Faculty Research

Professor Ken Opalo recently published an article that looks at how institutions constrain presidential power in Africa. Opalo uses original data on the exercise of presidential authority to examine how legislative independence conditions presidential rule making in Kenya.

In an article published in International Security, Oriana Skylar Mastro looks at whether China would be likely to intervene if war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, and if so, if it has the willingness and capabilities to deal safely with North Korea’s nuclear program.

In a recent paper, Erik Voeten argues that a large number of backlashes against international courts are initiated by governments that rely on the support of populist movements and are over court judgments that reinforce local populist mobilization narratives.

Professor Matthew Kroenig recently published an article in Strategic Studies Quarterly pushing back against criticisms of ICBMs. “Far from unnecessary, ICBMs possess a number of distinctive attributes that contribute to core objectives of US nuclear strategy,” Kroenig argued.

Professor Rajesh Veeraraghavan recently published new research on technology-enabled cash transfers. According to a case study analyzed by Veeraraghavan and his colleagues, “technological solutions in the domain of government-to-citizen cash transfers are far from perfect.”

Professor Shareen Joshi, Assistant Professor of Global Human Development, conducted a World Bank study which found that inequality within caste groups in India may actually be higher than inequality between caste groups.

Based on original field research, the book offers a vivid account of how information and communication technologies are reconfiguring social movements while also providing a theoretical framework for understanding activism in the information age.

Professors Mark Busch and Rodney Ludema from the Department of Economics contribute to a UKTPO briefing concerning the trade relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, the terms of the agreement, and pubic support for the agreement.

Professor Elizabeth Ferris, on World Refugee Day, writes about the three traditional durable solutions for refugee displacement and how organizations are moving to self-reliance and a theory of “graduating” from humanitarian aid. She discusses the positive and negative consequences of this approach.

Professor Marko Klasnja published a new article on “corruption traps.” The study links “politician, voter, and entrant behavior” to demonstrate that changing expectations among one set of actors is unlikely to eliminate corruption traps.

Professor Christine Fair published new research on the relationship between support for Islamism and support for democracy. Using carefully assembled survey data from Pakistan, Fair’s team concludes that “formalizing an Islamic government as one that implements Shari`a by providing services and security for its citizens is positively associated with support for democratic values, whereas conceptualizing it as one that implements Shari`a by imposing hudud punishments and restricting women’s public roles is positively associated with support for militancy.”

SFS assistant professor Emily Mendenhall co-authored a paper on societal factors that influence the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. The research suggests that, “for millions, type 2 diabetes is a disease of crisis and displacement not poor lifestyle choices.

SFS professor Anna Maria Mayda has co-authored a working paper analyzing the relationship between immigration and voter preferences. “We find that an increase in low-skilled immigrants affects the vote of U.S. counties in different ways, but in general tends to push voters towards the Republican Party. Non-urban, low-skill counties with high local public spending strongly increased their Republican vote share in response to low-skilled immigration.”

Victor Cha, D.S. Song-KF Professorship in Government and International Affairs, co-authored a report on the state of public health inside North Korea. The report explains how NK’s neglect of public health has potentially destabilizing consequences for the peninsula.

SFSQ Professor Mohamed Zayani has published a new book titled Digital Middle East: State and Society in the Information Age. Published by Oxford University Press and Hurst, the book sheds a critical light on continuing changes that are closely associated with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the Middle East region.

Professor Yuhki Tajima co-authored a study on ethnic diversity and public goods provision in Indonesia by assessing the role of the spatial distribution of ethnic groups.

Sarah Stewart Johnson, astrobiologist and Science, Technology, and International Affairs professor, published an article in Astrobiology about a new strategy for non-terran life detection. With a genome sequencer, “fingerprints” of life on other planets and moons could be identified.

SFS Professor Kate McNamara has been awarded the International Studies Association’s 2018 Distinguished Scholar Award in International Political Economy. McNamara, who also teaches at the Department of Government, is an expert on markets, culture, and politics in the European Union and the United States.

SFS Professor Angela Stent features in a Brookings expert discussion report entitled “Restoring equilibrium: U.S. policy options for countering and engaging Russia.” According to Stent “the main point is that Russia does not have a positive agenda. We are constantly trying to prevent Russia from
being more of a spoiler than it is.”

SFS Professor Theodore Moran wrote a working paper on the effect of foreign investment on growth and welfare gains in developing countries. By focusing on supply chain creation in horticulture in particular, Moran analyzes why some developing countries have become better exporters than others.