Moynihan Institute News, Research and Commentary

Although Chinese-student enrolment at U.S. universities has rebounded since the pandemic, China’s best and brightest might be shying away, says Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology. Soaring anti-China rhetoric probably plays a part, she says, but so do expanding opportunities for Chinese graduate students at home, and the growing challenges to obtain work visas.

“The Impact of Inflation on Support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential Election,” co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, was published in SSRN.

“Russia clearly interfered in this election,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and expert on Russian politics. He says Russia’s objectives were to “help Trump and to sow chaos more generally—although there is no evidence that their activities changed the outcome.”

“Race, Representation, and the Legitimacy of International Organizations,” co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, was published in Internation Organization.

“He has to go cap in hand to push the plan, sort of carve out a position and then say at home, having asked, that this is now what we have to do,” says Michael John Williams, a associate professor of public administration and international affairs, adding, “At least he can say he’s tried. He’s exhausted the possibilities.”

“She both inherited a crisis as well as the commitments AMLO made to a range of stakeholders like the National Guard,” says Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, referring to the former president by his initials. 

“I can’t imagine Donald Trump rolling up his sleeves and digging into the nitty-gritty of the words of this conflict,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “That’s not who he is [but] that’s what it takes to bring about ceasefires and peace settlements, lots of detailed, nitty-gritty negotiation on a whole host of issues. It’s not simply tell both sides to stop.” 

“When you are looking at the Gulf countries, you see that a lot of these sustainability projects are very large, and they’re very loud about them, but they hide the fact that, in fact, the rest of society is not at all sustainable,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

“North Korean troops in Ukraine would be another confirmation that the Russian war in Ukraine is not a local or regional conflict,” says Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. 

“North Korea and Russia signed a joint military assistance agreement last June and they are pursuing cooperation...In terms of what North Korea might get in return, I think the big fear is that Russia would be sharing more advanced nuclear technology, perhaps submarine technology or other conventional weapons technology with North Korea,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

The archaeology professor will give four lectures about his findings on England’s 17th century-involvement in the West African slave trade.

“Behavioural patterns of leaders versus followers in setting local sales tax policy,” co-authored by Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Fiscal Studies: The Journal of Applied Public Economics.

One element is “the return...of class politics, which takes the form of a series of important legislative measure that includes raising the minimum wage, facilitating the formation of unions, but also more specific things like, for example, recognizing the labor rights of domestic workers for the first time in the country,” says Edwin Ackerman, associate professor of sociology. 

“By growing the use of the RMB in cross-border trade settlement directly between China and Russia, U.S. financial sanctions cut targeted actors off from using the dollar system, which forces targets into alternative currencies that are exchanged outside of the U.S. financial system,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science.

“The type of damage that you'll see is to property, to infrastructure, to roads and highways, but also to critical infrastructure like hospitals and power stations. And this will be devastating. It will be in the many billions of dollars,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment. 

Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, has edited and contributed to “Confronting Climate Coloniality: Decolonizing Pathways for Climate Justice” (Routledge, 2024).

The Maxwell School’s 100th anniversary celebration will be held on Oct. 18 in Goldstein Auditorium.

“I've also heard stories from candidates who refused to cooperate with criminal group members and they were met with a lot of resistance,” says Jessie Trudeau, assistant professor of political science.

Christopher DeCorse, Distinguished Professor and chair of anthropology, has written a new book, “Fringe Archaeology: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Past” (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2024). The book explores the intertwining of archaeology and popular culture, as well as depictions of archaeology in film and fiction. 

The three-day gathering drew top experts from around the globe to explore issues such as cultural identity and regional economics.