In the News

John N. Friedman spoke to Gill Eapen about Opportunity Insights for the Scientific Sense podcast.

In this op-ed, Lyle Goldstein explains how the Taiwan legislature's recent refusal to increase defense spending reveals fissures on the island regarding its approach to China. He argues Americans need to be clear-eyed and realistic about Taiwan, and urges cautious deliberation over bombast and bromides.

Anzhela Kalsynova, a Brown graduate student in public health and public affairs, penned an op-ed arguing that private equity purchase of Rhode Island nursing homes has resulted in a lower standard of care at most facilities.

Jeff Colgan was interviewed by a CBC reporter about the relationship between the Iran conflict and global oil markets.

This story on U.S. aid to Israel cited research from the Watson School's Costs of War Project.

This article cites data from a recent report by the Costs of War project at the Watson School on U.S. military aid and arms transfers to Israel.

This op-ed mentions an article written by Ieva Jusionyte in the wake of the Dec. 13 shootings, in which she discussed the difficulties in coming to terms with the tragedy, even as a scholar of gun violence.

This article cites a recent report by the Costs of War project at the Watson School that estimates the military’s operations in Iran cost between $2 billion and $2.25 billion in 2025.

In this article, Jeff Colgan placed the U.S. attack on Iran in the context of other instances of U.S. aggression against an oil-producing states.

This opinion piece cites data from a 2023 report by Brown’s Costs of War project.

In this article, Ieva Jusionyte offered commentary on how lax American gun laws mean weapons are readily available to buy and smuggle south of the border.

In this op-ed, Stephen Kinzer places Donald Trump's military action against Iran in the context of a long list of failed interventions in the Middle East.

Timothy Edgar offered commentary on data and privacy concerns about TikTok.

Ieva Jusionyte offered commentary in this article about the killing of cartel boss "El Mencho" and how violence in Mexico is fueled by U.S. guns and money.

Lyle Goldstein offered commentary on concessions the Trump administration might make to an arms package for Taiwan as the administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China.

Lyle Goldstein offered commentary for this article about how Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi turned China's hard-line stance on Taiwan into a major political victory for her party.

Heidi Peltier provided commentary in this article on the cost to U.S. taxpayers to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry and military presence there to stabilize the country and make it a safe enough investment.

This article references a report by researchers at the Climate Solutions Lab

Dany Bahar discussed the evidence on refugees’ economic integration, and which policies help most with Giovanni Peri (U.C. Davis).

In this op-ed, Lyle Goldstein argued that amid a bleak overall foreign policy picture, Trump’s decisive move back to ‘strategic ambiguity’ on Taiwan is part of a welcome shift toward moderation vis-a-vis China.

Lyle Goldstein offered commentary on the dynamics between China hawks and those advocating a more pragmatic approach within the Trump administration.

Lyle Goldstein offered commentary in this article on the politics of increased defense spending in Taiwan.

Lyle Goldstein commented on the CH YH-1000S, an unmanned vehicle that is considered capable of supplying combat troops, which completed its maiden flight over the weekend.

Ashutosh Varshney provided commentary in this article.

This analysis includes commentary from Mark Blyth.

Marc Dunkleman discusses how Democrats — once they regain power — can make government work again with "Pod Save America" host Jon Lovett.

Lyle Goldstein addresses spheres of influence and what happens when American interests collide with China's 'near abroad.'

Jeff Colgan discusses the history of the politics and history behind supplying and denying oil.

Watson Military Fellow Adam Reiffen co-authored this piece on the need for the U.S. Navy to innovate in the realm of informational warfare.

John N. Friedman and his Opportunity Insights co-director, Raj Chetty, argue that elite universities are powerful pathways to leadership and economic success, yet admissions policies that favor wealth over academic merit limit socioeconomic diversity and undermine true meritocracy.

In this op-ed in USNI Proceedings, Lyle Goldstein explains why a proposed partnership between the U.S. and South Korea to build nuclear submarines is not moving forward.

Omer Bartov provided commentary in this article.

In this op-ed for The Print, Ashutosh Varshney analyzes how the global order is changing and what India should do regarding economic issues.

Jennifer Hadden offered commentary on U.S. foreign aid cuts to NGOs.

In this op-ed in USNI Proceedings, Lyle Goldstein argues that while China-Russia cooperation in the maritime domain warrants monitoring, the naval threat to the Arctic and Greenland posed by this quasi-alliance is minimal.

In this article in The Guardian on power struggles within the Chinese military, Lyle Goldstein noted that China recently unveiled powerful new weapons and still has the capability to make a move against Taiwan.

Mark Blyth offered commentary on the emergence of BlackRock's Rick Rieder as a Federal Reserve frontrunner.

Lyle Goldstein commented that the corruption charges against Zhang Youxia, long seen as Xi Jinping’s closest military ally, raise questions about the stability of China's military leadership.

Timothy Edgar offered commentary on TikTok's algorithm

Lyle Goldstein offered commentary on China’s use of diesel submarines

Jeff Colgan and Federica Genovese discuss what Trump's second term means for the ongoing global effort to combat climate change.

Mark Blyth commented on Donald Trump's approach to the Davos summit.

Mark Blyth offered commentary on the World Economic Forum.

Catherine Lutz offered commentary for this analysis of U.S. threats to seize Greenland.

Catherine Lutz offered commentary in this analysis of a new presidential executive order to curb arms industry stock buybacks.

In this broadcast interview, Mark Blyth spoke about the Department of Justice’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the trending politics of central banks around the world.

Jennifer Hadden co-authored this column about U.S. foreign aid cuts to NGOs.

Stephanie Savell comments on proposals to consolidate AFRICOM and other U.S. military foreign command units.