Dear colleagues, We, Sonja Grimm (Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Germany), Adea Gafuri (The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Sweden), and Giselle Bosse (Maastricht University, the Netherlands), are organizing a workshop titled "External Influences on Democratization and Autocratization: How Donor Competition Shapes Democracy, Corruption, and Development in Recipient Countries" at the ECPR Joint Sessions at Charles University, Prague, from 20–23 May 2025. Our workshop welcomes submissions that study the impact of external actors in shaping democracy-related outcomes, the growing influence of non-traditional, autocratic donors, and its implications for governance outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We invite submissions focused on the effects of development assistance on election outcomes, local corruption, gender equality reforms, public attitudes, state capacity, legitimacy, trust, demand for pragmatic policies, and socio-economic development. We encourage both junior and senior scholars to apply, welcoming diverse theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches, including small, medium, and large-N comparative studies. Key questions our workshop aims to address: * What is the nature of the current donor competition of traditional and nontraditional donors in low- and middle-income countries? To what extent do patterns of interaction emerge in different world regions? * How do traditional and nontraditional donors interact with key political actors in low- and middle-income countries and to what ends? * What norms and institutions are promoted, how are they promoted and what is the effect of these policies on institution-building and development? * How do key political actors in low- and middle-income countries perceive donor engagement, interaction and competition of traditional and nontraditional donors? * How can one explain the unfolding interaction and its impact on institution-building and development in low- and middle-income countries? Our workshop details are available here<https://ecpr.eu/Events/Event/WorkshopDetails/15712>. Please submit your paper proposal through the ECPR platform at your earliest convenience, but no later than 21 November 2024, 23:59. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions (at adea.gafuri@ui.se<mailto:adea.gafuri@ui.se>, sonja.grimm@uni-wuerzburg.de<mailto:sonja.grimm@uni-wuerzburg.de>) We look forward to your proposals and to meeting you in person in Prague. Kind Regards On behalf of Adea, Sonja and Giselle