Abstract: The Arab Spring provides a rare opportunity to examine the roles of natural resources and state structure in the face of popular discontent. While the Gulf monarchies have all weathered the events of 2011, the diverging fates of the two oil-producing republics in North Africa—Algeria and Libya—suggest that neither factor alone can account for […]

By The Citizen Staff Capping more than seven months of research, meetings and phone calls; the Kennedy School second year Masters of Public Policy (MPP) students turned in their culminating project last week. The Policy Analysis Exercise (more commonly known as the PAE) is an extensive research project for an organization or government agency that […]

Esraa Abdelfattah, already a leading activist prior to 2011, played a major role in the January 2011 Egyptian revolution. She has been a political activist since 2008, when she created the April 6 Strike Group on Facebook, which grew to 70,000 members and resulted in her arrest. She is currently vice-chairman of the Egyptian Democratic […]

Yoel Guzansky, the former Iran coordinator at Israel’s NationalSecurity Council, is a research fellow at the Institute for NationalSecurity Studies at Tel Aviv University and a doctoral candidate ininternational relations at Haifa University.     Benedetta Berti is a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University, a member […]

  Jon B. Alterman is director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS in 2002, he served as a member of the policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State and as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near […]

Over the course of 10 days, hundreds of students sought out exotic locations on what is now aptly termed “student-led treks.” These trips ranged from politically charged regions to relaxing beachfront destinations. All places served to inspire, inform and integrate students with local culture, food, and of course, government perspectives. The following are stories shared […]

By Anthony Barrows, MC/MPA ’13, Staff Writer As a Gleitsman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership, I had the privilege of spending spring break in New York City for our field experience. This four-day trip gave the Gleitsman and Zuckerman Fellows a snapshot of how America’s largest city grapples with some of today’s toughest […]

By Alexandra Raphel, MPP’14, Staff Writer When Halimatou Hima (MPP’14) received a phone call from the Gates Foundation one Sunday morning during winter break, her first thought was that they had the wrong number. In fact, they were calling to invite Halima to speak at TEDxChange, an event co-organized by TED and the Gates Foundation […]

By Khurram Ali, MPP’14, Correspondent Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with ex-Harvard President and current Charles W. Eliot Professor of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers. Known as one of the most brilliant economists of his time, Larry Summers has also served as the U.S. Secretary of Treasury under Bill Clinton and as […]

By Margareta Matache, Chair, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights April 8 marks the International Roma Day, an occasion to reflect on the history and culture of Romani people, as well as to confront contemporary threats to Roma human rights and dignity. At Harvard, International Roma Day (April 8) is being […]

By Leila El-Khatib, MC/MPA’13, Correspondent It is that time of the year again when Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students get to showcase their talents. While we know that these students have achieved greatness in the fields of public service, we see very little of their talents outside of the classroom. The HKS Talent Show is […]

By Josh Rudolph, MPP ’14, Correspondent After enduring two decades of falling wages and prices in the wake of the 1992 financial crisis, Japan’s leaders have finally decided to follow Ben Bernanke’s advice from back in 2000 and persuade the central bank to buy as many bonds as it takes to create inflation. Unfortunately, given […]