In the News

Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "Coverage of the Syrian war will be remembered as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the American press."

Timothy Edgar comments on Apple's refusal to help the FBI access encrypted data on the iPhone of one of the gunmen from the December 2014 San Bernadino attack.

Stephen Kinzer in The Boston Globe, "The complexity of foreign policy does not lend itself to one-liners. Nonetheless candidates have already come up with some good ones."

Mark Blyth in The Guardian, "By the end of 2015 market commentators were clamouring for an interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve to restore confidence."

Watson's Costs of War project cited in the Washington Post, "As usual, the source of Trump's claims are unclear. But depending on how you crunch the numbers, his $2 trillion figure for Iraq might be in the ballpark. A 2014 study released by the Watson Institute at Brown University said the amount spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through fiscal year 2014 was nearly $1.6 trillion."

Stephen Kinzer explains in an op-ed that Russia's strategy for its policy towards Syria is ideal and that America should put its Cold War mentality aside so that it can mediate the situation in Syria before another terrorist haven emerges. "Our reflexive rejection of all cooperation with Russia is a throwback to a vanished era. It prevents us from taking decisive steps to ease the crisis in Syria. Its effects are also being felt in Europe," Kinzer wrote.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, comments on Saudi Arabia's plan to deploy ground troops in Syria.

Panelists gathered at the Watson Institute to discuss the facts surrounding the Zika virus outbreak, an event sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Wendy Schiller, chair of the political science department, comments on the midnight turnout tradition in the New Hampshire primary.

Emily Oster, associate professor of economics, responds to inquiries about life such as taking a low paying, fulfilling job versus a high paying, "soul crushing" job.

Timothy Edgar in Computer World, "Companies that were part of Safe Harbor should continue to honor the privacy commitments they made under that agreement, because the Privacy Shield, at least as it has been described so far, is very similar."

An article about the CDC's recent report on alcohol consumption during pregnancy cites work by Emily Oster, associate professor of economics and author of Expecting Better.

Ashutosh Varshney, professor of political science and international affairs, wrote an op-ed about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his perspective on nationhood, as observed from speeches and actions. Modi has brought Indian nationhood even closer to the jus sanguinis model and nothing suggests this more clearly than the closing remarks of his Wembley speech in London, according to Varshney.

Richard Arenberg in The Hill, "One of the most important tasks the Constitution assigns to our presidents is the nomination of justices to the Supreme Court."

Wendy Schiller, professor of political science, comments on an article about the failed video game company 38 Studios. "The idea of the state committing anything based on the expectation of revenue from another source is what makes people legitimately nervous," Schiller said in reference to a proposed baseball stadium and a multimillion dollar state infrastructure project.

Ashutosh Varshney in The India Express, "Modi has taken this idea much further — in concept, if not in law. He has brought Indian nationhood even closer to the jus sanguinis model. Overseas Indians are part of his idea of India."

Margaret Weir comments on an article about liberals turning to cities to enact policy changes."Historically, especially for groups that want more government action and more generous social and economic policies, they could go to the federal government and achieve those things," Ms. Weir said. "That has become more difficult. It's a reflection of the loss of power at the federal level."

Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe, "Obama's proposed "modernization" increases our vulnerability, not our security. The first and most obvious reason is that it will certainly lead other countries to seek equivalent arsenals of their own."

Emily Oster, associate professor of economics, answers questions about everyday problems from readers as part of Quartz' Ask Emily section.

Jeff Colgan in Sputnik News, "The whole world is one big global market, and importers just take whatever is the cheapest oil, after factoring in transportation costs and quality differentials."

Jim Morone comments on the likelihood of Bernie Sanders becoming the Democratic nominee over Hillary Clinton, despite his recent surge in polls.

Stephen Kinzer in Politico, "Extremist politicians in Iran stoke the conflict. This is an election year in Iran as well as in the United States, and these militants, like their counterparts in the United States, denounce any negotiation as a sellout."

Timothy Edgar, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, comments on the exclusion of the cybersecurity topic during President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

Glenn Loury, professor of economics, comments on an article about affirmative action as the U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to roll back on preferential treatment during the admissions process.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute, discusses the ramifications of Turkey's " wildly adventurist policy toward the Syrian conflict" and the recent bombing in Istanbul.

Michael Kennedy, professor of sociology, comments on the content of a new comic book called Titanember.

Emily Oster, associate professor of economics and international and public affairs, comments on the behavior of people as the Powerball jackpot reached unprecedented levels.

"Named in honor of Nobel Prize winner and former CREF trustee Paul A. Samuelson, this prestigious award is presented by the Institute annually to recognize an outstanding research publication that can help advance Americans' lifelong financial wellbeing. The winner is chosen by an independent panel of judges – consisting of Institute Fellows and previous award winners – and receives a $10,000 cash prize."

Peter Andreas addresses the familiarity of El Chapo to the international drug trade, and how his capture will leave the public looking for someone new to blame.

Jeff Colgan comments on the idea of Saudi Arabia's national oil giant, Aramco, going public in the wake of record low oil prices.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow, wrote an op-ed about the United States losing its global power and influence in the years ahead. "In the new world, our mightiest weapon, military power, will be steadily less valuable. A skill we have not developed, coalition-building among nations, will become the key to world power," Kinzer wrote.

Watson Fall '15 visitor Michal Luczewski comments on the politics in Germany and Russia in order to illuminate the ways in which the politics of history might be engaged in Poland. He concludes by quoting Watson's Michael Kennedy: "Solidarity is something too precious to leave to just the Poles."

Stephen Kinzer in Politico, "Detesting a country, however, is not reason enough to push it away. Diplomacy has nothing to do with affection. It is about advancing national interests."