[Cartoon source: The Washington Post] by Andhyta Firselly Utami, MPP 2018 Here’s a novel idea: use cartoons and satire to explain science, specifically climate science, to the public. Award-winning climate scientist Michael E. Mann and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post political cartoonist Tom Toles used this recipe as they embarked on a creative collaboration to publish […]

In a speech at the Hoover Institution on January 17, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined a plan to keep US troops in Syria indefinitely, beholden to an unrealistic set of conditions. Although the new policy identifies areas of concern for the US and its allies in the Middle East, the goals outlined lack specificity and are so broad as to be impractical. If the Trump administration does not narrow its goals in Syria, it risks turning Syria into a conflict as open-ended as Afghanistan.    

On Sunday, February 11, Harvard University announced that Lawrence S. Bacow become the 29th president of Harvard. Larry Bacow is an accomplished and respected leader in higher education, having been president of Tufts and chancellor of MIT. He knows Harvard very well, earning three degrees at Harvard and serving as a member of the Harvard […]

BY BILAL CHAUDHARY Stimulating domestic innovation is crucial for developing countries. Innovation, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking can accelerate the pace of poor countries’ development, reducing their reliance on aid and enhancing their capacity to participate in a rapidly changing global economy. For development to succeed, innovation cannot be solely the domain of the rich and […]

Harvard Kennedy School Dean Doug Elmendorf announced today that former governor of Ohio John R. Kasich will be delivering the Kennedy School graduation address at this year’s commencement ceremony. Kasich was elected governor of Ohio in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. During his time in office, Kasich has worked to improve the state’s economy and […]

Of the three various frames for studying the MENA region at present questions of securing economic development and reforming social welfare programs generally receive less attention than topics such as Islamism, security sector reform, or social mobilization. Most analysts…struggle to imagine the kind of economic improvement that could curb high levels of unemployment (especially among the educated) and generate much-needed revenue to finance state services such as education, health care, and basic infrastructure projects.

BY CALEB GERBITZ The ladder to financial freedom depends on the promise that if a family saves a portion of every paycheck, over time they will climb the ladder to economic independence. Unfortunately, for many working families, monthly paychecks fall short of covering necessities, let alone savings. They can’t reach the first rung. Today, the […]

Maha Yahya, Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, sits down with Niku Jafarnia to discuss the conditions needed for the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homes and the current tenor of domestic rhetoric around refugees in host countries, involuntary returns, “safe zones,” and shifting territorial control within Syria.

BY CAMERON LINDSAY While Amazon continues to pilot its fully autonomous drone delivery system, Amazon PrimeAir, an autonomous delivery system millions of times larger is occurring at sea. And whether you are the passenger on-board a cruise ship or you hire a shipping company to transport your belongings overseas, in a few years, you will […]

Stretching from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east, the region of north-central Africa known as the Sahel has rarely figured as a focus of international geopolitics. Yet this semi-arid band of territory, spanning some 14 countries and home to numerous ethnic and religious groups, is emerging as a new arena in the sprawling global battle between governments and jihadist groups.

BY MATTHEW CROSS The days after an election bring feelings of happiness or sadness with the illusion that the victory or defeat is permanent. Since November 2016, the Democrats I speak to still wonder if their party will ever be competitive again. I too have experienced this, but from a different viewpoint. As an idealistic […]

The authors of this article partnered with seven juvenile detention centers across the country to obtain an unprecedented snapshot of youth in custody to determine if lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, gender nonconforming and transgender (LGBQ/GNCT) youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. Specifically, the authors were interested in understanding how disparate system practices impacted […]