Asia

The UN-defined Asia region is the second largest regional group. Its territory is composed of much of the continent of Asia and the Middle East with few exceptions.

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Statistical Invisibility and the Plight of India’s Sanitation Workers: A Policy Perspective

03.3.24

Amidst the vast societal machinery that sustains India, sanitation workers operate as the unrecognized cogs essential to the public health system, yet they remain largely invisible within policy frameworks and legislative agendas.

Social Policy

Chinese-Indonesians Face Long Road to National Integration, Except During Elections

01.31.24

Indonesia takes pride in its national motto ‘unity in diversity.’ For its ethnic Chinese minorities, however, this phrase rings hollow.

Gender, Race and Identity

Interview with Harvard Professor Graham Allison: U.S.–China Relations

12.19.23

On December 5, 2023, Senior Editor Nikolas Neos spoke with Harvard Professor Graham Allison about US-China relations and what the rising tension between the two countries means for both of them.

International Relations and Security

Interview with U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Djerejian: U.S. Response to the Israel-Hamas War

11.8.23

On November 3, 2023, HKS Student Policy Review Senior Editor Samriddhi Vij sat down with former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Syria, Edward Djerejian, to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.

International Relations and Security

Aiding Afghans without Aiding Taliban

10.27.23

The goal should be to support the Afghan people, especially women, in their quest for dignity, freedom, independence, and human rights, while minimizing the risk of providing legitimacy and resources to the Taliban.

Human Rights

To What Extent is Singapore a “Middle Power” in the Indo-Pacific?

07.15.23

Elements of Singapore’s foreign policy qualify it as a “middle power,” as per de Swielande’s (2019) theory of regional powers in the Indo-Pacific. This paper addresses the predominance of studies on India, Australia, Indonesia, and South Korea in the literature, as the typical middle powers in the Indo-Pacific (de Swielande, 2019). Small states are frequently […]

International Relations and Security

A Playbook to Design & Deliver Financial Savings Solutions for Women

05.15.23

The gender gap looms large in financial inclusion. Across developing economies, women are six percentage points less likely than men to own bank accounts — in countries like Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Turkey, the gender gap is more than twenty percentage points. Men are more likely to report that they have saved any money in the […]

The Evolution of Our American Dream: A Conversation with David Siev

04.26.23

The basis of [my documentary, BAD AXE] is my family—we’re Cambodian-Mexican-American. We live in this rural white community, and it’s us trying to keep our family restaurant alive and the American Dream alive during one of the most uncertain times in history amidst a pandemic, a racial reckoning, and everything else going on in our country in 2020. So it becomes a story that explores the question: how do you keep the American Dream alive today when it’s being challenged now more than ever?

Transformation and Liberation Through Diasporic Storytelling: A Conversation with Joseph Juhn

04.26.23

If my previous identity query was grounded on, and perhaps confined by, this dualistic tension between Korea and America, the idea of diaspora liberated me from a geographic grounding of identity. It was a membership not only in the Korean or Korean American community but also in these larger sojourner communities around the world who share, no matter how remote or accurate, collective memories of the homeland, heritage and history. 

Policing a Pandemic in Rural India: From Enforcement to Engagement

04.26.23

Throughout this spring of 2023, the world is witnessing a global surge in COVID cases, driven by variants of the virus such as the XBB.1.16 strain in India and the XBB.1.15 in the United States.1 The COVID crisis has glaringly underscored the need for nation states to prepare for the advent of global pandemics. Lockdowns […]

Remembering the “Comfort Women” Intergenerational Asian American Care Work

04.26.23

Asian American activists have been key to remembering the “comfort women” in the U.S. and globally. The act of remembering is often done through creating memorials, exhibits, films, conferences, and educational efforts. This paper examines Asian American activists’ remembrance work in building a memorial in the city of San Francisco.

Gender, Race and Identity

When Legalizing Abortion is Not Enough: Barriers in seeking Abortion that go beyond Laws

04.4.23

In this article, the authors explore the barriers that women face on the ground when accessing abortion, even when the procedure has been legalized. They look at the cases of Argentina and Colombia, in Latin America, and India and Nepal, in Asia, to highlight examples of barriers and how grassroots organizations are playing a key role in supporting safe access to abortions.

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