R. Melis Baydag is a researcher in the Department 'Inter- and Transnational Cooperation' at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn. She is also a lecturer at the Chair of International Politics at Ruhr University Bochum and the Chair of European and Global Governance at the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy at the Technical University of Munich. Before her current positions, she served as a research associate and lecturer at the Chair of International Politics at Ruhr University, where she earned her PhD in Social Sciences with distinction (magna cum laude). She has held several guest researcher positions at IDOS and was a visiting lecturer at the Institute of International and Security Studies at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. She holds a BSc and MSc in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. As a political scientist specializing in International Relations, her research focuses on international political economy and domestic politics theories, analyzing the connections between domestic politics and foreign economic policy, particularly regarding the politics of aid, international cooperation, OECD donors, and middle powers. Her ongoing research explores theoretical bridges between International Political Economy and Foreign Policy Analysis, populist influences on foreign policy, and the politics of enlargement of international organizations.

Her most recent publications appeared in Contemporary Politics, Politics & Policy, and Review of Development Economics.