Abbott Gleason, scholar of Russian history and culture, dies at 77
December 30, 2015 Washington Post
Professor emeritus of history and faculty member at the Watson Institute, Abbott (Tom) Gleason, passed away on December 25, 2015.
News Archive 2015
The United States of Fear and Panic (written by Stephen Kinzer)
December 23, 2015 The Boston Globe
Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe, "Fear has a corrosive and lamentable effect on our society, especially on our children. It also poses another danger. Unjustified panic can lead not only to crackdowns on freedom at home but also self-destructive foreign wars."
GOP gains little attacking Obamacare (written by Richard Arenberg)
December 21, 2015 The Providence Journal
Richard Arenberg in the Providence Journal, "Last month, the Republican House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), by my count, for the 57th time. This time there was a bit of a change. The Senate passed a similar bill."
Report: 1,450 R.I. kids neglected or abused (comments by Elizabeth Burke Bryant)
December 15, 2015 The Providence Journal
Elizabeth Burke Bryant comments on a recently published report by a child advocacy group that states 1,450 Rhode Island children under the age of 6 were neglected or abused in fiscal 2015.
Donald Trump Has America's CEOs Nervous and Very Quiet, for Now (comments by Wendy Schiller)
December 14, 2015 Bloomberg
Wendy Schiller, chair and professor of political science, comments on the lack of involvement from corporations following Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
What truly conservative foreign policy looks like (written by Stephen Kinzer)
December 14, 2015 The Boston Globe
Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe, "In the United States, people who call themselves liberal and those who call themselves conservative share the interventionist impulse. Liberals have good reason. They are by nature teachers and improvers. Conservatives, however, must reject the essence of their creed when they support aggressive foreign policy and the wars that come with it."
"We are seeing you": protesting violent democracies in Kosova (co-authored by Michael Kennedy)
December 14, 2015 openDemocracy
Michael Kennedy and Linda Gusia discuss the police violence in the Republic of Kosova, noting "In other parts of the world, embassies do not normally evaluate the qualities of protest and police behaviour, but in Kosova, the “International Community” assumes a kind of tutelage over the political process.
Mussolini and Trump travel same road of demagoguery (David Kertzer quoted)
December 10, 2015 Providence Journal
David I. Kertzer, professor of Italian studies and anthropology, comments on the similarities between Donald Trump and Benito Mussolini after the presidential candidate made remarks to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. Both men have employed similar tools by trying to instill fear, scapegoating a broad category of people and offering themselves as the all-knowing leaders — the only hopes for delivering a nation from an evil enemy, Kertzer says.
Our best frenemy (comments by Peter Andreas)
December 9, 2015 Politico
Peter Andreas, professor of political science and international studies, comments on an article about Chinese cyber attacks and the development of the far eastern country.
So far from smart: Missing from India’s Smart Cities plan — citizen participation (written by Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller)
December 8, 2015 The Times of India
Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller discuss Modi's newly announced urban plan entitled Smart Cities in the India Times, "Perhaps the most telling evidence of the importance of participation comes from the experience of the poor and less educated in Bangalore. We found that although participation rates overall are low, the poor who do participate get a better quality of life in terms of access to basic infrastructure and services than those who do not participate."
R.I. Congressman David N. Cicilline leads round-table discussion on campaign finance reform (Wendy Schiller quoted)
December 8, 2015 The Providence Journal
Wendy Schiller, professor and chair of political science, gave remarks at a panel Saturday afternoon that focused on efforts to reform campaign finance.
Wilson Perfectly Embodies U.S. Hypocrisy. That’s Why We Should Remember Him. (written by Stephen Kinzer)
December 7, 2015 Politico
Stephen Kinzer in Politico, "Wilson’s capacity for mendacity, hypocrisy and self-delusion makes him the ideal person for whom to name a school dedicated to studying American foreign policy. He embodies all of its deepest contradictions."
Marco Rubio: 700,000 Americans could be affected by bill tying terrorist watch list to gun purchases (comments by Timothy Edgar)
December 7, 2015 PolitiFact
Timothy Edgar, a Watson Institute senior fellow, comments on a prospective bill that Republicans are saying would affect 700,000 Americans if gun purchases were tied to the terror watch list.
EU Referendum, Übermensch Escapism, and Anglo-American-European Solidarity (written by Michael Kennedy)
December 4, 2015 Queries Magazine
Michael Kennedy discusses the EU referendum in Queries Magazine, "An EU referendum offers no solution to the issues that plague the world, and would only make things worse."
How OPEC Lost Its Bite (written by Jeff Colgan)
December 3, 2015 Foreign Affairs
Jeff Colgan in Foreign Affairs, "An analysis of OPEC’s behavior since 1982, which is when it first placed formal production quotas on member countries, reveals that OPEC’s allocation rules did not result in any meaningful constraints on its members’ rate of oil production."
La revelación de lo impagable (written by Deepak Lamba-Nieves)
December 3, 2015 El Nuevo Dia
Deepak Lamba-Nieves explains that the Puerto Rican government’s admission of being unable to pay its debts is a “historical event” that creates the conditions for altering the established order— echoing the ideas of sociologist William Sewell Jr. This “event” opens up new opportunities to rethink how economic development is pursued. One way we could capitalize on this moment is by articulating a new industrial policy that creates opportunities all, not just for a select few, as has often been the case.
Rhode Islanders of the Year (Adam Levine named)
December 1, 2015 Rhode Island Monthly
Adam Levine, BIARI 2015 co-convener, named Rhode Islander of the Year by Rhode Island Monthly magazine.
Universities steel themselves for wave of cyber attacks (comments by Timothy Edgar and Ravi Pendse)
November 30, 2015 Financial Times
Communities of Character (Marc J. Dunkelman mentioned)
November 30, 2015 The New York Times
Marc J. Dunkelman's book, "The Vanishing Neighbor," is mentioned in The New York Times, by David Brooks who writes about community cohesion in schools.
Investors to Approach Iran Energy Projects With Open But Cautious Minds (comments by Jeff Colgan)
November 24, 2015 Sputnik News
Jeff Colgan, professor of political science, commented on the announcement by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday that Tehran is ready to increase the production and export of energy resources.