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Photo Credit: Local 26 By Ivan Rahman, MPP 2018 While sitting in my last negotiation class with Professor Brian Mandell, I could hear the chanting and drumming of the Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) workers outside of Littauer. They officially started striking on Wednesday, October 5th, requesting $35,000 in minimum salary for all HUDS employees, […]

By Zouhair Mazouz, MPP 2017 Full disclosure: That night, I meant to stir the pot. In the 2015 academic year, I had made a point out of boycotting meetings organized by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Arab Caucus. As an Arab myself, I was outraged to learn that the Caucus explicitly described its events as “intended […]

In the last decade, Medellin made a decision that will mark its future: it changed its economic vocation. The city, known in the twentieth century as the “Industrial Capital of Colombia,” decided to move from a traditional industrial operation to a knowledge economy. Corporation Ruta N is articulating these efforts and boosting a true ecosystem […]

For the past 35 years, the United States has been militarily involved in the Middle East – from Lebanon to Libya, Iraq to Syria. Yet this extensive involvement in the region has failed to make any lasting positive impact or achieve the United States’ stated goals, according to Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares […]

BY ROBERT REYNOLDS Policy students interested in nudging must run experiments. Yet, rigorous experiments require substantial time, funding, and expert guidance. Because most students do not have this, behavioral enthusiasts rarely complete experiments while in policy school. This should change. So, how can policy students do this without succumbing to the difficulties of professional experiments? […]

For Republicans, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s Middle East policy has been a lightning rod. In addition to Clinton’s email scandal, Republicans have frequently criticized positions the former secretary of state took during the 2010-11 Arab Spring uprising and the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The Arab world’s pundits have their […]

BY CHARLOTTE HALL The 600+ employees of the Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) are now on strike. The outcome of this strike has as much to do with the future of Harvard as it does with HUDS employee wages and benefits. At its heart, this labor dispute is about what kind of employer Harvard is […]

BY MICHAEL ALTER Americans are bad at voting. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but the U.S. ranked 27th among developed countries with only 53.6 percent of its voting-age population casting votes in the 2012 presidential election. Meanwhile, Belgium, the top-ranked country, had 87.2 percent of its voting-age population vote in its 2014 election. This […]

BY SUNAINA RAJANI Introduction Imagine an impulse to sneeze. Now imagine if it were illegal. While we don’t intend to sneeze and can’t suppress a sneeze, most of us can suppress other urges. One fundamental principle of jurisprudence is that humans have some ability to control their impulses and make decisions derived from an innate […]

By David Duesing, MPP 2018 On Thursday, September 29, the Kennedy School was excited to receive former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In a speech co-moderated by HKS professor Paul E. Peterson and Harvard University professor Ronald G. Fryer, Bush discussed the state of education in the US and potential avenues of reform. A passionate advocate […]

By Wei Luo, MPP 2017 On Friday September 30, The Citizen had a chance to sit down with Nicco Mele, the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at HKS. The following is a brief summary of the conversation.   Citizen: What is your vision for the Shorenstein Center? Nicco Mele: […]

BY DOREEN HORSCHIG The total elimination of existing nuclear weapons worldwide, so-called “Global Zero,” at this point in time is neither feasible nor desirable for U.S. national security interests. A cold stability — regional and global stability provided through a threat of nuclear weapons — demonstrates the continued efficacy of existing nuclear weapons on the world […]