilding and speculative excess. This project examines these cities, especially Ordos Kangbashi, through the lens of political spectacle, arguing that they are not merely unintended consequences of mismanagement, but physical manifestations of China’s state-driven economic growth model. The research explores how political incentives, fiscal structures, and urbanization policies incentivized rapid development of cities ahead of demand. I trace how ghost cities were built to perform modernity, attract investment, and fulfill national ambitions. While often derided in Western media, many of these cities have begun to fill up, complicating the narrative of failure. Rather than viewing them solely as cautionary tales, I argue they represent a broader tension between appearance and reality in China’s developmental strategy. This study contributes to our understanding of how urban space can serve both economic function and political symbolism. It also calls for more nuanced interpretations of “failure” in state-led development. Ultimately, ghost cities challenge us to rethink how we measure progress, revealing how cities can be built not just for people—but for performance.

The literature has yet to examine the effect of Black American protests on Black American candidacy. With an overwhelming scholarly emphasis on protests’ impacts on party success and public opinion, a gap persists. This research examines the effect of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests on Black candidates running in federal, state, and local elections. I conduct a cross-sectional analysis of over 9,000 contests and 13,000 protests. Controlling for a jurisdiction's typical Black electoral success, I find that jurisdictions experiencing more protesting activity elected more Black candidates than other jurisdictions. Protests were particularly associated with Black Democratic success, and negative effects were concentrated among Black Republicans. The results also provide novel evidence that challenges scholars who claim that violent and extreme protest tactics are counterproductive.