For the past 35 years, the United States has been militarily involved in the Middle East – from Lebanon to Libya, Iraq to Syria. Yet this extensive involvement in the region has failed to make any lasting positive impact or achieve the United States’ stated goals, according to Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares […]

BY ROBERT REYNOLDS Policy students interested in nudging must run experiments. Yet, rigorous experiments require substantial time, funding, and expert guidance. Because most students do not have this, behavioral enthusiasts rarely complete experiments while in policy school. This should change. So, how can policy students do this without succumbing to the difficulties of professional experiments? […]

For Republicans, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s Middle East policy has been a lightning rod. In addition to Clinton’s email scandal, Republicans have frequently criticized positions the former secretary of state took during the 2010-11 Arab Spring uprising and the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The Arab world’s pundits have their […]

BY CHARLOTTE HALL The 600+ employees of the Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) are now on strike. The outcome of this strike has as much to do with the future of Harvard as it does with HUDS employee wages and benefits. At its heart, this labor dispute is about what kind of employer Harvard is […]

BY MICHAEL ALTER Americans are bad at voting. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but the U.S. ranked 27th among developed countries with only 53.6 percent of its voting-age population casting votes in the 2012 presidential election. Meanwhile, Belgium, the top-ranked country, had 87.2 percent of its voting-age population vote in its 2014 election. This […]

BY SUNAINA RAJANI Introduction Imagine an impulse to sneeze. Now imagine if it were illegal. While we don’t intend to sneeze and can’t suppress a sneeze, most of us can suppress other urges. One fundamental principle of jurisprudence is that humans have some ability to control their impulses and make decisions derived from an innate […]

By David Duesing, MPP 2018 On Thursday, September 29, the Kennedy School was excited to receive former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In a speech co-moderated by HKS professor Paul E. Peterson and Harvard University professor Ronald G. Fryer, Bush discussed the state of education in the US and potential avenues of reform. A passionate advocate […]

By Wei Luo, MPP 2017 On Friday September 30, The Citizen had a chance to sit down with Nicco Mele, the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at HKS. The following is a brief summary of the conversation.   Citizen: What is your vision for the Shorenstein Center? Nicco Mele: […]

BY DOREEN HORSCHIG The total elimination of existing nuclear weapons worldwide, so-called “Global Zero,” at this point in time is neither feasible nor desirable for U.S. national security interests. A cold stability — regional and global stability provided through a threat of nuclear weapons — demonstrates the continued efficacy of existing nuclear weapons on the world […]

Boston’s Amazigh community came together at Lesley University on Saturday for the eighth annual Amazigh Film Festival, a celebration of Amazigh culture through film. The Amazigh are the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa (they are also colloquially called “Berbers,” though that term is considered pejorative by some). Today, Amazigh people live scattered across North Africa, […]

By Matt Bubley, MPA 2018 What Last Week Tonight gets wrong – and right – about charters. The long segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has a rare reputation in TV journalism. It manages to treat the issues it takes up with a combination of wit, insight, and – usually – depth. That’s […]

BY BRYNNA QUILLIN On Monday night, the world finally got to see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off for the first presidential debate. Watching the two candidates on stage together was striking. Hillary Clinton is one of the most, if not the most, qualified presidential candidates in history, with an extensive resume: First Lady, […]