In the News

Wendy Schiller discusses the first presidential debate and social media's on Marketplace Tech with Molly Wood.

Brown political scientist Wendy Schiller comments on what Hillary Clinton supporters want to see from her at next week's presidential debate.

Provost Richard Locke received an inaugural Progress Medal from The Society for Progress for his scholarship on working conditions and labor rights in the global economy.

James Morone, a political scientist at Brown University, comments on the strategies the presidential candidates might use from Sarah Palin's playbook.

Peter Andreas, Professor of International Studies and Political Science, comments on the presidential candidates' proposed solutions of the opioid painkiller and heroin epidemic.

Michelle Jurkovich in The Washington Post, "We haven't decided what 'hunger' is, nor is there agreement on how to measure it."

In the New York Daily News, Jim Morone and David Blumenthal discuss the history of presidential candidates hiding illnesses.

Glenn Loury, professor of social sciences, discusses political correctness, the legacy of state-sanctioned racism and his disagreements with the Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Ted Widmer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, examines history to assess the potential impact of third parties in presidential elections.

John Friedman comments on the benefits that drugmakers have seen since the revision of the Medicare program in 2003.

Mark Blyth, professor of political economy, writes an article about the current global financial uncertainty and looks to the past for guidance on investing in a tumultuous market.

Tim Edgar in Lawfare Blog, "Snowden forced the NSA to become more transparent, more accountable, more protective of privacy—and more effective.

Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "Then, evidently energized, they went inside and passed a bill that would allow relatives of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for its apparent support of the attackers. President Obama is likely to veto it."

The Costs of War Project was cited in The Atlantic, "Since the 9/11 attacks, America has poured $3.2 trillion into its wars, according to a new study from Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs."

Director of Curriculum Development for the Choices Program Andy Blackadar, and Teaching Fellow Jennifer La Place talk to WOSU about the challenges of teaching students about 9/11 and how it has changed over the years.

Watson's Costs of War project cited in U.S. News & World Report, "According to a study released Friday through Brown University's Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, government spending on the military, diplomacy, foreign aid, homeland security and services to veterans have cost U.S. taxpayers upward of $4.79 trillion in the post-Sept. 11 era."

Watson Institute Faculty Fellow Prerna Singh discusses How Solidarity Works for Welfare: Subnationalism and Social Development in India with the New Books Network podcast.

GPD trainees and sociology graduates Diana Graizbord and Jamie McPike, along with Nicole Pollock Chief of Staff for the City of Providence ('08), published an account on the importance of little data. "With all the excitement around the potential for Big Data to improve urban governance, we fear that those among us who are committed to research-based civic innovation may have overlooked the potential of in-depth, ethnographic data, or what we're calling 'little data.'"

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, writes an op-ed about the dilemmas facing Turkey and Saudi Arabia after becoming involved in the Middle East conflict -- much to the their detriment.

The Woodrow Wilson Award is given annually for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs. Singh won the award for her book How Solidarity Works for Welfare: Subnationalism and Social Development in India.

Jim Green, Director of the Brazil Initiative, talks with Democracy Now! on Dilma Rousseff's impeachment.

The recently published The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition, edited by Elias Muhanna, is reviewed by NPR.

With the chamber set to decide later this week whether former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is guilty of corruption charges, professor James Green comments on the political upheaval in South America's largest economy.

Economics professor Justine Hastings comments on the work of the Rhode Island Innovative Policy Lab, which will examine traffic stop data in Rhode Island to determine if racial disparities exist.

"Reflecting on his recent book, Globalizing Knowledge, Michael Kennedy examines the affinities and interconnections between interdisciplinarity and efforts by scholars and institutions to shape global knowledge cultures."

Ashutosh Varshney writes about the political issue of cow protection in India and how if not handled carefully could create divisiveness within the country's population.

Chris Lyddon of Radio Open Source talks to Ambassador Chas Freeman about his fear of a "vexxing drift of politics" globally including Brexit, and the upcoming US election.

Ashutosh Varshney comments on an article about the relationship between Pakistan and India as they head into their respective independence days.

Stephen Kinzer speaks with Conor Sanchez of Va Pue Magazine about his time in Nicaragua and his book Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua.

Citing recent political developments in Nicaragua, Watson Institute's Stephen Kinzer explains why dynastic regimes often end with tumultuous, sometimes bloody, overthrows.

Peter Andreas speaks with Bill Kilby of VICE to discuss black markets in America.

In Spring 2016, GPD trainees and sociology graduates Diana Graizbord and Jamie McPike were looking for ways to contribute to the Watson Institute's mission. Drawing on their international experience in making qualitative research speak to policy reform efforts in Mexico and India, they designed a new senior seminar in applied public policy entitled Engaged Research/Engaged Publics: The Science and Craft of Applied Policy Research.

A new study by Rose McDermott, Professor of International Relations, suggests that individuals with aggressive tendencies are more likely to support aggressive foreign policy positions.

Stephen Kinzer, Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs, joined Andrew Stewart to discuss American foreign policy and the upcoming presidential election.

Jeff Colgan, Richard Holbrooke Associate Professor of Political Science, co-authored a new study on the abandoned hazardous waste left beneath a U.S. military base built within the Greenland Ice Scheet in 1959. Due to the rapid progression of climate change, the waste could soon reenter the environment and harm nearby ecosystems.

With Congress in recess and many people on vacation, national politics are supposed to hit a late-summer lull. That may no longer be the case, according to Wendy Schiller, professor of political science.

With third hand accounts suggesting Donald Trump might use nuclear weapons if given provocation, scholars discuss why world leaders have stayed away from the destructive power of nukes. Nina Tannenwald, professor of international relations, said a global taboo developed throughout the world following remarks by Harry Truman in 1948, which as a result delegitimized the use of nukes as appropriate military weapons.

Stephen Kinzer in The New York Times, "A worsening strategic landscape could lead Mr. Erdogan to reshape his policies in Syria and elsewhere in the region."

Ashutosh Varshney, professor of international studies and political science, writes an op-ed about what he observed during his travels to parts of China and the simmering debate about the political leanings of China's growing middle class.

Emily Oster in TIME, "But the new prenatal screening tests are a game changer. They represent a significant technological breakthrough because the key to identifying problems or genetic risks is being able to see the baby's DNA."

Michael Kennedy, professor of sociology, comments on an article about the volatile nature of elections and voters' assessment of political responsibility following tragedies.

Wendy Schiller discusses Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe, "The lesson of South Sudan is that crashing into other countries often leads to tragedy — even if we do it with policy instead of guns."

Tim Edgar comments on the Republican Party platform's cyber agenda that was released this week, coinciding with the start of the GOP Convention.

Wendy Schiller, professor of political science, comments on news of House Majority Leader John DeSimone's failure to pay his property taxes and owing the city more than $18,000.

Rose McDermott, professor of international relations, discusses the biological influences that interact with environmental factors to shape ideology across the political spectrum in cultures around the world.

As legislators grapple with how to address and define cyberattacks that could be considered acts of war, cyber conflict expert Timothy Edgar comments on the difficulty of attributing such attacks.

Senior Fellow Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe, "If the coup fails, no one knows what comes next. If it succeeds, the same is true. Many Turks welcomed the coup of 1980 because it ended a period of violent chaos, but it was followed by a wave of brutal repression."