Nation & World

All Nation & World

  • A new look at the father of modern political thought

    A conference at the Edmond J. Safra Center will examine the life and works of the late Harvard Professor John Rawls, whom many consider the father of modern political philosophy.

    John Rawls
  • Whither that wall

    Weeks into a federal government shutdown over the president’s request for money to build a border wall to keep out migrants coming from Central America and Mexico, Harvard analysts discuss the practical, legal, and historical implications of Donald Trump’s possible move to declare a national emergency to bypass congressional opposition.

  • Slavery alongside Christianity

    A student-mounted exhibition probes the ties and tensions between slavery and Christianity during centuries of American bondage.

    Alexandrea Harriott and classmates with their exhibit Andover-Harvard Theological Library .
  • Paving the way for self-driving cars

    Two efforts at Harvard are helping state and city officials in Boston and around the nation frame their early policy thinking around autonomous vehicles.

  • A trip to self-discovery in South’s troubled past

    On a spring break trip sponsored by the Harvard Alumni Association, two College students learn a lesson in common humanity.

    Seokmin Oh
  • Where the present meets the past

    During Israel visit, Harvard Divinity School students tracked movements of the historical Jesus.

    The road to Jericho.
  • Puerto Rico benefits from Harvard’s living lab

    The community group Unidos por Utuado has won $100,000 in seed funding from the Puerto Rico Big Ideas Challenge to implement a plan — designed by Harvard students — for renewable and affordable electricity.

    city of Utuado
  • A new chief at Center for Public Leadership

    Former Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman, who has held numerous top posts in the State Department and on Capitol Hill and led the U.S. negotiations with Iran over nuclear weapons that resulted in a historic 2015 accord, is set to helm the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School in January. She talks to the Gazette about her plans and her view of U.S. foreign policy today.

    Wendy R. Sherman
  • A lesson for every listener

    Members of the Harvard community heard different messages as Malala Yousafzai accepted the 2018 Gleitsman Award.

    Malala Yousafzai and Samantha Power sitting on stage
  • New congressional members at Harvard

    Fresh from their 2018 midterm victories, 63 newly elected members of Congress spent two days at Harvard Kennedy School this week engaging with students and getting an intensive primer from faculty and special guests on what to expect when they take their seats in January.

    Larry Bacow speaks with Chrissy Houlahan, Elissa Slotkin, Elaine Luria, Mikie Sherrill, and Kim Schrier.
  • Yes, you can change the world, says Bryan Stevenson

    When lawyer and social activist Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, spoke at the Kennedy School Tuesday, his topic was nothing less than changing the world, something that he urged everyone in the capacity crowd to think of as both a responsibility and a possibility.

    Bryan Stevenson at the Kennedy School.
  • Lies we can’t live without

    NYU philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah will draw from his new book, “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity,” when he visits Harvard Medical School to deliver the 2018 George W. Gay Lecture.

    Kwame Anthony Appiah in front of a wooden wall
  • The view from inside Facebook

    Monika Bickert, the head of global policy management for Facebook, discussed the social media giant’s policies and evolution with Harvard’s Jonathan Zittrain.

    Monika Bickert and Jonathan Zittrain looking up at a screen
  • Getting from no nuclear to slow nuclear

    Environmental fellow Michael Ford and climate scientist Daniel Schrag say that improved nuclear power could play an important role in U.S. energy production midcentury and beyond.

    Michael Ford and Daniel Schrag.
  • John Kerry, still in the game

    During a visit to Harvard, former Secretary of State John Kerry encourages students to do more than show up to vote: to take action.

    John Kerry and IOP fellows
  • Reflections of an envoy

    During a Harvard visit, Caroline Kennedy recalls her years as ambassador to Japan, including President Obama’s trip to Hiroshima.

    Caroline Kennedy
  • The machinery to drive ed reform

    In an interview, Harvard’s Paul Reville explains the goals of an upcoming conference that invites mayors, school officials, and community leaders to discuss how to drive meaningful educational reform.

    Illustration of young girl with abacus inside of head.
  • A prophet of peace

    An interview with Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia and 2016 Peace Prize winner for his efforts to negotiate an agreement that ended a 50-year-long internal conflict and brought peace to Colombia.

    Juan Manuel Santos.
  • One election winner: the pollsters

    It’s debatable whether the midterm elections delivered a demonstrably better night for Democrats than Republicans. But it was inarguably a big win for pollsters, says FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver at Harvard’s Political Analytics Conference.

    Moderator Kirk Goldsberry and panelists Nate Cohn and Amanda Cox.
  • Back to Myanmar with fresh insights

    Yee Htun, a Myanmar native who immigrated to Canada as a refugee and returned to work as a human rights lawyer in her native country, now teaches human rights advocacy at Harvard Law School.

    Yee Htun.
  • U.S. and Russia, behind the curtains

    A high-level intelligence group gathered at Harvard Kennedy School to analyze current relations between the U.S. and Russia, and gauge future goals of each.

    Douglas Lute (from left), Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Kevin Ryan, and Daniel Hoffman
  • Sotomayor: Judges should pull together

    Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor comes to Harvard Law School to talk to students, suggests that judges cooperate more.

    Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
  • Opioid crisis shadows rural America

    A Harvard Chan School panel reacted to a report that lists the opioid crisis and the economy as top concerns for Americans in rural areas.

    Harvard Chan School panel.
  • Post-election outlook: Little cooperation

    Democratic and Republican strategists came together at Harvard Kennedy School to unpack the midterm election results. In their wake, the panelists agreed that political cooperation may get even rarer in the next two years.

    U.S. flag on cracked background.
  • And the winner is: Who you think it is

    Harvard faculty discuss the results of the midterm election and what they portend for governing the nation over the next two years and for the run-up to the presidential election in 2020.

    Mid-term election night
  • Memo to America: Not everyone wants to be like you

    Professor Stephen M. Walt’s new book, “The Hell of Good Intentions,” is a critique of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.

    The American flag flies at the U.S. Capitol.
  • Raising the profile of animal law to match the stakes

    Scholars in Harvard Law’s animal law program are working to show the human side of wildlife protections.

    Houses and city skyscrapers on back of whale.
  • Attorney appears confident admissions case ruling will favor Harvard

    Attorney William F. Lee ’72 stood outside Boston’s Moakley U.S. Courthouse Friday and appeared confident a federal judge will rule that Harvard does not discriminate against Asian Americans in its admission practices.

    Seth Waxman and Bill Lee.
  • The election just ahead

    Here’s a close-up look at three areas where efforts are well along to understand and safeguard Tuesday’s important election.

    Harvard voter registration drive.
  • Brazil at the crossroads

    Scott Mainwaring, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor for Brazil Studies at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, sat down with the Gazette to talk about the election of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil, and its impact in Latin America.

    Bolsonaro campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro.