Watson School at Brown
@watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social
The Watson School of International and Public Affairs seeks to promote a just and peaceful world through research and teaching on the world’s most pressing economic, political and social policy challenges.
#AlumniSpotlight : Meet Annika Prinz ’22, ’23 MPA, who turned her Watson experience into a career in corporate sustainability. Learn how her global perspective, climate policy studies and Brown mentors helped shape her journey. Read her story: https://ow.ly/nm9y50Zwe5v
Breaking the Ice in Northeast Asia: President Lee’s Brazen Bet on the Arctic — In a 38 North op-ed, Lyle Goldstein and Vitaly Kozyrev argue that polar development could bring Asia and Europe closer together, enhancing global stability. https://ow.ly/YSzB50Zwc8i
Breaking the Ice in Northeast Asia: President Lee’s Brazen Bet on the Arctic - 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
At a time of grave world tensions and rising defense preparations, including in Northeast Asia, ...
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Americans without Americanness: The Racial Boundaries of U.S. National Membership — Keitaro Okura explores how Americans perceive who belongs in the nation and how those beliefs shape racial boundaries. Read the full paper: https://ow.ly/JzGm50ZwbLO
WATCH LIVE: Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, joins the Africa Initiative to present “Nuclear Physics Research and Teaching in Africa Today,” moderated by Africa Initiative Director Wilmot James. https://ow.ly/l0jq50Zu1k0
On The Philadelphia Citizen's How to Really Run a City #podcast, @marcdunkelman.bsky.social discussed why government struggles to deliver results and how rebalancing authority could improve governance. https://ow.ly/klMY50ZwcCo
Listen: How to Really Run a City Podcast
Former mayors Michael Nutter and Kasim Reed talk about what it takes to really get sh*t done in cities in How to Really Run a City podcast
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What China’s hypersonic anti-ship missile fired from a smaller destroyer signals — Lyle Goldstein told the South China Morning Post that China's latest hypersonic missile deployment makes U.S. naval operations near Taiwan even more difficult. https://ow.ly/GWf350Zv7Ry
Replay this #RhodesCenter #podcast: From competition to monopoly and back again: Mark Blyth talks with Erik Peinert about his new book exploring how the U.S. and France have confronted monopoly power—and what it means for rising market concentration today. https://ow.ly/LvzK50Zto0K
From competition to monopoly and back again: a political economist's tale
Quickly and easily listen to The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth for free!
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Trump’s Kiss of Death — A recent New York Times Opinion piece cites data from the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, created by a research team at the Watson School’s Climate Solutions Lab. https://ow.ly/HGGw50ZqKqJ
Opinion | Trump’s Kiss of Death
On top of everything else, the president is inept.
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Tomorrow @ 4 pm: Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, joins the Africa Initiative to present “Nuclear Physics Research and Teaching in Africa Today,” moderated by Africa Initiative Director Wilmot James. https://ow.ly/rsj350ZukMB
Why PLA fighter jet sorties near Taiwan dropped to a 3-year low in the first half of 2026 — In South China Morning Post, Lyle Goldstein discussed signs that Beijing is lowering tensions around Taiwan and Washington is rethinking its China policy. https://ow.ly/T3se50Zv7Km
Why PLA jet sorties near Taiwan dropped to a 3-year low in first half of 2026
Beijing is shifting cross-strait military strategy, halving aerial missions and increasing coastguard patrols in the waters near the island.
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TUESDAY @ 4 pm: Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, joins the Africa Initiative to present “Nuclear Physics Research and Teaching in Africa Today,” moderated by Africa Initiative Director Wilmot James. Register: https://ow.ly/Lz3050Zu1na
Zeblon Vilakazi- Nuclear Physics Research and Teaching in Africa Today
Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 4:00 - 5:30 Joukowsky Forum, Watson School, 111 Thayer Street
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Exxon made $160 million per day last quarter as oil prices surged — CNN article cites data from the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, created by a research team at the Watson School’s Climate Solutions Lab. https://ow.ly/QZZZ50Zv5Oy
Exxon made $160 million per day last quarter as oil prices surged | CNN Business
ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two biggest US oil companies, reported gangbusters profits driven by the spike in global oil prices unleashed by the US-Iran war.
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Replay this Trending Globally #podcast: Ten years after the Brexit vote, what has changed—and what can it teach us about nationalist populism today. Mark Blyth examines Brexit's lasting impact on Britain's economy, politics and society. https://ow.ly/zU7f50ZoYgp
Ten years after the Brexit vote, the UK’s future is up for grabs
Quickly and easily listen to Trending Globally: Politics and Policy for free!
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Breaking Down the Fed's Plans to Tackle Inflation Risks — In a Bloomberg interview, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan discussed how markets are interpreting the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady and the risks of supply-driven inflation. https://ow.ly/3rm150ZuEJa
Watch US Military Escorting Oil and Gas Through Strait, Wright Says - Bloomberg
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that a new $100 billion data center campus built by NextEra energy and Brookfield will be powered by a nuclear and gas supply built on federal lands and will provide its own water. Wright also discussed the state of energy prices as the Iran war heats back up, and said it's not possible to forecast where gas prices will be by Labor Day.
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Post-Legality: What Follows a Collapse in the Rule of Law? — Aziz Huq explores what happens when legal institutions weaken, examining democratic resilience, constitutional order, and the future of the rule of law in this lecture for Taubman Center. (VIDEO) https://ow.ly/FI2I50Z6Rj8
Trending Globally #podcast: Ten years after the Brexit vote, what has changed—and what can it teach us about nationalist populism today. Mark Blyth examines Brexit's lasting impact on Britain's economy, politics and society. https://ow.ly/zU7f50ZoYgp
Ten years after the Brexit vote, the UK’s future is up for grabs
Quickly and easily listen to Trending Globally: Politics and Policy for free!
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China is gaining troubling military know-how from Russia — In The Economist, Lyle Goldstein discussed how Russia's growing dependence on China is giving Beijing greater leverage to obtain advanced military technology and intelligence from Moscow. https://ow.ly/EBqp50ZubxE
In The Print, Ashutosh Varshney wrote that recent student protests challenged the BJP's control of the political narrative and temporarily expanded space for democratic dissent in India. https://ow.ly/mCAN50ZtOmL
Student protests have punctured the BJP's narrative dominance
The movement forced a government retreat, challenged the BJP's social media machine and, for now, lifted the climate of fear surrounding dissent.
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AI Policy Summer School seeks to build pipeline of AI experts to fill emerging needs The AI Policy Summer School, a collaboration w/ Brown University's CNTR, brought graduate students to Brown and D.C., to learn from leading experts and engage directly with policymakers. https://ow.ly/xxCi50ZtroU
In an interview with Lumi News, Prerna Singh said student-led protests over exam reform marked a pivotal moment in Indian politics, but lasting accountability will depend on whether the government follows through on its promises. https://ow.ly/RNEf50ZtP9g
India's exam reform bill a major step, but questions over accountability remain: Analyst | Lumi News
Indian lawmakers are debating a new exam reform bill that would impose tougher penalties for paper leaks, including prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to around US$1 million. The legislation comes after weeks of student-led protests that forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. Speaking to CNA's Asia First, Prerna Singh, Mahatma Gandhi associate professor of political science and international studies at Brown University, discusses how the protests mark a historic moment in Indian politics, and why lasting accountability will depend on whether the government's...
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Trending Globally #podcast: Dean John Friedman sits down with Chris Hayes '01 to discuss how social media and the attention economy are reshaping American politics—and what it could mean for the 2026 midterm elections. https://ow.ly/jEK150ZtnXx
Social media, the attention economy and the health of American democracy with Chris Hayes - Trending Globally: Politics and Policy
On this episode: as part of the Watson School’s programming for Brown University’s Commencement and Reunion Weekend, Dean John Friedman spoke with M...
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The Watson School's @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social Trending Globally pod had me on talking about the 10th anniversary of Brexit, why the UK has PM's like Love Island contestants have partners, and where it's all going. Enjoy: player.captivate.fm/episode/eec8...
Ten years after the Brexit vote, the UK’s future is up for grabs
Quickly and easily listen to Trending Globally: Politics and Policy for free!
player.captivate.fm
Fragility and resilience are the same property of global networks: how quickly you can substitute any chokepoint comes from integration.
VoxEU @ CEPR@voxeu.org · 2w agoThe EU is converging on a definition of economic security as reduced dependence. @kalemli-ozcan.bsky.social argues this is mistaken. The EU will only have economic security if it treats integration depth, not self-sufficiency, as the union's security variable. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky
In Guardian US, Ashutosh Varshney said the resignation of an Indian cabinet minister marked the first time in more than a decade that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had lost control of the political narrative. https://ow.ly/6ET950Ztnuw
Nvidia’s China Partners and the PLA — In The Wire China, Tyler Jost discusses how China's military-civil fusion strategy has strengthened the Chinese Communist Party's influence over universities and industry. https://ow.ly/e2mZ50Zt9lk
Nvidia’s China Partners and the PLA - The Wire China
Around a fifth of the Chinese companies that Nvidia lists as partners have also won bids to supply China’s defense industry, including the People’s Liberation Army itself, according to procurement records.
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Gas Prices Are Eating Trump’s Tax Cut — Heatmap News cited research from Climate Solutions Lab estimating that higher gasoline and diesel prices tied to the Iran war have cost Americans about $71 billion. https://ow.ly/VMUf50Zt8RC
Gas Prices Are Eating Trump’s Tax Cut
Average U.S. gasoline prices have slipped back above $4 a gallon.
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What We Got Right — and Wrong — in ‘Abundance’ In an interview on New York Times Opinion's Ezra Klein show #podcast, Marc Dunkelman discussed the abundance movement. https://ow.ly/SfAj50YRe2x
Opinion | What We Got Right — and Wrong — in ‘Abundance’
It’s been a big year for the abundance movement, but what has it really achieved? Ezra Klein talks with his “Abundance” co-author Derek Thompson and with Marc Dunkelman, the author of “Why Nothing Works.”
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In Defense of Détente with Iran — In an article for the U.S. Naval Institute, Lyle Goldstein argued that the U.S. should prioritize diplomacy and regional stability over military intervention in the Strait of Hormuz. https://ow.ly/ppkz50ZrvGH
In Defense of Détente with Iran
The quick victory against Iran, which was promised in March, has proven illusory. An academic argues U.S. strategy in the Middle East requires a reset and less ambitious goals.
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Trump’s Kiss of Death — A recent New York Times Opinion piece cites data from the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker, created by a research team at the Watson School’s Climate Solutions Lab. https://ow.ly/HGGw50ZqKqJ
Opinion | Trump’s Kiss of Death
On top of everything else, the president is inept.
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The startup insiders who stash huge sums in tax-subsidized retirement accounts — A recent The Wall Street Journal article cited research by John Friedman showing that tax incentives aren't especially effective at encouraging retirement savings. https://ow.ly/HEzk50Zrmiy
The Startup Insiders Who Stash Huge Sums in Tax-Subsidized Retirement Accounts
More than 1,000 Americans racked up IRAs worth at least $25 million. “This is yacht financing or dynasty building.”
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