2016 In the News

"After a year in which too many things seemed impossible, the EU faces another problem: a government that defies the elementary principles of republican democracy." Spanish text.

Michael Kennedy in the American Sociological Association's Policy Trajectories Blog, " I would propose that we think of knowledge not only as a quest to understand structures relatively autonomous from our own understanding, or subjective realities that are the consequences of various life experiences, but focus on those mediating knowledgeabilities that shape how we engage the world with more and less consequence for that world's improvement."

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, wrote an op-ed about the fall of democracy around the world, examines its origins and factors that led to the global revolt.

Ashutosh Varshney criticised the Union government for Monday's proclamation to not permit more than a one-time deposit of over Rs 5,000 up to December 31.

Brown University political scientist Wendy Schiller is quoted in an article about Monday's elector vote.

Rob Blair, Assistant Professor of Political Science, discusses his new study on the distrust Liberian citizens felt toward their government institutions during government-mandated Ebola control interventions in 2014-15.

Mark Blyth in The Washington Post, "Unsurprisingly, people are beginning to realize that they are no longer getting what they vote for."

Brown political scientist Jeff Colgan comments on the 'chilling effect' that has been spurred by Donald Trump's rhetoric about dialing back the First Amendment.

Jeff Colgan in Monkey Cage Blog, "By all accounts, Tillerson is smart, hard-working, and has a lot of experience overseas with ExxonMobil. Still, he has zero experience in public office. So does Trump."

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman speaks with Retuers diplomatic correspondent Arshad Mohammed about his time as President Nixon's interpreter on the 1972 visit to China.

Brown University economist Nathaniel Hilger comments on a study about young adults not reaching the same level of success as their parents. Hilger's comments are based on the new findings and his own research.

Eric Patashnik in The Washington Post, "Just as liberals in power often discover that it is difficult to expand the scope of government, conservatives in power have traditionally found that the task of dismantling existing programs can be daunting even under favorable circumstances."

Nina Tannenwald, director of international relations at Brown University, is quoted on the reasons why former U.S. commander in chiefs have avoided the use of nuclear arsenals.

Timothy Edgar, senior fellow at Brown's Watson Institute, said small businesses are susceptible to cyber threats and that many attacks go undetected in a discussion that examined cyber security across industries. Edgar was part of the panel convened for PBN's Cybersecurity Summit at the Crowne Plaza.

Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, ""According to American strategic doctrine, the US will be in danger if one country comes to dominate a large region of the world. China seems capable of doing that one day."

Senior Fellow J Brian Atwood co-authors an op-ed about U.S. foreign policies having unintended consequences that directly impact U.S. interests.

Mark Blyth joins WNYC to discuss global far-right growth and where nationalist parties could gain appeal.

Research professor Nick Ziegler, comments on the possible elimination of the Dodd-Frank Act now that former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin has been named Trump's Treasury Secretary.

Timothy Edgar, senior fellow at Brown's Watson Institute, comments on the likelihood of American legislators adopting similar surveillance policies as the British Parliament, which has recently passed a controversial law that allows government officials to monitor the web surfing behaviors of Britons for suspected terrorists and cyber criminals.

Jeff Colgan's resource list of political science literature focused on democratic erosion around the world is mentioned.

Jeff Colgan in Monkey Cage, "Trump has been vague and inconsistent about his proposed policies, but to the extent they have a coherent theme, it is one of economic nationalism."

Research by Jeff Colgan, professor of political science, was cited in an article about American democracy following the results of the presidential campaign.

Research by Mark Blyth, professor of political economy, was cited in an article about austerity.

Mark Blyth in Real Clear Politics, ""If you look at the states that really fell hard [for Trump] in the Rust Belt, it is economic. Now, if you recognize that simple fact, you can put Trump in there with Brexit."

Three Watson Institute scholars, Narges Bajoghli, Chas Freeman, and Stephen Kinzer, are signatories to a new report that was recently published on the Iran policy recommendations for the new U.S. administration.

Stephen Kinzer, senior lecturer at Brown's Watson Institute, wrote an op-ed arguing that if Donald Trump is defying conventional wisdom by cooperating with Russia, he should offer a conciliatory hand to Iran as well.

Professor of International Relations, Rose McDermott, presents a TEDxSonomaCounty talk on the genetics of politics.

A study by Andrea Wright, anthropology student and GPD Fellow, was mentioned in an article on the fears of sexual assault and salary cuts that women spa workers face in Goa, India.

Peter Andreas in The Washington Post, "Critics were as dismissive of Trump's wall as they were of Trump as a presidential candidate. The wall proposal, they said, was nothing more than a political fantasy."

Elias Muhanna in The New York Times, "For us children, it was a geography lesson meant as preparation for the strange homecoming that always follows a great war."

Timothy Edgar, senior fellow in international and public affairs, wrote an op-ed about internet surveillance in the United States entering a new era.

Mark Blyth in Foreign Affairs, "Could there then be a higher set of drivers in the global economy pushing the world in a direction where Trump is really just one part of a more global pattern of events?"

Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "The minorities — Hispanics (12 per cent of the electorate), blacks (12 per cent) and Asians (5 per cent) — were expected to vote heavily for Clinton."

Dr. Adam Levine, director of the new Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, discusses his time in Haiti managing a cholera treatment unit for International Medical Corps. following Hurricane Matthew.

With the tech community fearful of what Donald Trump might do with his executive powers, many are considering moving their servers overseas. Tim Edgar of Brown University explains what the stunning win could mean for civil liberties and privacy.

With the newly elect-President destined to take the helm the Oval Office, surveillance experts warn his presidency could usher in new future in digital privacy. Timothy Edgar, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, comments on the looming challenges digital privacy pundits could face next.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, pens an op-ed about how Donald Trump's foreign policy agenda deviates away from the playbook of Washington elites.

Professors Rose McDermott and Susan Moffitt discuss gender and the presidential election for the first episode of the Watson Institute podcast, Trending Globally.

In a round up of economic research, Brown University economist Nathaniel Hilger comments on the higher earnings of Asians in the U.S. describing it as "unique and puzzling."

Political scientist Wendy Schiller comments on the likelihood of Rhode Island voters turning their support towards the GOP nominee.

Brown University Professor Wendy Schiller and Tony Crescenzi, portfolio manager at Pimco, examine early voter turnout and the impact of Latino and Asian voters in the 2016 election.

With hateful rhetoric being spewed between both presidential campaigns, it may come as a surprise to know the current election isn't the nastiest in history. Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow in international and public affairs, describes when it turned positive and when campaigns began to turn ugly.

Assistant Professor Jayanti Owens' research on ADHD was featured in the "Quick Study" column in Pacific Standard's November/December issue.

Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "Trump's victory, if it happens, will be a defiance of probabilities. Such defiance is, of course, not unheard of in politics."

Brown University joins over 200 other colleges and universities in the nonpartisan ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.

Ross Cheit, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, discussed the upcoming vote to have Rhode Island's legislature supervised by the state's Ethics Commission.

Faculty Fellow Elias Muhanna comments on the recent results of the presidential election in Lebanon that ended a two year period without political leadership in the country.

A weekly series on United States' foreign affairs cites Brown University's Cost of War Project.