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Features March 29, 2018
Q&A: The Presidency of Barack Obama
How did President Barack Obama shape the political landscape? A new book edited by Julian E. Zelizer provides the first historical assessment of President Obama.The book, “The Presidency of Barack Obama: A First Historical Assessment,” combines analysis from leading American historians, putting the Obama administration into political and historical context.Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and a CNN political analyst. He is the author and editor of 18 books on American political history, has written hundreds…
Features March 20, 2018
Q&A: The Influence of Scientists and Technology in World War II
Technology plays a powerful role in war. This was especially evident in World War II, which occurred during an era rich with technological innovation. From atomic weapons to remote sensing, many of the devices employed for military use then are still used today.A new book, “Scientists against Time: The Role of Scientists in World War II,” by Harold A. Feiveson explores the role of scientists and technology in World War II. Below, Feiveson answers a few questions about his book.Feiveson is a senior research scientist, emeritus, in the Program on Science and Global Security, based at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and…
Features March 02, 2018
Defending Democracy: Princeton Conference to Address Civil, Military Responses in an Age of Disinformation
Robert Mueller’s recent indictment of 13 Russians and their “troll farm” has given us a clearer view of what an adversary can do with disinformation. Yet, on Feb. 27, Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, testified before lawmakers that while the U.S. is taking steps against Russian interference, “we’re probably not doing enough,” and are not prepared to withstand another assault during the 2018 elections.While propaganda is hardly a new tactic of war, technology has made it easier, faster and more effective. Defending America’s democracy from the dissemination of fake news and disinformation through…
Anne Case and Angus Deaton
Features March 01, 2018
Why ‘Deaths of Despair’ May Be a Warning Sign for America
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Features February 14, 2018
A Renaissance of Self-Determination
In October 2017, after declaring Catalonia’s independence from the Kingdom of Spain pursuant to an affirmative majority vote on a referendum for secession, Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the regional government of Catalonia — an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain — fled to the Kingdom of Belgium to avoid arrest on charges of sedition and rebellion. The Spanish government annulled the results of the referendum and ordered new elections for the region of Catalonia, which resulted again in a majority for the parties supporting independence. It appears uncertain how this phase in the long-standing Catalan strife for more self-governance will…
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Features February 14, 2018
Anne Treisman, Visionary Cognitive Psychologist, Dies at 82
Walter Hood
Features February 08, 2018
Artist Walter Hood Commissioned for Scudder Plaza Installation on Woodrow Wilson’s Legacy
A new installation about Woodrow Wilson’s legacy by acclaimed artist Walter Hood has been commissioned to be placed on Scudder Plaza beside Robertson Hall, home of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.In 2015, a Princeton University trustee committee was established to make recommendations about how the University should mark the legacy of Wilson, the University’s 13th president and the 28th president of the United States. One of its recommendations was that a “permanent marker” be installed at the Woodrow Wilson School that “educates the campus community and others about the positive and negative dimensions of Wilson’s legacy…
Features January 31, 2018
WWS Reacts: Trump's State of the Union
President Donald Trump delivered the State of the Union address on Jan. 30, touching upon issues related to immigration, infrastructure, the economy, health care, and national security. We discussed his speech with experts from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, who shared their reactions below. Q. President Trump explained how the coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory once held by the group in Iraq and Syria. Is this true? Does this mean we’re making progress in terms of ending ISIS? What more must be done? “This is true. It’s…
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Features January 23, 2018
At Wilson School’s Junior Summer Institute, College Students Get a Taste of Public Policy Master’s Program
As a participant in the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship Program — a national consortium of top public policy and international affairs graduate schools — Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs has since 1985 hosted a Junior Summer Institute (JSI) for students between their junior and senior years of college. Focusing especially on students from underrepresented groups, the program aims to prepare young people for graduate study and careers in public policy and international affairs.Below are profiles of two students for whom JSI was a stepping stone to the Wilson School MPA program…
Features January 18, 2018
Politics & Polls #74: The Second Coming of the KKK
President Donald Trump’s election stirred up what some call a resurgence of white nationalism. But is this a new phenomenon outside of mainstream America? Or has white nationalism been more part of American culture than we’ve been willing to admit?Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang untangle this issue in this episode, which features historian Linda Gordon, who recently published “The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition.”Gordon is a professor of history and a University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. Her early books focused on the historical roots of social policy issues,…
Features January 16, 2018
WWS Reacts: Putin’s Attacks on Democracy
Last week, a U.S. government report outlined attacks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on democratic institutions over nearly two decades. The report, commissioned by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and released by Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, details the many ways in which the Russian government has combined Soviet-era approaches with today’s technological tools. We discussed the report, its findings and recommendations with Jacob N. Shapiro, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Shapiro, who co-directs the…
Features January 11, 2018
Politics & Polls #73: Why You Should Care about Gerrymandering
A panel of federal judges rejected a congressional district map in North Carolina, calling it a partisan gerrymander. Never before has a court overturned a Congressional districting plan on grounds of partisanship. The panel ordered the state legislature to redraw the map. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Gerrymandering, a practice which manipulates district boundaries for political gains, is a much-debated topic in the political sphere. In this episode, Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss what’s…
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Features January 11, 2018
In India, Subtle Corruption Robs Villagers of Roads
Examining a major road-building program in India, researchers at Princeton University and the Paris School of Economics used an innovative technique to show that political corruption increased the chances that roads meant to connect isolated areas to the rest of the country would never be built, even though the government had paid for them.The study, published in the Journal of Development Economics, found that almost 500 all-weather roads listed in the road program’s monitoring data as having been completed and paid for were never built. The researchers connected these “missing roads” to political corruption — specifically, to local politicians…
Features January 04, 2018
Politics & Polls #72: Social Research in the Digital Age
From smart phones to social media, digital technology has changed the way we live — åallowing for new explorations of human behavior. Big Data now enables scientists to process data about human behavior on a scale never before imaginable.In this episode, Professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang interview Matt Salganik, a professor of sociology at Princeton University. Salgnik’s new book, “Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age,” explores these concepts, detailing how the digital revolution is transforming how social scientists observe behavior, ask questions, run experiments and engage in mass collaborations.Salganik is also affiliated with the…
Features December 20, 2017
Politics & Polls #71: Inside the Mind of Donald Trump
What’s going on in the mind of President Donald Trump? Journalist Ellis Henican provides a humorous, illustrated look into the president’s psyche in a new book, “Trumpitude.” He discusses this and more with professor Julian Zelizer in this episode.ABOUT THE HOSTSZelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He has been one of the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the author of several books including, most recently, "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the…