News + Media

	Analysis + Opinion April 25, 2020 Europe has kept down pandemic unemployment--and the US hasn’t. Here’s why. Anke Hassel, Kathleen ThelenThe Washington Post Over the last several decades, the United States has either shrunk its state capacity or failed to build it, especially around providing social benefits. In Europe, by contrast, governments have enough administrative capacity to deliver comprehensive help swiftly and directly.
	Analysis + Opinion April 23, 2020 Do pandemics promote peace? Barry PosenForeign Affairs Covid-19 does nothing to mitigate such risks for world leaders—and a great deal to feed their reasonable pessimism about the likely outcome of even a conventional war, says Barry Posen in an essay in Foreign Affairs.
	News@E40 April 23, 2020 MIT challenge: Africa takes on Covid19 MIT is hosting a series of open challenges to take action on the COVID-19 crisis. The MIT COVID-19 Challenge virtual event, Africa Takes on COVID-19, will begin May 1 and end May 3. This is part of a series of virtual hackathons with partners from across the MIT (including the MIT Africa Program) and healthcare ecosystems.
	In the News April 23, 2020 The rumors of Kim Jong Un’s “grave” illness, explained Alex WardVox Vipin Narang quoted: “What if he is technically ‘alive’ or there is litigation amongst potential successors as for whether he is alive or dead? Who can legally issue orders? What if there are contravening orders?” said Vipin Narang, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program.
	In the News April 21, 2020 Why the confusion about Kim Jong Un's health actually makes sense Joshua BerlingerCNN Vipin Narang quoted: "States want the public and others to know just enough. They want to be transparent about the capability, but kind of opaque about the procedures and the actual line of deployment to enhance deterrence," he said.
	Analysis + Opinion April 21, 2020 The Middle East in an era of great power competition Barry Posen and Stephen WaltMiddle East Institute How does or should the Middle East fit in America’s new grand strategy? Does the great power competition require a new approach toward the Middle East? Which approach best serves Washington’s new global plans? To answer these questions and more, the Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted a conversation with Barry Posen (MIT) and Stephen Walt (Harvard). Find the video and transcript here.
	Analysis + Opinion April 15, 2020 How digital contact tracing slowed Covid-19 in East Asia Yasheng Huang, Meicen Sun, Yuze SuiHarvard Business Review For Western democracies the time has come to either rethink our values around the tradeoff between personal privacy and public safety in a pandemic or to accelerate technology innovation and policy development that can preserve both.
	Analysis + Opinion April 15, 2020 Insights from the After iGEM biosecurity policy conference Ronit Langer The parallels between the findings of the IGEM biosecurity policy conference last November and the actions of scientists and policy makers across the world in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic today are striking: Scope, containment, and communication.
	Analysis + Opinion April 8, 2020 The inspector general’s badge of honor Joel Brenner The president’s power to remove Senate confirmed officials is not stated in the constitution. That power is grounded in the president’s constitutional duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” In this case, ironically, Trump removed Atkinson for having faithfully executed the law, explains Joel Brenner in a recent opinion piece.
	In the News April 6, 2020 A forum for female voices in international security Leda ZimmermanDepartment of Political Science The Future Strategy Forum emerged from the efforts of Sara Plana and Rachel Tecott as co-chairs of a Boston-based organization of graduate students, Women in International Politics and Security. This group was funded by the MIT Center for International Studies and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.