Explore all Articles

filter by–Topic

filter by–Region

filter by–Country

search by–Keyword

Interview with Andrew Yang (Democratic Presidential Candidate)

03.26.19

This is the fourth episode of our audio interview series. In this episode, Kai speaks to Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur, and a U.S. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

Amtrak and the Ethics of Influence

03.26.19

Amtrak wants you to buy travel insurance, even if it’s not in your best interest. You pick your fare, decline to bring your Scottish Terrier, fill in your credit card details and hit “continue,” with a breeziness that makes you feel like you’re already hurtling down the Northeast Corridor towards Manhattan. Only you can’t continue. […]

Decision Making and Negotiation

Mending our Meritocracy: Socioeconomic Affirmative Action in School Admissions?

03.24.19

Singapore’s growing class divide presents challenges to its espoused meritocratic ideals. Samantha Wong, Toh Wei Lun and Amelia Woo consider proposals akin to “affirmative action” – namely the use of quotas and nominations in school admissions – to address educational and consequently socioeconomic disparities.

Barack Obama Made America Great Again

03.22.19

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump ran under the slogan “Make America Great Again”. Although the first three words of the slogan were uncontroversial, the last one – “Again” – led many observers to wonder what bygone era Trump was referencing. His harshest critics claimed that he was referring to a time when racism […]

Politics
Source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oblique_facade_1,_US_Supreme_Court.jpg

Constraining U.S. foreign policy by enforcing current law: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 3

03.21.19

To secure a court order, Congress must show that the executive’s refusal to follow the FAA and the Leahy laws uniquely injures the legislative branch in a way that only the courts can remedy.

Source: Wikimedia Commons, United States Air Force

Current law constraining the President: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 2

03.21.19

The White House’s Saudi policy implicates at least four pieces of existing legislation. If the President refuses to obey them or cuts corners, Congress can bring him to heel directly via impeachment, or indirectly through court orders that force executive branch agencies to halt the restricted activity.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142213585@N04/26034544653/in/photostream/

Facing a President’s veto: a series on Congress’s options to limit arms sales and aid to Saudi Arabia, part 1

03.21.19

Even without a two-thirds majority, Congressional representatives determined to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its flagrant violations of international law could dodge the veto and limit the President’s actions by enforcing existing laws that nominally prevent the U.S. from supporting states that violate human rights.

Partisanship is Nothing New for Mayors: An Interview with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

03.21.19

Former Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu (2010-2018) knows what it means to govern amid scarce resources and divisive politics. So it comes as no surprise that many think he would make a competitive candidate for president in 2020. Whether or not he enters the race, what’s clear is that America would be better off […]

Cities and Communities

Letter: Subject-Based Banding is Not the Escalator We’re Looking For

03.20.19

On the topic of subject-based banding, Andrew Chia responds to Lionel Oh’s Op-Ed by laying out potential practical difficulties in overhauling the existing streaming system, showing how these obstacles could undermine the effectiveness of such a change.

Education, Training and Labor

Is the Occupation of the West Bank Morally Justified?

03.19.19

The world recently marked fifty years since the end of the 1967 Arab-Israeli “Six Day” War and the beginning of the indefinite military occupation of Palestinian West Bank. It was one of the shortest wars; it has been one of the longest occupations. The international community continues to ask, how much longer should it go […]

Human Rights

Plate Tectonics: Global Affairs and the Political Earthquake of January 2019 in Venezuela

03.18.19

The events that started in January 2019 in Venezuela are driven primarily by Venezuelans’ desire for change, but for many international observers and social media commentators natural resource wealth took the spotlight. Whether it was a critique of the United States’ involvement or a thesis to explain the interests of other neighbors and major powers, […]

International Relations and Security

Fintech Customers Deserve Greater Command Over Their Data and Value Commensurate with Relinquishing It

03.15.19

March 15th marks World Consumer Rights Day. For American consumers exploited by data-grabbing corporate giants, one wonders whether there is much to celebrate. The evidence shows that most companies “prefer to keep consumers in the dark, choose control over sharing, and ask for forgiveness rather than permission.” Target is a classic example of this behavior. […]

Science, Technology and Data

Call for Submissions


Join the HKS Student Policy Review—

to research, write, and learn about policy in a new way. We offer Harvard students an opportunity to engage with the most important policy issues of our time, across a whole range of topics and regions.