2018 In the News

Political scientist Wendy Schiller says inclement weather often prevents lower-income people and the elderly from getting to the polls.

James N. Green, Director of the Brazil Initiative, on the upcoming presidential election in Brazil, "Should Bolsonaro win the popular vote at the end of October, he will have the backing of a conservative majority in the Congress to carry out his far-right agenda. Should the left manage to flip the projected outcome and elect Haddad to the presidency, it will undoubtedly be a weak government."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "As a young reporter in El Salvador during the late 1970s, I came to know the country's highest-ranking cleric, Archbishop Oscar Romero. A few days ago Pope Francis elevated him to sainthood."

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan joins PRI's The World to discuss how dependent the United States is on Saudi Arabian oil.

Political scientist Wendy Schiller provided commentary on the mayoral race in Providence, saying "People judge records by their own experiences in a city."

Nina Tannenwald in Foreign Affairs, "After decades of arms control agreements, security cooperation, and a growing consensus about the unacceptability of nuclear weapons, the world is now headed in the opposite direction."

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan in The Washington Post, "The United States could live without Saudi Arabia, but it would be costly. A positive relationship between Washington and Riyadh can help minimize interstate conflict in the Middle East — and keep a lid on volatility in global oil markets."

Professor Rose McDermott says younger women are more sensitive to perceived harassment than older ones. "How we draw the line between inappropriate or patronizing behavior and genuine harassment is really challenging because women themselves don't agree...Those in-between spaces are getting harder to negotiate."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "The Nobel Peace Prize can give voice to the voiceless while telling the rest of us something we don't already know. Unfortunately, the Nobel Committee sometimes succumbs to the lure of politics."

Is the dysfunction Rhode Island's GOP has displayed the last few weeks a symptom of a larger problem? Professor Wendy Schiller says, "In politics no one is 'owed' loyalty; they have to earn it, and in this case Fung has not done that with either Trillo or Morgan."

This episode of On the Media looks at the story of money, from its uncertain origins to its digital reinvention in the form of cryptocurrency, and features political economist Mark Blyth discussing the history of money and how cryptocurrency could shape the future of money.

Former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and current Senior Fellow Chas Freeman gives his insight on the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, journalist and outspoken critic of the Saudi Arabian regime, "It's certainly a gross violation of diplomatic norms to abduct people from consular premises. It's even worse to murder them in such premises and assert immunity."

This article mentions Getting Down to Facts, a research project co-led by Susan Moffitt, director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy. "Although the CDE (California Department of Education) could be an efficient source of instructional support for schools, it currently is not."

Former Secretary of State John Kerry joined Ed Steinfeld, director of the Watson Institute, and Susan Moffitt, director of the Taubman Center, for a discussion on his new book, Every Day is Extra, during a recent visit to campus.

Senior Fellow Richard Boucher comments on Nikki Haley's resignation as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. "She has been unique in this administration, not because she's pushed a strong U.S. agenda, but in showing that to accomplish our goals we need to sit down with other countries and work in concert with allies and friendly countries."

Director of the Brazil Initiative, James N. Green, offered commentary on the upcoming presidential election in Brazil, saying "This is the most crucial election in the history of Brazil...Brazil can go in two different directions now."

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan in The Washington Post's Monkey Cage blog, "Delaying action on climate will hurt the economy and create new demands on taxpayers for expensive, reactive measures. These outcomes can be avoided only to the extent climate-vulnerable interests can be mobilized before they feel the impact."

Participants in the fall 2018 cohort of Brown in Washington, a partnership program between the Swearer Center and the Watson Institute, will welcome new faculty and staff members to the program this semester.

One of the studies to examine the rollout of California's new academic standards in the recently released Getting Down to Facts project found encouraging signs from teachers and principals whom researchers interviewed. "There were strong signals from teachers in high poverty schools that they were seeing improvement" in teaching and in training in the standards, said Professor Susan Moffitt.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will commit $15 million to get the new initiative Opportunity Insights, co-founded by associate professor of economics John Friedman, off the ground. This week, the organization, in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, published comprehensive nationwide data and maps that predict the likelihood that kids will escape poverty based on where they live.

Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine, co-authored by Eric Patashnik is awarded the National Academy of Public Administration's 2018 Louis Brownlow Book Award.

James N. Green, director of the Brazil Initiative, offered commentary on Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, saying "Bolsonaro is much more of a wild card than Trump is."

James N. Green, Director of the Brazil Initiative, in California Today, "The absence of minimal fire safety and security measures and the lack of disaster preparedness reflect a blatant disregard for the Brazilian nations crucial cultural and scholarly resources."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "American leaders are threatening Iran in terms more vituperative than any the United States has ever used against a sovereign nation. To accompany their threats, they have embarked on the harshest campaign of economic sanctions in modern history."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on the Senate Judiciary Committee and Brett Kavanaugh hearing, saying "This is the new reality in Supreme Court confirmations and unfortunately is very likely to give us a Supreme Court more tainted by partisanship than ever before."

In collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau, Opportunity Insights, a research and policy institute formed by economists from Harvard and Brown Universities, including Associate Professor John Friedman, released an interactive mapping tool called "The Opportunity Atlas." The Opportunity Atlas helps predict how neighborhoods influence the trajectories of the children who grow up there.

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg in Newsmax, "Without the filibuster as a counter-weight against totally majority-driven procedures, Chairman Grassley (R-IA) and his majority were able to ignore fundamental demands. The minority was helpless to insist that all the necessary documents be produced to the committee."

India's Supreme Court hears up to 700 legal matters a day (vs. the 70 cases a year that the U.S. Supreme Court hears), according to Professor Ashutosh Varshney. Without the Court, he says, India would be "ruled frightfully by societal prejudices and government excesses."

Senior Fellow Richard Boucher joins Fox Business to discuss the US sanctions on Iran and what he hopes to hear from President Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

Senior Fellow Timothy Edgar provided commentary on the future of satellites and surveillance. "You study what cars are parked in the parking lot; that can reveal an enormous amount of information. It's used to plan military attacks. It could be used for corporate espionage."

According to sources, President Donald Trump has called U.S. involvement in Afghanistan a "total disaster." The Costs of War project estimates that at least 970,000 American veterans are disabled as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

International Relations student Ethan Fecht in The Washington Post's Monkey Cage Blog, "...there's another weapon being deployed. Russia has begun laying the groundwork for an online influence operation aimed at turning U.S. public opinion against such a strike. How would this Twitter campaign unfold?"

Political economist Mark Blyth joined WNYC's On the Media to discuss the collapsing of the Lehman Brothers and the 2008 financial crisis.

Associate Professor of Economics John Friedman offered commentary on Brightline's expected acquisition of a private rail project on the Las Vegas Strip. "...Friedman concluded Brightline would be unable to service its debt burden on the Miami train system, in a study funded by a citizens group opposed to the rail line."

Political scientist Wendy Schiller said of Rhode Island's third-party gubernatorial candidate Joe Trillo that "people seem to know him, they seem to want to hear from him, and he's really gaining some popular support."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "Beginning in January, the House of Representatives will count four young women of color among its members. All have crashed through daunting barriers and see themselves as representing the downtrodden."

Political scientist Wendy Schiller said a percentage of people affected by pension reform in Rhode Island "won't forgive" Gov. Gina Raimondo, while others simply "don't like a woman at the helm."

Economist John Friedman said the dream of faring better than one's parents has been dwindling every year since the 1960s. "Friedman is working with Ohio State and more than 300 other colleges nationwide to find out what's helping people advance and holding them back."

The Costs of War Project is cited in an article that suggests the global extremism threat has grown since 9/11. "A Brown University study puts the price tag at more than $4 trillion if costs like the medical care of wounded veterans are taken into account."

James N. Green, director of the Brazil Initiative, offered commentary on right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, saying "He represents the possibility that the conservative forces of the armed forces don't need to take power because he will act on their behalf."

Senior Fellow Timothy Edgar in Lawfare Blog, "While the digital age is well underway, the justices have only begun to grapple with its implications—for privacy, freedom of speech, and new forms of digital control. Kavanaugh's vote will be for an internet based not on openness and freedom, but on surveillance and control."

After backlash and protest from the invitation of Steve Bannon to The New Yorker's fall festival, the magazine withdrew his invitation. Professor Ashutosh Varshney argues that, though he finds them disturbing, Bannon's views should be heard and challenged. "Though deeply disturbing and wrong, this view shouldn't – and can't at this moment— be brushed aside."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "We should be looking for ways to restrict competition in outer space, and to share whatever resources exist there. That will enhance our ability to give every American a decent life — and limit our ability to blow up our planet."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg in Newsmax, "Senators, searching for a fitting way to honor Senator John McCain could do no better than to act that way."

Former RNC chair Michael Steele has been named a senior fellow at Brown's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

Leading political candidates are skipping out on public debates this year, which Professor Wendy Schiller says is "unfair to the voters."

In the final part of the series, Senior Fellow Chas Freeman discusses U.S.-China military cooperation in the 1980s, and shares his take on the "three T's" – Tibet, Taiwan, and Tiananmen.

In the second part of his conversation with SupChina, Senior Fellow Chas Freeman discusses how he became interested in China, his diplomatic career, and his experience as chief interpreter during Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972.