Mihaela Papa is the director of research and a principal research scientist at the Center for International Studies (CIS).  

She joined CIS from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where she was a senior fellow, co-founded and led the Rising Power Alliances project, and taught on sustainable development and global governance. She also previously served as the director of Global Programs at the MIT Sloan School of Management and as the assistant director for international activities in MIT's Office of the Provost.

An expert in negotiation strategy and coalition-building, Papa focuses on BRICS and rising powers in global governance, as well as climate transitions. Her recent publications analyze BRICS convergence and BRICS-US relations (European Journal of International Relations, 2023) and the potential for BRICS to de-dollarize global finance (Cambridge University Press Elements, 2022). Her work on sustainable development governance and climate coalitions has appeared in Global Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, Climate Policy, and other journals. Papa's postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Law School inspired her research on emerging economies, leading to fieldwork in India and at Fudan University’s Center for BRICS Studies in Shanghai.

Dedicated to bridging theory and practice, Papa has consulted for various organizations, including the US government, the European Commission, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Her insights have been featured in Foreign Affairs, The Conversation, and on major media outlets such as CNN, Bloomberg, BBC, News24, and the South China Morning Post. She began her career as a trade economist in the Croatian Foreign Ministry and holds an MA in law and diplomacy and a PhD in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.