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The Long, Simmering Discontent that Forced Cubans into the Streets

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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. By Erin...

When Should Children Be Allowed to Work?

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A comparative study in human rights compliance in Bolivia and Argentina by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow Lorenza Fontana and Jean Grugel. by Lorenza Fontana and Jean Grugel When we think about child labor, what often comes to mind are images of dirty...

Insight on Syria: A Quagmire of Warring Religious Groups? Why the Western View is Misguided

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Harvard political scientist Melani Cammett clarifies the role of sectarianism in the Syrian War. By Melani Cammett, Faculty Associate; Harvard Academy Senior Scholar. Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard...

Trump’s Impact on the World: Timothy J. Colton on Russia

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Harvard Professor of Government and Russian Studies Timothy Colton discusses the fraught relationship between the US and Russia under the Trump administration. This is the third blog post in a series of edited transcripts from a panel on Trump's...

Insight on Syria: What Are Putin's Motives?

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Russia’s direct entry into the Syrian conflict in September 2015 was spurred by a plethora of motivations. Russian scholars Rawi Abdelal and Alexandra Vacroux unpack the various rationales. By Rawi Abdelal and Alexandra Vacroux Fourth in a series that...

In the Crosshairs of an Academic Crackdown

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Even when her colleagues at the American University in Cairo were getting arrested and sentenced to death, sociologist Amy Austin Holmes thought she had kept herself safely under the radar. She was wrong. By Michelle Nicholasen It was a straightforward...

From Rome to Rwanda: The Centuries-Long Effort to Define Civil War

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A new book by Harvard historian David Armitage unearths two millennia of thinking about a most ignoble type of war. If you live in a developed country, you are among those enjoying the “Long Peace,” a period marked by the absence of large scale interstate...

We Can Do It! (Or Can We?) Angela Merkel’s Immigration Politics

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Germany faces the political and social challenges of migration. In 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would open borders to refugees, especially to those fleeing the war in Syria. This act immediately created a new reputation for Germany...

Background to Brexit: One-Size-Fits-All Monetary Policy and the Eurozone Crisis

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Harvard political economist explains eurozone crisis and roots of Euroscepticism First in a series on what Weatherhead Center scholars think about the unfolding institutional, political, and economic consequences of the June 23 United Kingdom referendum...

Through the Ashes of the Minsk Agreements

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Former member of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Lidia Powirska looks back at the Minsk agreements and why they failed to bring even temporary peace to the Donbas conflict.

The World That Awaits the US President in 2021

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There has never been a more critical time to pull nations together. The next president must decide what kinds of partnerships the US will form with foreign leaders in an increasingly polarized world. By Michelle Nicholasen Foreign policy is a study in...

Elite Cues or Social Cues? The Formation of Public Opinion on Foreign Policy

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A new study challenges long-held beliefs about what influences the public’s positions on foreign policy. In July 2014, a wave of violence erupted in the Middle East, as Israel responded to a barrage of rockets from Gaza by launching airstrikes, and...