2016

Westad Q&A

Trump, China, and the Future of U.S. Interests in the Asia-Pacific Region

December 9, 2016

The Ash Center sat down with Professor Arne Westad, the S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations at HKS to discuss what Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House means for U.S. relations in Asia and how the region’s leaders are reacting to his election.

 

During the campaign, Trump sent very mixed signals regarding his intentions towards the Asia-Pacific region.  He suggested at various times that the United States would reconsider its defense umbrella in South Korea and Japan, pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, but also more...

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Civic Analytics Network holds inaugural convening

October 28, 2016

The Civic Analytics Network (CAN) held its inaugural convening in Cambridge October 26-28. CAN is an affiliation of municipal data officers from the largest cities in the country including New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston. The network, directed by Professor Stephen Goldsmith, seeks to advance the use of data and analytics in municipal governance. CAN members work on data systems that provide critical services for millions of people such as emergency response, police violence reduction, and population health.

CAN brings members together as a peer group to exchange ideas and best...

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T4D community activists in Uganda

Change from the Bottom Up: Examining the Potential for Citizen-led Action to Improve Health Outcomes

December 9, 2016

A subsistence farmer in Indonesia. A disabled US veteran. An orphaned child living in a Mumbai slum. A woman giving birth in a remote part of Malawi. Each may rely on government services or outside aid agencies to provide basic services like health care or education. But too often these services are inadequate and unresponsive to their needs. Among the many reasons are corruption, inefficiency, and simple lack of dedication and effort — the kinds of problems that too often prove difficult for governments and donors to solve.

How can governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),...

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Ash Center hosts Timor-Leste government delegation during visit to Boston

September 26, 2016

On September 26, the Ash Center and the Harvard University Institute of Politics (IOP) hosted a delegation of senior government officials from Timor-Leste who visited the campus following the United Nations General Assembly. At HKS, the delegation, which included Prime Minister Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, Foreign Minister Mr. Hernâni Coelho, and the country’s founding president, Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, met with students and faculty over lunch to discuss a host of issues, including Timor-Leste’s development challenges. The lunch, presided over by interim IOP Director Bill Delahunt, was attended by several students from the region who spoke with the delegation about economic growth issues in Timor-Leste and also posed questions on topics as diverse as climate change and women’s rights. The delegation later met with Harvard University Marshal Jackie O’Neill and signed the University’s formal guest registry in Wadsworth House.... Read more about Ash Center hosts Timor-Leste government delegation during visit to Boston

Lower Mekong Policy Forum on Environment, Agriculture, and Livelihoods

August 12, 2016

The Lower Mekong Policy Forum on Environment, Agriculture, and Livelihoods was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on August 11–12, 2016. Senior government officials, researchers, practitioners, civil society representatives, and members of the business community participated in the forum. The forum featured international and regional experts who are leading efforts to encourage public policy analysis and dialogue on emerging challenges and opportunities related to the Lower Mekong Basin’s environment, agriculture, and rural livelihoods.

The first plenary session discussed problems and...

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Peter Quilter

Trump and the Future of Democracy in Latin America

December 6, 2016

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States, the Ash Center sat down with senior non-residential fellow Peter Quilter to discuss what Trump’s ascension to the White House means for U.S. relations in Latin America and the future of democracy in the region.

How has the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States been received throughout Latin America?

With as much trepidation as everywhere else.  Of course the well-wishing phone calls to Trump have poured in from countries all over the Americas, but that...

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