Recent Headlines

Machinery of the state

November 21, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

In Eastern Africa, Mai Hassan documents a bureaucratic system set up for coercion, as well as roadblocks to democratic government

Exploring education from all angles

November 9, 2022 Laura Rosado MIT News

Senior David Spicer advocates for students at MIT and beyond as he cultivates his interest in education policy.

Bringing it all back home

October 17, 2022 Peter Dizikes

In MIT visit, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf PhD ’81 offers a road map for creating more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

Where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stands

October 11, 2022 Peter Dizikes MIT News

More than seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the battlefield map has shown recent progress for Ukranian forces — and yet, the war remains destructive within the country and perilous for the world, with few signs that a rapid end to the conflict is possible.

Making each vote count

September 30, 2022

Jacob Jaffe uses data science to identify and solve problems in election administration.

Tipping the balance between global rivals

August 29, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

John David Minnich seeks to understand how trade policies fueled China’s rise and continue to determine geopolitical winners and losers.

Thirteen from MIT awarded 2022 Fulbright Fellowships

May 19, 2022 Julia Mongo Office of Distinguished Fellowships

Thirteen MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni have been awarded Fulbright fellowships to pursue projects overseas in the 2022-23 grant year. Another MIT affiliate was offered an award but has not yet decided whether to accept, and others were named alternates and may be promoted in the coming weeks.

From South Africa, a success story for democracy

May 19, 2022 Peter Dizikes MIT News

MIT political scientist Evan Lieberman’s new book, “Until We Have Won Our Liberty,” examines the condition of South Africa, a quarter-century after it became a multiracial democracy.

Eleanor Freund receives Jeanne Guillemin Prize

May 17, 2022 Michelle English MIT Center for International Studies

The daughter of an American diplomat, Eleanor Freund spent most of her childhood living abroad in such places as Madagascar, Ghana, South Africa, and Austria. These experiences, she explains, led to an early interest in politics and international relations.

When dueling narratives deepen a divide

May 16, 2022 Peter Dizikes MIT News

For more than four decades, the U.S. and Iran have had a relentlessly poor relationship. To be sure, it is hardly a shock that tensions would run high between the countries following the hostage crisis of 1979-1981, when Iran held more than 50 U.S. diplomats in captivity for 444 days. Even so, little progress has been made in U.S.-Iran relations in subsequent years.

A business of hope and transformation

May 11, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

Entrepreneur and political science master’s student Milain Fayulu builds brands to bring change to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Frequency builds familiarity

April 1, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

Urban street networks that encourage encounters among strangers link to lower ethnic tensions and anti-immigrant hostility.

Reviving war-game scholarship at MIT

March 22, 2022 Eyal Hanfling MIT News/Center for International Studies

War games and crisis simulations are exercises where participants make decisions to simulate real-world behavior. In the field of international security, games are frequently used to study how actors make decisions during conflict, but they can also be used to model human behavior in countless other scenarios. 

The Americanist

March 8, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

Studying U.S. history, Chinese-born political science doctoral student Zeyu Chris Peng maps the impact of anti-immigrant attitudes on party politics.

Racial equity and data science

March 4, 2022 MIT IDSS

Professor Fotini Christia introduces a new MIT-wide effort to address systemic racism with social science and computation.

Leveraging schools for political influence

February 22, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Department of Political Science

Doctoral student Blair Read links rise of private education in India to local political competition, signaling potential erosion of public services.

First-ever Climate Grand Challenges recognizes 27 finalists

February 14, 2022 MIT News Office

The Climate Grand Challenges competition launched in July 2020 with the goal of mobilizing the entire MIT research community around transformative projects that have the potential to make major advances in solving the big problems that stand in the way of effective global climate response.

Is an armed conflict imminent?

February 4, 2022 Peter Dizikes MIT News

As Russia masses military equipment near Ukraine borders, experts in an MIT forum express concern about possible action and its consequences.

Where legal, voting by those in prison is rare, study shows

January 25, 2022 Peter Dizikes MIT News

A new study by MIT scholars, “How Often Do People Vote While Incarcerated? Evidence from Maine and Vermont,” examines the two U.S. states where people can vote even while they are incarcerated.

An award that empowers change

January 14, 2022 Leda Zimmerman MIT Politicial Science Department

Pressman Program inspires undergraduate engagement in politics and policy, and sometimes a complete pivot in direction.

Putting ideas into action

December 17, 2021 Richard Byrne Technology Review

MIT’s new chancellor laid a foundation for leadership through her groundbreaking research on politics and racial justice.

Alumni Profile: Tim Wright

December 13, 2021 MIT Security Studies Program

In this section we will ask an SSP alum 10 “Frequently Asked Questions” in order to spotlight their own career achievements as well as what insight they have gained as a result from their years at SSP. Tim Wright is the Director for Western Europe on the National Security Council, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army

Can the world change course on climate?

December 10, 2021 School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

"Industrial countries are uneven in their recognition of, and responses to, climate change...Whatever the cause, the result has been an unwillingness to take strong action. Climate change remains within the domain of 'low politics,' although there are signs the issue is making a slow but steady shift to 'high politics' — those issues deemed vital to the existence of the state." -Nazli Choucri