In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Soli Özel, Professor of International Relations, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, discusses Turkey’s politics, domestic concerns, and upcoming elections.  You can watch the interview, conducted by Delphine O, editor of the Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Raed Charafeddine, First Vice-Governor, Central Bank of Lebanon, discusses the job market in Lebanon and the Middle East and the role of financial institutions in the region. Mr. Charafeddine also gave a public lecture at the Middle East Initiative on April 14, 2014. The paper from […]

By Varun Bhandari “That is a very interesting comment. What do the rest of you think?” said the professor to eye-rolls and muted groans, as yet another dim remark by a classmate was tactfully sidestepped. “What the hell was he talking about? That was a ridiculous comment!” whispered my neighbor, “Why didn’t the professor just […]

Over the past decade, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has attracted increasing attention from policy makers, academics, international organizations, and the business community. At the same time that the region has come increasingly into focus, the statistical base behind several books and studies,[1] and ultimately policy making and business decisions, has continued to be very weak. As […]

Today we are presenting an Interview with Liz Montoya. She is a Washington expert through and through. You can also say she has been a part of building Washington as we know it with over 30 years of Human Resources experience she has been a key leader in hiring and setting personnel policies at the Office of Personnel Management as well as the Department of Energy and Transportation. She has worked closely with the White House as well. We talked to her about hiring practice and what it will take to get more people of color in positions of higher authority in our government.

By Ioannis Tsoutsias Harvard Kennedy School is a unique place: I cannot think of many places that can compete with the School in attracting amazing speakers with such ease. My involvement in the European Club of HKS this year has been a testimony to this conclusion. When I came to HKS, I saw my participation […]

What did you do before you came to the Kennedy School? I was a trial attorney in Hawaii for the first part of my career, but the contentious nature of legal practice did not sufficiently erode my soul, so I became involved in local and national government and politics. I served in the Bush administration […]

By Jeffrey R. Kushner Traditional attempts to curb gun violence have been unsuccessful. The debate has reached an impasse. It’s time to try a new approach. I have a confession to make. As a northeastern Jewish liberal, I have held certain beliefs for most of my life. Core among these beliefs is that no one needs […]

By Tommy Tobin If you’ve been in any of the classrooms this past week at HKS, chances are quite high you’ve seen a question about identity or diversity on campus. If you’ve not happened to attend class or look at the board, the same questions were placed all around the Forum and other public spaces […]

By Kerry Williams Kerry Williams is currently a candidate for a Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (she is both an Edward S. Mason Fellow and a Harvard South African Fellow). Uganda’s punishing policies on gay love and sex have become a hot inter-continental political issue. The passing of the […]

By Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar This article is a cross-Pacific-Ocean response from Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar, the President, Malaysian Organization of Pharmaceutical Industries (MOPI), to the article “Can the TPPA Cripple Malaysia’s Healthcare System” by Mr. Unny Sankar, who is currently a Mid-Career MPA student and Mason Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. I am writing […]

By Simon R. Bone British prime minister Harold Macmillan was once asked what a leader most feared he answered: “Events, dear boy, events.” This was very much the topic of Sir Peter Westmacott’s (UK Ambassador to the US) talk to HKS last week. The speech covered a wide range of topics from Libya to Iraq […]