Jonathan Mummolo, an associate professor of politics and public affairs, co-published “New data fill long-standing gaps in the study of policing” in Science. The piece discusses where research on racial bias in policing should go from here.

“New data is making it possible to measure aspects of police encounters that have frustrated research on racial bias for decades,” Mummolo said. “But to make the most of this new opportunity, and aggregate knowledge across studies, researchers must focus on specific and policy-relevant statistical quantities that can be compared across the roughly 18,000 police agencies in the U.S.”

Ben Bradlow’s debut book, “Urban Power: Democracy and Inequality in São Paulo and Johannesburg,” received the Best Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association’s section on Subnational Politics and Society. The book offers insight into urban governance of the built environment in big cities in the Global South, lending a specific eye toward São Paulo and Johannesburg.

“I am very grateful for this recognition, particularly since my book argues that subnational politics are critical to understanding prospects for humanity’s urban future in a climate-changed world,” Bradlow said.

Ethan Kapstein, executive director of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and lecturer with rank of professor, co-wrote a policy paper entitled “A Transatlantic Defense Industrial Base? Two Contrasting Views,” published in March by the French Institute of International Relations. The piece applauds European efforts to bolster defense spending while remaining skeptical about Europe’s ability to achieve strategic autonomy.

“The problem isn’t simply a lack of money, but divergences among European leaders with respect to the nature and severity of the threats they are facing and the appropriate policy responses,” said Kapstein, who attended the 2025 Paris Defense and Security Forum to brief participants on the paper’s findings. “This lack of strategic alignment will make it difficult for Europe to achieve a cohesive vision of what the priorities should be for defense spending.”