Former GSA Manjari Chatterjee Miller was yesterday's guest on WBUR's On Point, discussing the rise of middle powers like India and Canada in a shifting global order. Listen: https://loom.ly/Ppj74Xo

Are 'middle power' countries having a moment?

The U.S. has become an increasingly erratic superpower. Now, the world’s middle powers are rising. What's next for places like India and Canada in a shifting global order?

wbur.org

Congratulations to Nathalie Gregg and Caitlyn Kukulowicz, the two Weatherhead scholarship students who attended the 2026 Sport and Education Program in Greece this summer. And thank you to the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece for running the program! https://loom.ly/9GvyQu0

We typically think of deterrence as cold and calculating. In a new JCR with @uoft-poli-sci.bsky.social's Pomeroy & Rathbun, we explore the psychology of deterrence thinking, showing it relies on intuition instead. When we shoot, we shoot from the hip. 🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

The World Cup has us in its grip, with its ability to bring together people from all walks of life. Read our recent Epicenter post on the power of sports to unite—and divide—from Stephen Ortega: https://loom.ly/_s8Ah_w

Canada's anti-apartheid stance wasn't charity—it was ideological self-defense. For 4 decades, Ottawa opposed apartheid to protect the liberal order it was invested in. Declassified files reveal a complex truth about power, race & global politics. New book by Daniel Manulak: https://loom.ly/l30PEUc

New study reveals the greenwashing problem in food: over 65% of environmental claims at conventional supermarkets are misleading. We need regulation to protect both consumers and the planet. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306919226000977

My book Chasing Events out! It was officially brought to life during an engaging book launch (see pics). Find links to the free Intro and Conclusion in the post below.

New research from Pakistan reveals why women skip training opportunities—it's not about distance or cost, but safety. Women with village-based centers are 4x more likely to attend. Secure group transport boosts take-up. Security concerns, not logistics, are the real barrier. https://loom.ly/6PqxzzQ

Some news: Based on work out of the @wzb.bsky.social earlier this year Nourhan Elsayed, Hanno Hilbig, Sascha Riaz, & I published this on how communist era schooling in Germany affects attitudes today in the "British Journal of Political Science." A quick summary www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

From Canada to Chile, homosexuality is decriminalized across the Americas. Yet in parts of the Caribbean, old anti-sodomy laws still stand. On July 8, the Privy Council will adjudicate on Trinidad and Tobago’s laws—and the world is watching. Read more from Leo Varadkar: https://loom.ly/jiueJ2M

A large temporary cash incentive rapidly enrolled millions of informal workers into Thailand's voluntary social insurance programme, demonstrating that enrolment barriers can be overcome when incentives are strong enough.

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · last mo.

🆕 Why informal workers don’t sign up for social insurance Today on VoxDev, Benjamin Olken (MIT), Rema Hanna (Harvard Kennedy School), Phitawat Poonpolkul (PIER) & Nada Wasi outline research on Thailand's informal workers: https://ow.ly/UbUK50Zi5vz

Bottom-up citizen-oriented pressure campaigns—where citizens learn to call out underperforming service providers—doesn't achieve desired outcomes, acc. to a large-scale study of healthcare centers in Uganda by @piaraffler.bsky.social et al. There may be one small exception. https://loom.ly/ac5F8jE

America has become a gerontocracy—power, wealth, and policy captured by the old, while the young are blocked from starting out. But it doesn’t have to be this way, says Samuel Moyn. Read more: https://loom.ly/5CVs7zM

🆕 Do protests work? Why political alignment determines economic redistribution Today on VoxDev w/ Belinda Archibong (Johns Hopkins University), Chinemelu Okafor (Harvard University ), Evans Osabuohien (Covenant University) & Tom Moerenhout (Columbia University): https://ow.ly/Sf3Y50Zg99M

Do protests work? Why political alignment determines economic redistribution

Evidence from Nigeria shows that protests can influence fiscal redistribution, but the manner and direction depend critically on the political relationship between disbursing governments and protesting regions.

ow.ly

Can you deliver aid through digital payments in a fragile state like Afghanistan? An experiment says yes—and it's cheaper. High adoption rates, substantial improvements in food security, and lower delivery costs. New research from Michael Callen et al: https://loom.ly/uemuifE

What happens when Spanish silver dollars cross the Ottoman border? A 17th-century trial in Istanbul reveals: money wasn't just a state commodity or trade good—it was made through negotiation between competing empires. Read more from Ellen Nye: https://loom.ly/rkKXa3I

Money on Trial: Performances of Value and Authority in Ottoman Istanbul during the Age of Global Silver | Comparative Studies in Society and History | Cambridge Core

Money on Trial: Performances of Value and Authority in Ottoman Istanbul during the Age of Global Silver

cambridge.org

Very happy to see "Political polarization in low- and middle-income countries" with Ernesto Tiburcio in print! Free view-only version: rdcu.be/fpIKE

New scholarship (from declassified records) reveals the Vietnam War's architects harbored deep private doubts and acknowledged no path to victory—and they forged ahead anyway, in fear of losing face. https://loom.ly/9_OIroY

New scholarship reveals something US academics often miss: abortion politics isn't just about reproductive rights—it's about democracy itself. Latin American researchers show how elites weaponize anti-abortion positions to consolidate power and weaken judicial independence. https://loom.ly/tMl9g2Q

The 2008 crisis gave us rock-bottom interest rates, but Kenneth Rogoff argues they won't return. High debt, geopolitical conflict, and AI investments will keep rates elevated indefinitely. A sobering take from one of the world's leading economists. https://loom.ly/zwH-BQM

‘Ordinary men’ were at the heart of the Nazi Party as it grew, according to new research by two Weatherhead affiliates Luis Bosshart and Matthias Weigand. Read about their work in the Harvard Gazette: https://loom.ly/lE6BEQg

Geoeconomic tools like sanctions and tariffs can have favorable short term effects, argues @jafrieden.bsky.social, but the long-term costs to the issuer can outweigh the benefits. Read about the downsides. https://loom.ly/9qTmDHQ

NEW on Epicenter: Russian hybrid warfare on EU countries has increased since the invasion of Ukraine. And Poland is the top target. Read about the attacks in this compelling essay by Oksana Trefanenko. https://loom.ly/WvlMs0E

Thank you Chris Wellisz for this great profile article summarizing my research for Finance and Development latest issue! www.imf.org/en/publicati...

Happy to launch monkscale.com — the home for the Monk Skin Tone Scale. A quick hub for information about the MST, research using the MST, studies about the MST, clinical and tech deployments of the MST, news coverage, and standards adoption across the FDA, ISO, EU AI Act, etc. #MonkSkinToneScale

Swedish-Iranian physician Ahmadreza Djalali has spent a decade in Iran's Evin Prison on fabricated espionage charges. States must use all tools—legal, diplomatic, economic—to secure his release. Read more at the op-ed coauthored by Judith Abitan: https://loom.ly/CocDhu0

Congratulations to Andrew O’Donohue for presenting the annual graduate English address from memory at yesterday's commencement. @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social Watch his speech here: youtu.be/bU6bMDLwZIk?...

Andrew J. O’Donohue speaks at annual graduate English address at Commencement 2026

YouTube video by Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies

youtu.be

We mourn the loss of two longtime colleagues of the Weatherhead Center, Michael McElroy and Pierre Keller. We wish condolences to their families and friends. https://loom.ly/Vqf-ha8

We welcome the fourteen new Faculty Associates who joined the Weatherhead Center this year! Meet them here: https://loom.ly/w0mogu8

Read about the book talks given by @svenbeckert.bsky.social on his new book, 'Capitalism: A Global History,' in our latest Centerpiece newsletter: https://loom.ly/2fpmvkQ