"New York has some of the most restrictive laws that govern our elections of any state in the country" says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. She adds that New York is "one of the few states that doesn't have early voting and one of the few states that has very restrictive rules on changing on one's party registration," concluding that the state's electoral laws are "outdated."

Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science, examines how a potential IMF loan request from Pakistan could set up a fight between the U.S. and China within the institution. The U.S is in a position to oppose any IMF deals that provide funds to China's belt and road initiative 

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, found that relatively simple corrections could reduce some misperceptions by as much as 20 percentage points or more.

"Now, Russia’s World Cup has come and gone, but stability has given way to stagnation," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science and author of The Code of Putinism.

"My sense is that [Ayatollah] Khamenei is throwing [President] Rouhani under the bus, in a number of ways,” says Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science and expert on Iranian politics.

"The companies that use steel, like aluminum can manufacturers, or companies that make steel vats for pharmaceuticals or the dairy industry, they're going to be hurt by this," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"The idea that the Portuguese have never been in Africa is completely false," says Christopher DeCorse, professor of anthropology. "In fact, it was the Portuguese who opened Africa to the Atlantic world." 

According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, the push for a single payer health system has gained traction as a "symbolic" issue for some Democrats who want to have a "positive alternative message" to efforts by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to dismantle Obamacare.

"If jobs and wealth are the metric for 'winning the trade war,' China, not America, will emerge the victor," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

Michael Boulware Moore heads efforts to build a new museum on slave-trade hallowed ground in Charleston.

These are interesting times for journalists in America. We reached out to nine of them, all with degrees from Maxwell. With their public affairs education, they understand as well as any journalists what the vigor of the press means to us all.

“Our life expectancy is increasingly being shaped by where we live in the U.S.,” says Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar of Aging Studies at Maxwell. It’s tempting to blame lifestyle-related behaviors, but “lifestyle behaviors are not root causes. They are symptoms of the environment and the social and economic deprivation that many parts of the country endure, thanks to decades of policy decisions.”

David Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School, and Lorraine Branham, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, discuss the relationship between their programs and trends in the nation that suggest a public affairs approach to journalism is as important as ever.

Alumna Kerstin Vignard, ’96 MAIR, is the Deputy Director at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). She leads work on emerging security issues, helping shape policy and regulation of evolving weapon systems.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) program's reputation and Washington location provide Maxwell students and faculty regular access to a range of leaders and practitioners—to an extent not feasible in Syracuse,” says University Professor and Phanstiel Chair Sean O’Keefe ’78 M.P.A., who is charged with developing opportunities to further nurture Maxwell/CSIS collaboration.

Thanks to the generosity of one “citizen of the world,” dozens of budding scholars have chased far-flung intellectual goals.