In the News

Professor Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "Does democracy contain within itself the seeds of its own weakening? Does it have an inner adversary? These questions have long agitated the minds of political thinkers."

Research by the Costs of War Project is mentioned in an article about President Trump's commentary on Afghanistan during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. "According to Brown University's Watson Institute, 140,000 Afghans have been killed since 2001 and 2.4 million are refugees."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on former special counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming Congressional testimony, saying "Overwhelmingly, most Americans have no idea how damning the report actually is. The constant refrain from the White House of 'witch-hunt,' 'no collusion' and 'no obstruction,' and the Trump assertion that the report exonerates him have left the truth obscured by a dense fog."

Dr. Adam C. Levine, Director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, has been named to Providence Business News' 40 Under Forty for 2019, and Top 4 Doctors Under 40 by the Rhode Island Medical Society.

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan in The Washington Post, "...the recent tension around oil tankers is in part a product of more fundamental disputes about Iran's nuclear program, funding of various violent insurgents, and ongoing rivalry with Saudi Arabia. In turn, Iran's actions stem from what it sees as Trump administration belligerence."

In new research, sociologist Jayanti Owens found that different treatment of black and white students accounted for half of the racial gap in school suspensions and expulsions among 5- to 9-year-old children. "Subconsciously, we all have racial biases in different ways. This is one way in which those biases are manifesting in the classroom," she said.

The Institute is featured as part of Brown's biannual special edition of News from Brown, highlighting Brown's distinction. "Now more than ever, our society needs what Watson has to offer...Factors that threaten the peace, prosperity and stability of our societies must be understood analytically so that they can be addressed in more effective and lasting ways." said University Provost Richard Locke.

Professor Emily Oster in Medium's Elemental, "Miscarriage can be lonely, it can be devastating, and it can be confusing. Reassuringly, most women who miscarry go on to have healthy pregnancies. This can be hard to see when miscarriage is kept so secret, but if this happens, you are not alone."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on the extra hour that has been added to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming Congressional hearing. "Extending the hearing, even marginally, makes it easier to get Mueller's major points out there."

Political economist Mark Blyth comments on the allegations that Nigel Farage may have influenced markets to help hedge funds on Brexit referendum night in 2016, and if it could happen again on October 31. "If you have a leading politician pushing in that direction, this gives the hedge funds a one-way bet, with insurance against failure. And that's the type of 'option' hedgies love the most."

Professor Emily Oster sat down with InStyle to debunk parenting myths. "You're making these decisions about something you've never thought about before, and they all feel incredibly important."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "We are outraged by the corruption of our political system, and by the suffering it is causing countless human beings around the United States and beyond. Yet when we look at our own representatives in Congress, we see the same bland, business-as-usual, go-along-to-get-along politics that created this matrix of crisis."

Associate Professor Prerna Singh discusses the state of health and healthcare in India, saying "Political elites need to feel that these are our children dying, that this is a crisis for us, a tragedy for our community, we must take immediate action to save the lives of our people."

Economist Emily Oster comments on a new wave of families using traditional office software to run their households, explaining how Asana made the jump from software her husband used for work to software they used as a couple.

Compliant factories have higher quality and performance. Even so, noncompliant firms dominate the market. Could stronger financial incentives help? Study by Provost Richard M. Locke and Greg Distelhorst.

Professor Emily Oster comments on what the future could look like if robots took over housework. "More automation could mean more equality, although I think it's a little complicated whether it will change the inequality as opposed to just the amount."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on the federal lawsuit that the House Democrats filed against the Treasury Department demanding President Trump's tax returns. "Clearly, the House leadership is being very cautious. This is understandable given the stakes. I don't believe urgency is lacking. It's just that democratic and legal process can be slow."

Emily Oster in The Atlantic, "At this point, if you're pregnant and a marijuana user and you're wondering what to do, my answer is: Don't freak out; do think seriously about quitting."

Wendy Schiller, Chair of the Political Science department, comments on Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo reluctance to sign the $10 billion state budget, saying "First of all, she wants Rhode Island to look to the outside world like it's running well."

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan joined Ian Masters to discuss the three camps in U.S. foreign policy.

Economist Emily Oster joined KQED to help cut through all of the advice soon-to-be and new parents receive.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "In one of the most remarkable partnerships in modern American political history, Soros and Charles Koch...are joining to finance a new foreign-policy think tank in Washington."

Professor Ashutosh Varshney comments on the University Grants Commission's concern of the quality of PhD research in India, saying "Unlike universities in the US and, to some extent, the UK, Indian universities have been dominated by political theorists, who frown upon empirical research."

James Green, director of the Brazil Initiative, comments on the first Pride parade in Brazil following right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's election. "The parade is really a moment of affirmation and celebration for most people, but it is de facto, in my mind, a confrontation with the policies of Bolsonaro."

The Pentagon has managed to shrink its carbon footprint in recent years, but it is still massive. Researchers from the Costs of War Project estimate it is responsible for producing more than 59 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2017.

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony on July 17, saying "The Congressional minority should have insisted on public hearings two years ago."

In an op-ed by 2020 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, research by the Costs of War Project is cited. "The war on terror has also been staggeringly wasteful. According to the most recent study by the Costs of War Project at Brown University, it will have cost American taxpayers more than $4.9 trillion through the end of this fiscal year."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "We too have trouble realizing that our problems in the world have causes. To understand the desperation driving Guatemalan and Honduran migrants, it helps to recognize our own role in creating it."

Our new expansion building, Stephen Robert '62 Hall, is highlighted. Ed Steinfeld, Director of the Institute, shared "We had a vision for what it would take to be a state-of-the-art institute for international and public affairs. That vision has been translated into a functionally fantastic and aesthetically appealing facility."

In an interview, Professor Ashutosh Varshney discusses India's national elections and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory. "As prime minister, Modi styled himself as 'the watchman of the country.'"

This is a Q&A on race and freedom of speech on college campuses with Glenn Loury, a professor of social sciences.

A new study from the Costs of War project shows that the U.S. military emits more greenhouse gases each year than many countries, including Sweden and Portugal.

This column by Professor of Economics Emily Oster examines "unfunded parenting mandates," or parenting decrees that require an unreasonable amount of time and effort to undertake.

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Neta C. Crawford, Co-Director of the Costs of War Project, describes new research in The Conversation, "I agree with the military and national security experts who contend that climate change should be front and center in U.S. national security debates."

Senior Fellow Richard Boucher in The Hill, "If we can wire the world our way, China will have to negotiate to fit in. Dividing the world into the U.S. sphere and the Chinese sphere leaves us as isolated as them."

Jeff Colgan in The Washington Post, "Given the huge U.S. network of overseas military bases, the Department of Defense has traditionally seen the issue of environmental liability as a slippery slope, and takes a hard line against assuming responsibility."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer sat down with the Brown Political Review for an interview, saying "My training is not from being a scholar, but rather from being out in the world and working as a journalist."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on the possibility of Democrats getting President Trump's tax returns, saying "...once you move into 2020 and begin to approach the election, the potential is there that Trump could just run out the clock."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg recently joined WPRI's Dan Yorke State of Mind to discuss impeachment, the Senate, and the filibuster.

Associate Professor Jeff Colgan is mentioned in an article on national oil companies. "Jeff Colgan, a prominent scholar on the topic, has found that oil is a leading cause of war and can exacerbate conflict in multiple ways."

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "For most of the 20th century, the United States was strong enough to keep allies in line and rivals at bay. Today, however, other countries are not so easily intimidated. Many have lost confidence in the US."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg comments on whether House Democrats will subpoena Special Coounsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress, saying "I don't think the public understanding of the Mueller report ever recovered from Barr rolling out his summary, and then leaving it unchallenged for over a month."

Economist John Friedman comments on the plans Democratic presidential hopefuls have for education, saying "There's definitely been a turn against a set of ideas in education that we've been championing as effective."

Chair of the Political Science department, Wendy Schiller, comments on President Trump's abundance of supporters willing to repeat and endorse all of his claims. "The Republican establishment will push back through Fox, the Wall Street Journal and other outlets. The titans of the economy will put up with stuff only so long."

Professor Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "One could suggest that the election verdict was about the electorate's comparative assessment of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi as leaders, and people chose Modi over Rahul."

Senior Fellow Richard Arenberg joined Skullduggery's Buried Treasure podcast to discuss the Iran-Contra affair and the differences in how Congress operated back then compared to the current presidential administration today.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "It has little to do with Iran's behavior, which is no more provocative today than it was a year or a decade ago. Instead it is the product of fevered tempers in Washington."