Catherine Hecht is a political scientist whose research and teaching focus on international organizations, democratic governance, sustainable development, the evolution of international norms and discourses, and multilateral diplomacy in the United Nations (UN) system and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

At the SPPGA, she is a Sessional Lecturer and Honorary Research Associate. Previously, she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Global Cooperation Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. She has also held a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) post-doctoral fellowship in Austria and has taught at the Vienna School of International Studies/Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and the Technische Universität Darmstadt. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from UBC and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. In earlier professional experience, she was a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and worked with the World Bank’s Africa region and with civil society organizations in Central Europe. She has also observed several elections with the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

Journal articles:
Hecht, Catherine and Jens Steffek (2024): Salient Discourses in International Society: When and how have United Nations Global Conferences acted as Catalysts?  Journal of International Relations and Development, doi.org/10.1057/s41268-024-00324-7

Hecht, Catherine (2021): When Democratic Governance Unites and Divides: Social Status and Contestation in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Cooperation and Conflict 56(1): 44-64.

Hecht, Catherine (2017): Advantages and Disadvantages of Inclusive Multilateral Venues: The Rise and Fall of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on New or Restored Democracies. International Politics 54(6): 714-728.

Hecht, Catherine (2016): Success after Stalemate? Persistence, Reiteration, and Windows of Opportunity in Multilateral Negotiations. Journal of International Organizations Studies 7(2): 23-38.

Hecht, Catherine (2016): The Shifting Salience of Democratic Governance: Evidence from the United Nations General Assembly General Debates. Review of International Studies 42(5): 915-938.

Chapter:
Hecht, Catherine (2023): Inclusive Approaches to Multilateral Democracy Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities for Canada. In Maxwell A. Cameron, David Gillies, and David Carment (eds.), Canada Among Nations 2022: Democracy and Foreign Policy in an Era of Uncertainty, Chapter 7, pgs. 133-153. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan.