On January 20, 2018, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) entered the Syrian city of Afrin in what the Turkish government claims is a response to threats posed by Kurdish political groups within Turkey itself, and in northern Syria along the Syrian-Turkish border. Now Ankara must contend with an unclear near-future in which it may remain in Syria for an indefinite period of time.

The problematic economic and social situation in Venezuela is well known to us by now as the topic makes at least a weekly appearance in international media outlets. Beyond the macroeconomic statistics and the high-level policy talk, these numbers and figures really affect the daily life of not only Venezuelan citizens, but also of some […]

BY MOUNIR MAHMALAT Imagine a young couple at a boring dancing party. While one tries to animate and initiate the dancing, the other remains seated, complaining, finding excuses. Suddenly, the party ends, and both go home – frustrated. Reforming the European Union (EU) might be less appealing than a dance party. However, the current political […]

BY MAX NATHANSON The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will change Pakistan. CPEC — a proposed network of highways, power plants, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) worth a reported $62 billion — is set to bring Pakistan more than double the entire volume of foreign direct investment that the country received since 2008. But who, exactly, […]

At times like this, analysts and critics search for the right phrase to capitalise on their following. So far, watershed, landmark and game changer have been used to describe the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Unsurprisingly, the majority of Africans whom this agreement affects, are unaware of the radical facelift the continent is about […]

BY ANGELICA QUICKSEY and EMILY BROAS An internet connection is a gateway to the modern world: communication, education, economic opportunity, entertainment, and more. Yet, 19 percent of U.S. households lack a home broadband subscription and are excluded from these benefits. The digital divide – the gulf between those who have ready access to the internet […]

BY QUINTON MAYNE For many Americans, cities have become a beacon of hope. The can-do, eye-level politics of our city halls is increasingly viewed as an antidote to what seems like a culture of top-down, self-serving, and polarizing party politics inside the Beltway. An important question then is whether city leaders will live up to […]

BY FRANCISCA VILLALOBOS Pamela, the community leader of La Isla, had worked ten years towards this moment. Last November, La Isla shantytown celebrated the foundation stone-laying ceremony to kick off the construction of one hundred houses for La Isla’s families. To the crowd of community dwellers, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local government officials […]

ISIL violated international, national, regional and tribal law when it recruited children to participate in its armed conflict.  With ISIL’s loss of territory in Iraq, the rush to enact justice against perpetrators of these abuses has overlooked the status of children and the need to tailor treatment specifically to child soldiers who survived a brutal occupation.

BY LINA HIDALGO In Harris County, Texas, the third largest county in the nation and home to Houston, the “education gap” is something that tens of thousands of families struggle with daily. One-in-five children in Texas is born in Harris County, and nearly 35 percent of them live below the federal poverty line. Low-income students […]

By VARYA MERUZHANYAN For over a century, April has been a moment of a deafening silence for Armenians. Every year, on April 24, Armenians around the world pause to commemorate the 1.5 million victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. This year, however, the silence was broken by the loud sounds of vuvuzelas […]

by HKS Parent Advocacy Group (Jess Ausinheiler, Alex Glade, Elizabeth Patton, Anton Tejeda, and Carolina Zambrano) Photo by Picsea on Unsplash.   Dear Future Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Students, There is an old proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But we need your help transforming HKS into such a village for the student-parents among us. […]