Global Fellows Network

Dr. Christopher Lingle – International Senior Fellow (Global)

Christopher Lingle is a Visiting Fellow at AIER, Visiting Professor of Economics in the Escuela de Negocios at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala.

Christopher Lingle earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Georgia in 1977. Since then, he has been employed at universities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and USA. Currently, he is Visiting Professor of Economics in the Escuela de Negocios at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala (since 1998), Adjunct Scholar at the Centre for Independent Studies (Sydney), Research Scholar at the Centre for Civil Society (New Delhi), International Political Economic Advisor for the Asian Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDA – Kathmandu), Member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Globalization Institute (Brussels) & Senior Fellow, Advocata (Colombo, Sri Lanka). Dr. Lingle’s research interests are in the areas of Political Economy and International Economics with a focus on emerging market economies and public policy reform in East and Central Europe, East Asia, Latin America, and Southern Africa. His work has appeared as chapters in books, the international media, and scholarly journals, including the American Economic Review, Foreign Affairs, Journal for Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Kyklos, and Pacific Review. His book on the political economy of Singapore’s development was entitled, Singapore’s Authoritarian Capitalism: Asian Values, Free Market Illusions, and Political Dependency (1996). He is widely credited with anticipating the turmoil in the East Asian economies that began in 1997 (The Rise and Decline of the ‘Asian Century’: False Starts on the Road to the ‘Global Millennium’, May 1997).

Dr. Carmelo Ferlito – International Senior Fellow (Southeast Asia)

Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, (Ph.D.) is an economist, a policy analyst, and a manager based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. He currently is the Director of the Center for Market Education and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), in Kuala Lumpur. He is also a Research Advisor for Provalindo Nusa in Jakarta, Indonesia. Carmelo Ferlito earned a Master in Economics (2003) and a Ph.D. in Economic History (2007) from the University of Verona in Italy. Between 2013 and 2019 he has taught Microeconomic Theory and Policy and History of Economic Thought at INTI International College Subang (Subang Jaya) and at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur-MFI (Bangi). Dr. Ferlito is the author of five books and more than thirty scientific papers. He has applied his theoretical analysis to policy studies, in particular to the Malaysian property market and housing policies and to the issues of financial literacy, cost of living, and agricultural policies. His opinions have been reported by several Malaysian and international media, such as The Financial Times, The Edge, The Star, The Malaysian Reserve, Free Malaysia Today, BFM 89.9, The Jakarta Post, and The Business Recorder.

Pieter Cleppe – International Fellow, Brussels (Belgium) 

Pieter Cleppe is a Brussels-based Policy Analyst, dealing with EU affairs, Brexit, and the Eurozone. He is also the Director of “Brussels Liberty Network”, a monthly gathering of those supporting free-market policies in Brussels. He’s a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator and a frequent commentator in international media. Between 2008 and 2020, he has headed the Brussels office of the British EU affairs think tank “Open Europe”. Before that, he practiced law in Belgium, worked as a Belgian government cabinet adviser, and also co-founded Itinera Institute, a Belgian think tank. He holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven (2004) and an LL.M in law and economics from the universities of Hamburg, Bologna, and Vienna (2005).

Jasson Urbach – International Fellow (Africa) 

Since 2004, Jasson has worked in various positions promoting a pro-market, limited government agenda in South Africa and abroad. He has worked on and managed a wide range of projects for the Free Market Foundation, Africa Fighting Malaria, The Mercatus Center, and on grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Between 2013-2020, Jasson was a director of the Free Market Foundation, an independent public benefit organization that was founded in 1975 to promote and foster an open society, the rule of law, personal liberty, and economic and press freedoms as fundamental components of its advocacy of human rights and democracy based on classical liberal principles. Jasson also joined Africa Fighting Malaria in 2004 and was a director of the organization over the period 2006 to 2016. Africa Fighting Malaria was established to promote policies that would improve global malaria control. Jasson is the author of numerous scholarly studies for peer-reviewed academic journals, including the South African Medical Journal, Foreign Trade Review, and the British Journal of Urology International, as well as opinion pieces for leading newspapers, including Independent, The Star, Business Day, Cape Times, The Federalist, Mail and Guardian and Forbes Magazine. He regularly presents at international conferences and has appeared on national television and radio.

Bienvenido “Nonoy” Oplas, Jr. – International Fellow (The Philippines)

Nonoy is the President of Minimal Government Thinkers (MGT), a free-market think tank and NGO in the Philippines. He has a weekly column in BusinessWorld, “My Cup of Liberty” from April 2015 to present, and BusinessWorld is the Philippines’ premier business newspaper. He would occasionally be in local TV and radio interviews on various issues. He finished AB Economics then Diploma in Development Economics from the University of the Philippines School of Economics. He also published two books, Health Choices and Responsibilities (2011) published by Central Books Supply (Manila), and Liberalism, Rule of Law and Civil Society (2014) published by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) Philippines Office.

Chrysa K. Kazakou – International Fellow (Greece)

Chrysa Kazakou is an EU-qualified lawyer with a B.A. in Law and an M.A. in International Legal Studies. She also holds an M.A. in European and International Business Law from the University of Vienn and Stanford University. Her working experience includes working as a lawyer for both government and private practice, focusing on the protection of intellectual property rights, corporate agreements and data protection.

Armin Petschner-Multari – International Fellow (Germany)

Munich-born Armin Petschner-Multari worked on several conservative election campaigns before serving as the Head of Digital Communications for the CSU-Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag. He launched his own advocacy group “TheRepublic” in 2021, promoting a conservative agenda in Germany and supporting the campaigning efforts of the CDU and CSU.