Area(s) of Expertise

Hans Peter Schmitz is an expert on international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), philanthropy, and global advocacy. In his recent work, he explored the role of digital media and billionaire philanthropy in shaping the broader context of global non-governmental activism. His scholarship emphasizes how institutional and normative constraints limit the ability of organized activism to accomplishing lofty missions.

Publications

• Gifts from top 50 US philanthropists jumped to $22.4B in 2025 − Mike Bloomberg, Bill Gates and the estate of Paul Allen lead a list of the biggest givers , (2026)
• Leader self-development in local government: framing the antecedents of self-awareness , International Journal of Public Leadership (2026)
• List of top 1% of U.S.-based international non-governmental organizations (2020) , DRYAD (2026)
• What Diversity Dimensions Count? Reporting Practices of the Largest U.S.-Based International NGOs , Nonprofit Policy Forum (2026)
• A Framework for Understanding and Evaluating Localization: The Case of HelpAge International , Public Administration and Development (2025)
• The Power of Interpersonal Ties , A Relational Approach to Ngos in Global Politics Beyond Cooperation and Competition (2025)
• Is Governance Aligned with Rhetoric? Exploring the Board Composition of Leading Transnational NGOs , Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs (2024)
• NGO Mergers and Acquisitions: A Relational Perspective , Beyond Cooperation and Competition: A Relational Approach to NGOs (2024)
• Philanthropy and Heroism , Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies (2024)
• The Giving Pledge , International Encyclopedia of Civil Society (2024)