Zaid Al-Ali, a visiting research scholar, published “The Arab Region 15 Years After the Uprising: Regression, Conflict, and Residual Hope” in Constitutional Studies. In the piece, he notes that “the anticipated democratic reforms” in the wake of the Arab Spring “have largely failed to materialize.”

Focusing on constitutional reform processes in Tunisia and Syria, Al-Ali notes that the former “has regressed into authoritarianism,” while the latter “has only recently witnessed major changes to its constitutional framework after fifteen years of brutal conflict.” He argues that those debating reforms erred on the challenges the region faces, leading to “wrong solutions … which unsurprisingly failed to produce the desired results.”

“The regional debate on constitutional reform failed to address historical legacies and societal divisions that hinder progress towards democracy,” he writes. “The debate on constitutional reform should be deliberately reframed around how to repair the damage caused by a century of colonial and post-colonial rulers to political culture and to state institutions as an initial step to promoting democracy and stability in the Arab region.”

Princeton SPIA Vice Dean David S. Wilcove was appointed the Henry W. Putnam Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the High Meadows Environmental Institute.

A member of Princeton’s faculty since 2001, Wilcove studies the impacts of farming, logging, hunting, climate change, and other human activities on biodiversity. He is the author of the books “No Way Home: The Decline of the World’s Great Animal Migrations” and “The Condor’s Shadow: The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America,” as well as numerous scientific publications, book chapters, and popular articles about conservation biology, endangered species, biogeography, and ornithology. His work has garnered awards from the Society for Conservation Biology, Defenders of Wildlife, the Pew Foundation, the Wildlife Society, and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute.

“I am honored to be awarded this named professorship,” Wilcove said. “And I am deeply grateful to the undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs who have worked with me over the years and whose creativity and hard work are very much reflected in this honor.”

Jonathan Mummolo, an associate professor of politics and public affairs, and Jacob Kaplan, a professional specialist with Criminal Justice@SPIA, were awarded a $56,000 grant by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to host a conference, the Criminal Justice Open Data Summit, on August 6.

“The past decade has seen remarkable growth in the availability, quality, and impact of open criminal justice data and tools, providing deeper insights into the justice system and enabling researchers to study it more effectively,” Mummolo said. “This progress has been driven by a diverse community — including political scientists, economists, government agencies, private organizations, journalists, computer scientists, criminologists, and lawyers — committed to producing this public good. However, these efforts often remain siloed within disciplines, limiting awareness and reducing their collective impact.”

The conference, to be held on Princeton’s campus, will bring together leading figures from the various disciplines that use the data and tools to assess the current landscape, showcase their work, and discuss the challenges and successes of creating, maintaining, and scaling them.

“By expanding networks and fostering new partnerships, the event will help shape the future of open criminal justice data, ensuring that research and policy inform one another,” Kaplan said. “A post-conference report will capture key insights and recommendations, serving as a roadmap for future collaborations and progress in open criminal justice data.”