Daniel McDowell is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. He is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is a specialist on the international politics of money and finance, with a regional emphasis on the United States and China. His most recent book Bucking the Buck: US Financial Sanctions and the International Backlash Against the Dollar, published by Oxford University Press in 2023, empirically demonstrates a link between US sanctions policy and a rise in anti-dollar policies around the world. McDowell has also authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in top international relations journals. His public-facing work has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, World Politics Review, War on the Rocks, among other outlets.

McDowell holds a PhD in foreign affairs (2012) from the University of Virginia and a BA in political science from Malone University (2004). At Syracuse University, McDowell has served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the political science department since 2020 and received the Maxwell Dean’s Office award for Undergraduate Mentorship in 2021.