News + Media

Analysis + Opinion

April 19, 2016

SCOTUS and immigration: the politics behind the case

John TirmanHuffington Post

The oral arguments before the US Supreme Court on President Obama’s executive order on immigration were made Monday, and afterwards most observers agreed it’s not clear how the Court will decide the case. 

Taylor Fravel

News@E40

April 19, 2016

Fravel Receives Carnegie Fellowship

MIT political scientist Taylor Fravel has been named to the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program for the 2016-17 academic year, a prestigious award he will use to extend his studies of Asia's ongoing maritime disputes. The award, announced April 19, 2016, by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, supports “research and writing aimed at addressing some of the world’s most urgent challenges to U.S. democracy and international order,” and focuses on scholars in the social sciences and humanities. Read more

Analysis + Opinion

March 22, 2016

Has ISIS declared war on Europe?

Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Brussels today. Here & Now's security analyst Jim Walsh discusses the attacks with host Robin Young.

“New Order and Progress: Development and Democracy in Brazil,” (Oxford University Press) edited by Ben Ross Schneider.

In the News

March 22, 2016

Brazil's crisis moment

MIT News

Brazil has been much touted in the 21st century as a fast-rising “BRIC” country (Brazil, Russia, India, China) spurring global growth. But a sprawling political corruption scandal and economic turmoil have cast shadows on this once-sunny landscape. President Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment hearings over potentially misappropriating bank funds for the state, and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is implicated in a corruption case. Ben Ross Schneider, the Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT-Brazil Program, has been studying Brazil for decades and is the editor of a new volume on the country: “New Order and Progress: Development and Democracy in Brazil,” published this month by Oxford University Press. (The book stems in part from connections forged through the MIT-Brazil Program.) Schneider talked with MIT News about the progress and setbacks Brazil is experiencing.

Analysis + Opinion

March 10, 2016

To stop the missiles, stop North Korea, Inc.

Jim Walsh and John ParkThe New York Times

American diplomats should be proud of the new sanctions on North Korea that the United Nations Security Council passed last week. In response to a nuclear test in January and missile launch in February, the Council, at the United States’ urging, agreed to a ban on North Korean imports of jet fuel and to mandate inspections of all cargo coming into or out of North Korea. 

Analysis + Opinion

March 4, 2016

North Korea ramps up nuclear readiness

Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country's nuclear weapons should be ready for use "at any time." Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd asks security analyst Jim Walsh about that and what this new declaration from Kim really signifies.

Map of the Middle East

News Release

February 29, 2016

Bustani Middle East Seminar turns 30

The Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar at MIT is celebrating its 30th anniversary this academic year. This spring semester it will host two lectures on contemporary Middle East affairs.

In the News

February 23, 2016

It's all in our heads

MIT News

Political science PhD student Marika Landau-Wells is using psychology and neuroscience to better understand political behavior.  A typical political scientist is not likely to develop a research plan that employs data from national archives, survey experiments, public health data, and an fMRI study in a single dissertation. But then, Marika Landau-Wells is not your typical political scientist.

Analysis + Opinion

February 8, 2016

UN condemns North Korea rocket launch

Jim WalshWBUR: Here & Now

The United Nations Security Council say it will impose new sanctions on North Korea after its launch of a long-range rocket. Sunday's action follows a fourth nuclear test a few weeks ago, and the two acts violate existing sanctions. Here & Now's Robin Young checks in with our security analyst Jim Walsh.

News@E40

February 2, 2016

MISTI Global Seed Funds

In the 2015-2016 grant cycle, 86 projects were awarded funding by MISTI Global Seed Funds. This cycle's winning faculty and research scientists represent four MIT schools and 22 departments across the Institute. MISTI GSF consists of a general pool of funds for projects in any country and several country-specific funds. MISTI supported collaborations in 24 unique countries through 21 individual MISTI seed funds. The next call for proposals will be announced in May 2016 with a proposal deadline in early fall. Read more

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