Johns Hopkins SAIS Magazine: Matt Chitwood profile
Johns Hopkins SAIS Magazine features Matt Chitwood (China, 2017-2019) as a noteworthy alum, who is chronicling the transformation of China from his home in a remote village in Yunnan province. “Changes have been taking place in Bangdong village, where I live," Matt writes. "Spring tea season has come and gone. Some have married, and some have passed... and my neighbors ate their dog.”
Foreign Policy: Karina Piser on Marine Le Pen’s Plan
France's far right party, the National Rally, has turned its attention to aggressively campaigning in local elections, Karina Piser (France, 2017-2019) reports for Foreign Policy. "As the National Rally seeks to shed its image as a political pariah and settle into the mainstream, municipal elections have emerged as an indispensable strategy," she writes. "Although the strategy has yet to translate into national gains, the party has decided that chipping away at local offices will be critical to its long-term success."
Globe and Mail: Neri Zilber on Israel after Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister's recent loss in the polls on top of his criminal indictments on corruption charges could mark a new chapter in Israeli politics, former ICWA fellow Neri Zilber (Israel, 2011-2013) writes in an opinion piece for The Globe and Mail.
"It’s all a major comedown for a leader who has, in the later stages of his reign, given new meaning to the term l’état c’est moi," he writes. "In addition to the premiership, Mr. Netanyahu has been defense minister, too, and holds three other ministry positions as well. The cabinet has been a rubber stamp for decisions he concludes beforehand with his security chiefs."
NPR: Neri Zilber on Netanyahu’s possible successor
Former ICWA fellow Neri Zilber (Israel, 2011-2013) joins NPR’s Here & Now to discuss how a new Israeli government might look after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition, clearing the way for his rival Benny Gantz to try. Link to Here & Now interview here. Image credits here.
Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow publish new book
We just published a new book, Charging Ahead: Hydro-Quebec and the Future of Electricity. The book has an interesting story: when we started working on it in 2018, we thought we’d be writing a history of Hydro-Québec. But the plan quickly changed when we realized the future of Hydro-Québec was more interesting — much more interesting.
AFP: Robbie Corey-Boulet on violence in southern Ethiopia
Ethiopian security forces have embarked on a campaign of forced disarmament that regional leaders and witnesses say has been accompanied by the shooting of civilians, mass detentions and beatings, former ICWA fellow Robbie Corey-Boulet (Ivory Coast and Cameroon, 2013-2015) reports for Agence France Presse. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed—this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate—is facing a
AFP: Robbie Corey-Boulet on Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize winner
Former ICWA fellow Robbie Corey-Boulet (Ivory Coast and Cameroon, 2013-2015) reports for Agence France Presse about the remarkable rise of Ethiopia’s reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Read the full article here. Photo credit here.
Washington Post: Karina Piser on Macron’s lurch to the right
France’s new restrictions on asylum seekers have alarmed human rights groups, Karina Piser (France, 2017-2019) reports for The Washington Post. Is the move “tactical,” to defuse the far right’s appeal, or is President Emmanuel Macron simply beginning to show his true colors? Read the full article here. Image credit here.
The Federalist Society podcast: Paul Rahe on the US role in global security
A discussion of Robert Kagan's new book questions whether American influence will still weight the scales in international power struggles.
AFP: Robbie Corey-Boulet on Ethiopia’s pimped-out VW Beetles
The new generation is embracing the long-ubiquitous bug, with some choice modifications.