Politics
How do policy ideas and political power intersect? What are the most effective ways public leaders can balance political realities and policy priorities?
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Why a Resilient Taiwan Benefits Everyone: An Interview with Taiwanese Diplomat Charles Liao
Read and listen to an interview between HKS SPR and Taiwanese Diplomat Charles Liao, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) of Boston.Explore all Articles
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France’s Presidential Election Run-Off: A Battle for Frenchness
05.5.17
BY JULIETTE KEELEY April 23 is a dreary, drizzly New England day. People are lining up alongside the Lycée Francais de Cambridge at 8 a.m. They commiserate over the long line as they wait to cast their ballots in the first round of the French presidential election. This polling location is the only one for […]

Britain Needs a Uniter Not a Divider as Prime Minister
04.28.17
BY PATRICK WHITE ‘Crush the saboteurs’ proclaimed the Daily Mail newspaper as Prime Minister Theresa May announced that for the fourth time in four years a major national poll would take place in the UK this summer. My concern is that rhetoric like this will only serve to widen further divisions in British society. The […]

Interview: Steven Brandt, a Conservative Voice at HKS
04.4.17
BY ANDY VO At a campus like Harvard, it can be hard to find a conservative millennial. I initially reached out to Steven to discuss what it was like being just 23 years old and already a Masters student at HKS on a fellowship through the Air Force Academy. We met at Algiers Café, and […]
A Hispanic in the Democratic National Committee
03.22.17
This past Saturday 25th of February, Thomas E. Pérez became the first Latino to be elected as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The DNC constitutes the governing body for the United States Democratic Party. Among the main activities of the organization are the quadrennial elaboration of a Democratic platform where the central ideas […]

Why Lebanon may delay elections – for a third time
03.22.17
Lebanon’s democracy might feel the biggest sting at the ballot box if the country’s politicians fail to agree on a new electoral law.

You Can Be Pro-Life and Pro-Woman
03.8.17
BY NATALIE GOODNOW AND BOBBIE RAGSDALE Today is International Women’s Day, a fitting time to discuss a topic at the forefront of the news over the last several months: abortion and women’s rights. Though abortion has been legal for decades, the issue is still a contentious one in the public sphere. Unfortunately, many people today […]

3 Things Local Democratic Committees Need from the New DNC Chair
03.6.17
BY JESSICA SCHAUER LIEBERMAN On February 25th, the Democratic National Committee chose Thomas Perez, former Secretary of Labor and Harvard Kennedy School alum, as its new chair. The media billed the election that resulted in Mr. Perez’s victory as a battle for the party’s soul — a clash between its leftist and establishment wings. The […]

A Fellow Immigrant’s Story Showed Me What America Stands to Lose under Trump
02.21.17
BY CHRISTIAN ASANTE The first time I spoke to Sandra, we were both studying in the library. President Trump had assumed office five days earlier, and his string of executive orders consumed student conversations. Sandra asked me to watch her things for a few minutes, and when she returned, I struck up a conversation. “What […]

Don’t Be Seduced by ‘Continuous Coverage’
02.20.17
BY MAGGIE SALINGER Republicans are trying to seduce us by promising lower premiums and removal of the individual mandate. No longer will Obamacare encroach on personal freedom and financial stability, they boast. But let’s not be fooled by the ACA alternatives we’ve been seeing from the Hill. These plans are no better for us. In fact, […]

The RAISE Act, Chinese Exclusion Act, & Anti-Mexican Legislation
02.17.17
From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the policies that welcomed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees to this country from the 1960s onward, federal immigration policy has had a tremendous influence on the migration history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). The most recent plan for immigration reform, the Reforming American Immigration […]

Israel-Palestine: Can Trump seal the deal?
02.13.17
Trump prides himself on his deal-making abilities, but securing “the ultimate deal” between Israelis and Palestinians presents major challenges.

Obama’s Valedictory: The Global President Turns Domestic
02.9.17
BY CHARLIE SHANDIL Throughout his tenure as the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama has changed the sheer fabric of government business, and has been deemed the ‘Startup President’ for using the tech sector as an asset, and the ‘Climate President’ for driving global outcomes to combat climate change – all […]



