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News January 15, 2025
Princeton SPIA Faculty Offer Reactions to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire
Today, in reaction to the news of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, faculty at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton SPIA) provided expert insights into the significance of this pivotal development. Drawing on their deep expertise in conflict resolution, international relations, human rights, and Middle Eastern politics, Princeton SPIA scholars offer nuanced perspectives on the potential for sustained peace, the challenges ahead, and the broader geopolitical implications. Their reactions underscore the School’s commitment to informing public understanding of critical global issues:
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News January 15, 2025
Elke Weber Awarded Howard Crosby Warren Medal by Society of Experimental Psychologists
Elke Weber, an expert on environmental decision-making, has received the 2025 Howard Crosby Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists.Weber, the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor of Energy and the Environment and professor of psychology and public affairs, was recognized by the society “for her careful and creative empirical research that has led to insightful and impactful theories of how people make decisions,” according to the citation.The Howard Crosby Warren Medal, first established in 1936, is one of the most prestigious awards in North American psychology. The medal is named after Howard Crosby Warren, the first chair of…
Participants in opening of Rescue Mission of Trenton Medical Respite Center
News January 15, 2025
MPA Student Uses Internship to Help Improve Healthcare for Trenton’s Homeless
Ben Harris’s first job after earning his undergraduate degree was at the Erie Family Health Centers in Chicago, where he got to see firsthand the intersection of community and physical health. One of his mentors there was the chief clinical officer, David Buchanan, who studied the role of housing in healthcare.“He basically showed me that supportive housing is equivalent to taking a medication,” Harris said. Harris grew fascinated by the role of community-based organizations and the strategies they used to increase their impact. This inspired him to continue his studies, first at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, where he…
EU flag with arrows
News January 14, 2025
Will Europe Follow in the U.S.’s Footsteps in Controlling Outbound Investment?
The recent block by President Joe Biden of the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel on grounds of national security has put the issue of foreign investment in the news and highlighted how the power to screen incoming investments could be used by governments for protectionist purposes. One instrument of investment control with even greater potential to inhibit global free trade is the screening of outbound foreign direct investment (FDI).The United States has been leading the way on this through an executive order signed by President Biden in 2023 that restricted U.S. non-passive investments in China, Hong Kong, and Macau for advanced…
In Defense of Partisanship book cover
News January 13, 2025
EXCERPT: Julian Zelizer Offers a Defense of Partisanship
Nearly 30 percent of Americans hold unfavorable views of both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, according to the Pew Research Center, which notes that figure is “the highest share in three decades of polling.” A quarter of adults, Pew adds, “do not feel well-represented by either party.”“Partisanship is a dirty word in American politics,” says Julian Zelizer, the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton SPIA. “If there is one issue on which almost everyone in our divided country seems to agree, it’s the belief that the intense loyalty within the electorate toward Democrats and…
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News January 10, 2025
Kahneman-Treisman Center Initiative Assists Students, Scholars in Applying Behavioral Science to Research
A few years ago, in a paper published in Science, researchers showed that reminders beforehand were more effective in getting criminal defendants to show up for court appearances than the deterrent threat of arrests for failing to appear.One of the researchers was Anuj Shah, a new associate professor of psychology and public affairs in Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He was recruited to the project by ideas42, the world’s first nonprofit behavioral science innovation lab, which was working with the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to increase defendants’ attendance at court appearances.“It was a pretty ideal…
SPIAction Newsletter
News January 08, 2025
SPIAction Newsletter
Dear Princeton SPIA community,I hope you enjoyed a restful and joyful holiday season. The end of a year is typically a time of reflection; the start of a new one is a time to look ahead. And I am excited by what awaits the School in the months to come.I’m particularly looking forward to our Dean’s Leadership Series guests, who will share their diverse perspectives on key domestic and global issues spanning the political spectrum. Analysts, activists, thought leaders, and more will share their time and thoughts with us, giving our students the opportunity to hear differing viewpoints in a constructive, respectful setting. You can find the full lineup…
Larry Martin Bartels and Arati Prabhakar. Photo by Ryan K. Morris for the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation.
News January 08, 2025
Emeritus Professor, CSDP Founder Wins National Medal of Science
Princeton molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler has received the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor. Two emeritus members of the Princeton faculty, Larry Martin Bartels and Ingrid Daubechies, and two undergraduate alumni, John Dabiri and Cynthia Dwork, were also among this year’s 14 recipients of the White House honor, announced and awarded in a ceremony Jan. 3. The ceremony also honored nine individuals with National Medals of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor for technological achievement.“Congratulations to those recipients of two of our nation’s most prestigious honors, the National Medal of Science and…
AI policy task force-students meeting with policymakers
News January 06, 2025
Students Brief Policymakers on Artificial Intelligence in First-Ever AI Task Force
While artificial intelligence may unlock unprecedented human potential in the coming years, it is also a forceful technology that is magnifying the threats society faces and posing thorny policy challenges for elected officials in Washington.From increasingly complex cyber threats to the development of harmful biological agents, keeping Americans and U.S. businesses safe from potentially harmful effects of AI is no small order.Juniors at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton SPIA) took these challenges head-on in the School’s first-ever AI Policy Task Force last semester. It was led by Ali Nouri, a lecturer at Princeton…
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News January 06, 2025
Research Record: Estimating the Collapse of Afghanistan’s Economy Using Nightlights Data
Princeton SPIA’s Research Record series highlights the vast scholarly achievements of our faculty members, whose expertise extends beyond the classroom and into everyday life.If you’d like your work considered for future editions of Research Record, click here and select “research project.”
SPIA students: Kristy Gonzalez, Austen Boroff, Joshua Peters, Caroline Miller
News December 23, 2024
Active Military Students Bring On-the-Ground Perspective to Princeton SPIA Classrooms
The students at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs bring a range of experiences to the classroom, perhaps none more so than the active military members who attend the School.Their practical experience often illuminates policy discussions and adds nuance to conversations about the world’s most pressing problems, said Jacob N. Shapiro, a professor of politics and international affairs and director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict project. In turn, the students say their time at School helps them think more broadly about the U.S. military’s challenges and how to tackle them more holistically.“In most places around the world, the…
Princeton Tiger
News December 20, 2024
Princeton’s SPIA in New Jersey Garden State Fellows Cohort Reflections
Garden State Fellows reflect on their work, halfway through the Fellowship: Lauren Aung"My experience at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) so far has been incredible; I have applied the skills I cultivated at Princeton in a meaningful way, grown my understanding of political change, and deepened my commitment to social justice work.At Princeton, I studied political science, and my research, reading, and writing skills have been extremely useful for me at the ACLU-NJ as a policy fellow. My work at ACLU-NJ is in criminal legal reform, and a key aspect of my work so far is researching and writing memorandums…
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News December 20, 2024
Princeton Policy Advocacy Clinic Students Release Analysis of Federal Crack-Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparities, Draw Bipartisan Praise
In a country that strives for equal justice under the law, the federal statute that governs sentencing for cocaine offenses is especially eye-opening: The sentence for 28 grams of crack cocaine is the same as that for 500 grams of powder cocaine. The 18-to-1 sentencing disparity is despite there being no significant pharmacological differences between the drugs.The corollary numbers are equally striking.From 2015 to 2023, Black people made up on average 80% of convictions for crack cocaine, while white and Latino people made up on average 6% and 13%, respectively.The large majority of people convicted and sentenced for crack cocaine offenses had no…
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News December 16, 2024
Dean’s Leadership Series Welcomed World Leaders and Distinguished Speakers During Fall Semester
Eight distinguished speakers representing fields ranging from the U.S. government to international heads of state to journalism visited Princeton SPIA as participants in the Dean’s Leadership Series, which concluded its fall 2024 schedule in late November.
Gray electric car with smokestacks in the background. Graphic Design: Bumper DeJesus
News December 12, 2024
EV Transition Could Create Air Pollution Hotspots in India, China
While electric vehicles have become a cornerstone of the global energy transition, new research led by Princeton University has demonstrated that refining the critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries could create pollution hotspots near manufacturing hubs.Focusing on China and India, the researchers found that national sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions could increase by up to 20% over current levels if the countries were to fully domesticize their supply chains for electric vehicles. The overwhelming majority of those SO­2 emissions would come from refining and manufacturing nickel and cobalt — important minerals for today’s electric…