Newsmakers

Cohen Receives Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award

Dara Kay Cohen, Professor of Public Policy, has recieved the APSA-IPSA Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award for her book, Rape During Civil War. Presented during the 2017 APSA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, the award recognizes the author of a first book that exemplifies qualities of broad ambition, high originality, and intellectual daring, showing promise of having a substantive impact on the overall discipline. The citation read: “It is deeply impressive that she has been able to obtain so many and such revealing interviews with victims and perpetrators.”

Holdren Wins Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize

John P. Holdren, Co-Director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, and former Science Advisor to President Obama and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2009-2017), has been awarded the 2018 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. The prestigious award is presented annually by The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) to “a leading policy-maker, social scientist, or public intellectual whose career demonstrates the value of using social science evidence to improve the human condition.”

Stavins Recognized for Environmental Policy

Robert N. Stavins, Director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, has received the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Award, presented annually by the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance (CCEEB) to a leader in advancing environmental policy in California and globally. CCEEB is a coalition of business, labor, and public leaders seeking to promote both a sound economy and a healthy environment. The award is named after the former California Governor, founding CCEEB Chairman, and father of current Governor Jerry Brown. 

Mironova: Research and Reporting from the Front

Vera Mironova, an Associate with the International Security Program, who was embedded for a year (until mid-July) with the Iraqi Special Forces in Mosul, has been featured in a number of publications regarding her high-risk research from the frontlines of the war with ISIS.  Her research includes interviewing fighters, ethnographic work, and collecting ISIS documents. Her work has been published in outlets such as Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, and as a feature in The New Scientist (“Anatomy of Terror: What Makes Normal People Become Extremists,” August 16, 2017).

Nye and Allison Concepts Shape Chinese Politics

The term “soft power,” coined a number of years ago by Harvard Distinguished Service Professor Joseph S. Nye, has been incorporated into the newly revised constitution of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In its October meeting, the National Congress of CPC agreed to add the Central Committee’s “new ideas” to the constitution, including to “enhance our country’s cultural soft power.”

Graham Allison’s concept of Thucydides’s Trap has also gained attention in China, where Xi Jinping has referenced it in relation to the future of U.S.-China relations.