In the News

Michael Kennedy, Professor of Sociology, joined WPRI's Tim White in a roundtable to discuss President Trump.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer comments on the country's top five interests and how Russia can impact them.

Timothy Edgar in Lawfare Blog, "Whether we approve of the motive or not, it is an abuse of surveillance for national security officials to leverage legitimate foreign intelligence collection to reveal public information in order to damage individuals they do not believe should serve."

Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "Though not without flaws, post-1965 US has been closest to the American ideals that the US has ever been."

In response to the US correspondent of one of Argentina's leading newspapers, Kennedy acknowledged the difficulty of projecting Trump's likely future, but he said that one must "prepare for the worst." Spanish text.

Senior Fellow Chas Freeman sat down with World Affairs to discuss the ways in which U.S. foreign policy must evolve to suit today's changing and increasingly competitive world.

Wendy Schiller, professor of political science, evaluates the job performance of Gov. Gina Raimondo, who has been in office for two years. "Raimondo has kept her eye on the prize, which is economic growth and making state government work better..."

Narges Bajoghli in Al-Monitor, "American universities have been quick to respond. Presidents from the United States' leading colleges and universities have individually and jointly sent letters to Trump, including a widely publicized letter from 47 university presidents stressing that the executive order threatens American higher education."

A paper co-authored by Watson economist Justine Hastings adds to growing evidence that for every additional dollar in food stamp benefits recipients get, nearly all of it goes into buying additional food.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer discusses his new book, The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire, with Radio Open Source's Chris Lyddon.

Senior Fellow Timothy Edgar was quoted in this article about how the Department of Homeland Security is considering asking foreign travelers to give their social media passwords.

The Watson Institute hosted Neera Tanden, president for the Center for American Progress, and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for the National Review on February 7.

Applying for food stamps usually indicates that a household is struggling financially, but a new Brown study co-authored by Justine Hastings, professor of economics, reveals that families spend more for the same amount of food once they are using taxpayer funded benefits.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "The American drive to win and dominate led us to pursue agendas that triggered wars, refugee flows, and terrorism."

Before Donald Trump rose to presidency, Mark Blyth, professor of political economy, delivered a lecture on "global Trumpism" that hit several keynotes on the state of foreign and domestic affairs.

Professor Ashutosh Varshney in The Indian Express, "All analytical roads thus lead to political motivations as the primary, or only, rationale for why Modi undertook demonetisation."

To give perspective on the widespread disapproval of Trump's executive orders, Peter Andreas, professor of international studies and political science, comments on the historical purposes of walls and the connotations it invokes.

Professors Ashutosh Varshney, Bhrigupati Singh, and Prerna Singh attended one of the largest literary festivals in the world at the palaces of Jaipur.

Brown University President Christina Paxson and Provost Richard M. Locke published a letter in the Brown Daily Herald student newspaper Sunday, January 29, as an open letter to the Brown community.

Peter Andreas discusses the border wall President Trump wants to build between the U.S. and Mexico.

Michael Kennedy in publicseminar.org, "There is an overwhelming sense of momentum. Although the size of the protest was probably less than half of what it was for the #WomensMarch, many showed up on a chilly overcast day for an event only planned the night before."

Richard Boucher, senior fellow in international and public affairs, discusses the unusual career turnovers in management positions during the presidential transition.

Ambassador Richard Boucher is quoted in an opinion piece on the State Department.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in The Hill, "Americans are imperialists and also isolationists. We want to guide the world, but we also believe every nation should guide itself."

More coverage on the in-depth college access and upward mobility study co-authored by John Friedman, associate professor of economics.

Political economist Mark Blyth sits down with David Brancaccio of Marketplace to argue Trump's Marxist-ways.

Zhang Zhe, a political science PhD student, described Donald Trump's inaugural address as vexing because his description of 'American carnage' doesn't align with what his parents have seen.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer examines the century old debate over American intervention.

Political economist Mark Blyth is quoted from a lecture that, in part, explains Donald Trump's rise to power.

During his inaugural address, President Trump said the United States has spent trillions and trillions overseas while neglecting infrastructure at home. The Los Angeles Times fact checked his speech by citing Watson's Cost of War project, which pegged the wars abroad at $4.79 trillion.

A new book,The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire, written by Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer hit bookshelves today.

Michael Kennedy details his experience joining the #WomensMarch on Saturday, January 21st in Providence, Rhode Island.

Jim Morone, Director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, explains how the first American election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson is similar to the present, and what we can learn from it.

Political Science Professor Wendy Schiller joins Bloomberg Daybreak to giver her thoughts on President Trump's first day in office.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer's new book "The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire" is spotlighted.

Ted Widmer, Senior Fellow, in The New Yorker, "There are moments in a hard-fought campaign when a catchy cluster of words can suddenly bubble up from the depths, a shiny new lily pad."

A study co-authored by John Friedman on the role of colleges in upward income mobility is cited in the New York Times.

Jeff Colgan, Political Science Professor, in Foreign Affairs, "But when elites fail to give reasonable cues about who the 'other' is, people decide for themselves."

Elias Muhanna, assistant professor of comparative literature, comments on the polarization of different perspectives found in Arabic news.

During President Obama's touching farewell to the nation, he took the opportunity to highlight the high points of his administration. Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer said one of the important legacies President Obama leaves behind is the acknowledgment that the United States' role in the world has changed.

With the U.S. being one of the few developed countries with an increasing maternity mortality ratio, Brown associate professor Emily Oster says home visiting programs may play a role.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow in international and public affairs, wrote an op-ed about U.S. intervention in foreign elections amid ongoing news of the alleged Russian backed hacking in the recent election.

Richard Arenberg, Adjunct Lecturer for the MPA Program, in The New York Times, "If the Senate is to end gridlock, reduce partisanship and begin to address the nation's pressing issues, both parties must renew their respect for Senate rules — and the views of the people."

Professor of Sociology Michael Kennedy joined Dan Yorke's State of Mind to discuss President-elect Donald Trump's skepticism toward Russia's involvement in the 2016 election.

Ashutosh Varshney, professor of international studies, commented on India's Supreme Court decision that candidates running for political office cannot appeal to voters on the basis of religion, caste, community or language, and called the recent decision "very mystifying."

"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.