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In South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa Can Save the ANC

03.30.18

BY STEFAN NORGAARD On February 15, Cyril Ramaphosa assumed the office of South African President after an embattled, beleaguered Jacob Zuma finally resigned. Ramaphosa has an opportunity to lead South Africa toward better democratic governance, improved service delivery, and greater equity. On economic policy, he can thread the needle between sound fiscal management and growth-oriented […]

The Economics of Bike Sharing

03.30.18

Singapore’s bike-sharing market has expanded dramatically in the past year. Huey Lee and Nicholas Lui explain the economics underlying the all-in strategy many firms have taken, how the firms can be profitable, and what the Government’s regulatory responses should be.

Development and Economic Growth

Emerging ID Technology Helps Refugees, at a Cost to Privacy

03.27.18

BY LAURA SCHIEMICHEN Cold, hungry, distressed – refugees arriving in Europe mourn the lives they’ve abandoned and turn anxiously towards the future. Whether they’ve forgotten their ID card or have left their birth certificate behind, the last thing on their minds is re-establishing a legal identity. Looking around, they see thousands of individuals just like […]

What We’re Missing in Machine Learning

03.26.18

BY DEVASHISH CHANDRA In 2017, Elon Musk commented that artificial intelligence is more dangerous than North Korea. Exponential technological growth led by artificial intelligence and machine learning has generated tremendous fear and anxiety. However, this apprehension isn’t a new one for humanity. In the 16th century, the scientific revolution, which led to the emergence of modern empirical […]

We Must Democratize Algorithms to Protect the Future of Civic Life

03.22.18

BY ASHLEY LEE Increasingly, we have come to think of digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as the public sphere, a place where citizens can freely discuss the issues of the day and engage with a diversity of opinions. However, the core business model of these companies—selling ads by harvesting the attention of targeted […]

Answering from within: A way forward in Palestine

03.21.18

Perhaps it is time to ask if Mahmoud Abbas, now 82 and in the fourteenth year of his original four-year term in office, should work harder to gain strong domestic support for a sustained international campaign against the Israeli occupation.

Globalization

Who Will Own the Smarts in Super-Smart Cities?

03.21.18

BY EMILY MIDDLETON Imagine a traffic system so smart that it can cut your commute in half. Imagine paths that heat up in winter, so you don’t have to walk in the snow. Imagine sensors that make it easier for the blind to get around the city, and quicker for ambulances to reach their patients. […]

If Robots Come for Our Jobs, We Need More than Universal Basic Income

03.20.18

BY ASAD RAMZANALI If you believe the standard Silicon Valley narrative, technologies like artificial intelligence will cause unprecedented levels of job loss. The solution is universal basic income (UBI), an unconditional cash transfer for every citizen. While UBI may alleviate poverty and modernize welfare programs, it is not a solution for mass unemployment. If labor […]

Africa and the International Criminal Court: Perspective through Analysis

03.16.18

Introduction On October 26, 2016, The Gambia became the third African country to announce its intention to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC).[1] Gambia’s decision came shortly after Burundi and South Africa expressed similar intentions, claiming as several other African states have, that the ICC had become biased and a political tool used against African […]

Watch: Q&A with Dr. Bruce Rutherford

03.14.18

Dr. Bruce Rutherford, Associate Professor of Political Science at Colgate University, sits down with JMEPP Editor Elissa Miller to discuss political developments in Egypt since the 2011 revolution, including the current state of political Islam and prospects for democratic change in the country. This talk is part of the Middle East Initiative’s Inside the Middle East Q&A series.

Democracy and Governance

Can Blockchain Revolutionize Civic Engagement?

03.14.18

BY HAMADA ZAHAWI A year ago I was a part of a delegation from the Harvard Kennedy School competing in the Student Challenge at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE. Against twelve teams, we won with a pitch to incentivize civic engagement through citizen-government digital coins that directly activate the power of the people. […]

Donate Life, Become a Living Donor

03.9.18

By Brian Monahan, MPA 2018   Commencement day I will be wearing the “Donate Life” logo of the New England Organ Bank to promote awareness of the need for more organ donations. When I arrived at the Kennedy School with a successful kidney transplant of 20 years, I never imagined that I would be searching […]

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