Governance

Professors hear a great deal these days about how hard it is to get our students to listen to, much less to engage with, opinions they dislike. The problem, we are told, is that students are either “snowflakes” with fragile psyches or “authoritarians” who care more about their pet causes than about democratic values such as tolerance, compromise and respect for opposing points of view. Students at Harvard, where I teach, returned from winter break in January to an institution that appeared determined to tackle this problem head-on. An email from the undergraduate dean reminded them that “The purpose of a Harvard education is not to shield you from ideas you dislike or to silence people you disagree with; it is to enable you to confront challenging ideas, interrogate your own beliefs, make up your mind and learn to think for yourself."

Professors Alison Frank Johnson and Stephen M. Walt write:  We cannot cede the responsibility for upholding our own standards of conduct to outside forces — not to politicians, not to donors, not to anyone.

Most post-primary education in Greenland is conducted in Danish. Offering more instruction in Greenlandic would not only improve educational outcomes for Greenlanders, but would further Greenland's capacity to self-govern, says Linda Lyberth Kristiansen.

Over the last several decades, the U.S.’s domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined. The CHIPS Act aims to reverse this trend by investing over $50 billion in direct funding and loan subsidies to expand semiconductor research and development and manufacturing in the U.S. This primer focuses on the workforce challenges that will be spurred by this microelectronics industry expansion and proposes how community colleges can play a critical role in addressing these challenges. 

In the past decade, myriad studies have explored the effects of nonviolent resistance (NR) on outcomes including revolutionary success (short-term and long-term) and democratization, and how nonviolent mobilization can play a similar role to violence in affecting social change in some settings. This special issue seeks to advance scholars' and policymakers' understanding of the role of nonviolence by tackling some key assumptions in existing work that are complicated by historical and contemporary realities of deepening polarization worldwide. This issue addresses four key areas within conflict and peace research that limit scholars' and policymakers' ability to make sense of NR: (a) the fragmented nature of civil resistance campaigns in terms of supporters and demands; (b) the increasing prevalence of authoritarian or anti-egalitarian nonviolent campaigns; and (c) the complicated nature of revolutionary success. Cutting across all three of these substantive areas is another key area, which is: (d) the United States as an increasingly salient site of conflict and contention.

When winning rebels face intense security threats during civil wars, rebel field commanders are more likely to remain obedient during war-to-peace transitions because they have less incentive to challenge newly installed rulers and less capacity to mobilize supporters outside the postwar military hierarchy.

Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named the Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson a non-resident Senior Fellow. Dr. Jackson, a theoretical physicist and President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has held senior leadership positions in academia, government, industry, and research. At the Belfer Center, Jackson will engage with students, faculty, and fellows at the nexus of science, public policy, and leadership.

“Shirley exemplifies the ideal of advancing science and technology for the public good,” said Belfer Center Director Ash Carter. “All of us at the Center are honored to welcome such a distinguished leader and scientist. The National Science Board was right to call her a ‘national treasure’ and we look forward to her engagement with our community.”

Recap of MEI event "Afghanistan and Its Consequences."

Stephen Walt warns that  should the secessionist impulse ever gain momentum and succeed in breaking up the country, it would squander the United States' most vital geopolitical asset.

This paper will review the changing world of climate change education and opportunities for adopting innovative pedagogical approaches such as immersive technologies, participatory methods, and art-based learning.