2017 In the News

In an interview with BBC World, Postdoctoral Fellow Ali Kadivar explains the volatility of the protests currently happening in Iran.

The Costs of War Project was cited in an article in The New York Times, "Researchers at Brown estimated in September that war spending had reached $4.8 trillion and could total $7.9 trillion by 2053."

Professor Eric Patashnik in Vox, "Eventually, the war over Obamacare will end. When it does, there may be an opening to have a sensible conversation about ensuring that patients receive treatments grounded in sound science."

Professor Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "As the dust starts to settle, political reactions become clearer, and statistical details recede into the background, it is time to concentrate on the big picture that the recent Gujarat elections present."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "The most striking development in the world during 2017 was the change in America's global role."

Postdoctoral Fellow Ali Kadivar in POMEPS, "The death of Ayatollah Khomeini was a turning point in the relationship between the Islamic Republic and the clerical establishment."

Professor Peter Andreas' memoir, Rebel Mother: My Childhood Chasing the Revolution, earned a spot on The Best of Books 2017 list by Foreign Affairs.

Postdoctoral Fellow Narges Bajoghli in Al-Monitor, "The new wave of nationalist sentiment is neither happenstance nor the sole result of outside threats such as the Islamic State, the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump or the heated rivalry with Saudi Arabia.

Margaret Weir, professor of political science and international and public affairs, comments on WalletHub's roundup for the year's neediest cities.

Research by Jim Morone is cited in an article about the recent announcement that CVS will buy insurance company Aetna.

Economist John Friedman joined NPREd to discuss what the tax overhaul could mean for K-12 students and schools.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "The impulse behind this list-keeping is classically American. We imagine our country as above all base motives, not mired in greed or base self-interest, and therefore able to judge others impartially. In fact, the lists we publish are highly politicized."

A 2016 report by the Costs of War Project is cited in an article about finding for the National Institutes of Health. "During the post-9/11 era, this country has spent $4.8 trillion on national security related to the war on terrorism, according to a Brown University analysis."

Senior Fellow Brian Atwood weighs in on a proposal for consolidating development and humanitarian relief in the United States government.

Professor Rose McDermott joined Long Now's The Interval podcast to explain how the genetics and the enviornment contribute to political opinions.

Anthropology professor Matthew Gutmann in the University of California Press Blog, "The history of Latin America is more than the Triple C's of Conquest, Colonialism, and Christianity, the genocide, slavery, and immigration brought to the continent by rulers from Europe and the United States."

Political scientist Wendy Schiller joined NBC 10's political panel for a disussion on the tax bill, and state and local races in 2018.

Senior Fellow Richard Boucher comments on the reports that Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo may soon become secretary of state.

Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "...globalisation is in retreat, but nationalist politics is unlikely to fully morph into nationalist economics, at least in the short run."

Member of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission and political scientist Ross Cheit comments on a conflict of interest complaint against a Coventry town official.

Economist Emily Oster joined Penny Johnston on Baby Talk podcast, and challenges the traditional pregnancy advice.

A report by the Costs of War Project on the human costs of war was the subject of an article by The New York Times Editorial Board.

Senior Fellow Timothy Edgar comments acting ICE Director Tom Homan's statement that he wants to increase the amont of time ICE officers spend investigating employment websites and auditing worker forms.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer on the U.S.-Turkey relationship and NATO in The Boston Globe, "This is more than just another travel ban. It is a geopolitical spectacle unique in modern history: two allied countries blocking normal back-and-forth travel. An old relationship has gone deeply sour."

New York Times columnist David Brooks cites research by Public Policy Fellow Marc Dunkelman in an interview with Charlie Rose.

Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon in The Sacramento Bee, "As the state reduces oil demand with electric vehicles, automation and other strategies, it will be equally important to make oil production cleaner to keep California leading the charge against climate change."

Michael Kennedy, professor of sociology, comments on Rhode Island state representative Aaron Regunberg '15, who's running for Lieutenant Governor.

The Costs of War Project, housed at the Watson Institute, released a new study estimating that the U.S. budgetary costs of post-9/11 wars will reach $5.6 trillion by the end of the fiscal year 2018.

Sociologist Michael Kennedy comments on bowling becoming a pro-immigrant sport in Rhode Island saying the state, "has the conditions to 'become a genuinely exemplary place for how to meet the challenges of our time.'"

Eric Patashnik in Health Affairs, "Medical societies have a responsibility to educate doctors not only about the financial costs of unnecessary treatments but also about how their own practice styles can lower the quality of care patients receive."

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman in The Globalist, "While U.S. credibility in Asia is steadily diminishing, there continues to be an irrational belief in Washington that increased U.S. defense spending will alter or reverse this trend. This is preposterous."

Faculty Fellow Matthew Gutmann participated in a panel on what can be done to stop sexual harassment, in light of the scandals in Hollywood.

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman comments on the purge Saudi Arabia's crown prince ordered this past weekend in a massive transformation of the kingdom's governance.

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman joined WBUR's Radio Open Source with Chris Lydon to examine President Trump's tour in Asia and upcoming meeting with China's Xi Jinping.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "This war gives members of Congress the chance to make a decisive choice. The vote on this resolution will be the political equivalent of the 2002 Senate vote authorizing war in Iraq. That vote reshaped history."

Senior Fellow Deborah Gordon on reducing climate impacts with oil innovation, "Reducing the climate impacts of the most emissions-intensive oils is possible with technologies that already exist. Even greater reductions are possible with innovations undergoing development."

Economist Emily Oster comments on the rule to not drink while pregnant, saying "...doctors who have expressed the view that whatever the literature says, since we know that drinking a lot of alcohol is bad, we should tell people not to drink at all. They worry that people will overdo it."

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman participated in the "The New Geopolitics – Trump, Populism and Nationalism" during the Oil & Money 2017 conference.

Economist John Friedman joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations' podcast, To a Degree, to discuss the relationship between higher education institutions and low-income students.

John Friedman, associate professor of economics, comments on an article about the recent trend of selective public universities shutting out low-income students.

A book review of "Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine" that draws on public opinion surveys, physician surveys, case studies, and political science models to explain how political incentives, polarization, and the misuse of professional authority have undermined efforts to tackle the medical evidence problem and curb wasteful spending.

Anthropology and international studies professor Cathy Lutz comments on Okinawa women and Guam activists who oppose further militarization.

Public Policy Fellow Marc Dunkelman and sociology professor Michael Kennedy are mentioned in an article about a panel they participated in at the inaugural Greater Good Gathering, a conference "aimed to look 'deeply and cross-disciplinarily at how the means for addressing and promoting the Greater Good may be changing in today's world.'"

Watson Institute's Costs of War Project is cited in a blog post from the Niskanen Center, "...the Costs of War project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs estimated last year that the total cost of the wars was $4.79 trillion."

Political Science professor Wendy Schiller joined Molly Wood of Marketplace Tech to discuss the history of political propaganda and how social media has impacted it.

Senior Fellow Timothy Edgar in The Next Web, "Americans shouldn't wait for another damaging leak of classified surveillance programs to force the next round of surveillance reform. Reforming surveillance has never been more urgent."

Ashutosh Varshney, Director of the Center for Contemporary South Asia, in The Indian Express, "Modi might still be very popular, but for him, ideology triumphs over governance, civil liberties are less important than political conformity, and enforcement of a Hindu majoritarian politics is more significant than India's economic ascendancy."

Although a leader in climate policies, many experts say California's oil producing methods need reforming.