Blog

Our blog is the home for original content written and edited by Weatherhead Center affiliates and the communications team. Blog posts take many forms—in-depth analyses, Q&As, op-eds, and more—all with the purpose of translating and highlighting research done by our affiliates. We are always eager to work with current (and former) Center affiliates!

A Snapshot of Arabic Sentiment: The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not Always My Friend

A research team uses millions of tweets from the Arabic Middle East in 2014 and 2015 to uncover suspicions about the US and ISIS and a deep mistrust of entities wielding power in the region.

Profile of a man writing in Arabic on a wall

By Michelle Nicholasen... Read more about A Snapshot of Arabic Sentiment: The Enemy of My Enemy Is Not Always My Friend

Japan’s Political Hesitancy Created a Sad Summer Olympics

A spike in COVID-19 cases in Japan forced an abrupt ban on spectators at the Olympics this summer. Andrew Gordon and Michael R. Reich investigate the cause of the surprisingly slow vaccine rollout that left the Japanese population vulnerable.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame against a background of an empty stadium

By Michael R. Reich and Andrew Gordon... Read more about Japan’s Political Hesitancy Created a Sad Summer Olympics

The Long, Simmering Discontent that Forced Cubans into the Streets

A new generation in Cuba, witness to decades of rising racial and economic inequality, demand food, services, and a freer life. Three Weatherhead Center scholars describe the layers of repression that led to the current state of unrest in Cuba.

Painting of a Cuban supermarket sign obscured by map of Cuba and a drawing of a hand pulling a rope around map of Cuba

By Erin Goodman... Read more about The Long, Simmering Discontent that Forced Cubans into the Streets

Livelihoods Destroyed: The Long Reach of The Tulsa Massacre

Economist Nathan Nunn and his team measure the long-term impacts of the Tulsa massacre on Black communities in the US and find a pattern that resonates with an earlier analysis of the transatlantic slave trade, where violence begets long-term economic and social disadvantages that span generations.

Black man stands in front of his destroyed home in Tulsa

By Michelle Nicholasen... Read more about Livelihoods Destroyed: The Long Reach of The Tulsa Massacre

Not So Grassroots: Social Movements Fueled by the State

What do governments gain by sending their citizens into the streets? Grzegorz Ekiert and Elizabeth J. Perry advance the field of contentious politics and social movements with the study of State-Mobilized Movements—an example of which US citizens recently witnessed.

Red Guards in Tiananmen Square

By Grzegorz Ekiert and Elizabeth J. Perry... Read more about Not So Grassroots: Social Movements Fueled by the State

Is the Pandemic Decreasing State Capacity?

While some countries overcame obstacles caused by the pandemic, others were pushed further behind in their efforts to collect critical socioeconomic data. Visiting Scholar Michael Harsch and Harvard student Alexandra Norris examine the latest trends in a follow-up to Harsch’s “Measuring State Fragility” post.

Niger farmers with cattle

By Michael Harsch and Alexandra Norris... Read more about Is the Pandemic Decreasing State Capacity?

The 2021 Elections and Uganda’s Crisis of Continuity

As Uganda struggles to democratize, a playbook of authoritarian tactics defeats a promising new leader. Political scientist Kai M. Thaler traces the rise and hope of Bobi Wine.

Bobi Wine and his driver, Frank, pose for the camera with raised fists

By Kai M. Thaler... Read more about The 2021 Elections and Uganda’s Crisis of Continuity

Our Labor Market in Crisis: Paving A New Path to the Future of Work

To address the widening skills gap in the US workforce, two Harvard researchers call for a new social contract with the American worker, taking lessons from other industrialized democracies.

Replica of "Maria" robot from Fritz Lang's film Metropolis