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Valentin Seidler is a political economist and migration and security specialist with extensive experience in international organizations, including the International Red Cross Movement. He has managed international multi-stakeholder projects in Africa, South Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia. He has worked in post-conflict areas such as Kosovo and Timor-Leste, and managed rehabilitation and development programs in Africa and Central Europe. From 2006 to 2009, he was the International Red Cross Representative to the European Commission in Brussels.
He received his PhD in Economics in 2011 and has since worked and researched at the University of Vienna, the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien), the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Warwick. His research interests focus on fostering innovation in international cooperation, peacebuilding, labor migration, and long-term economic development.
As a policy advisor and expert, Valentin Seidler has recently completed a study on the role of the Austrian dual education system in international cooperation for the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO). He is a member of an expert group led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on skills mobility programs in Austria.
Past research includes a joint project with WorldPop UK, the University of Edinburgh and Tufts University on the reliability of demographic data in African countries for policy making. This study, funded by the Anniversary Fund of the Austrian National Bank, revealed systematic biases in the subnational distribution of data errors, which particularly affect remote "last mile" populations, thereby hindering effective development planning and implementation.
Previously, Valentin Seidler has also explored the historical role of 20,000 colonial officers in the institutional reforms of British colonies prior to independence. Conducted with UC Berkeley, Radboud University Nijmegen, and Witten-Herdecke University, this research provides insights into why development policies and reforms often fail, creating only the illusion of progress without delivering substantial benefits. This project received funding from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).