Maxwell School News

"The ongoing attacks by the Houthi fighters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, increased activity by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and the steady attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Syria and Iraq represent a clear risk of escalation throughout the region," says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

With little indication that the U.S. will attempt to assert leverage over Israel, Blinken’s latest trip to the Middle East is fundamentally “performative,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. “There is a face-saving domestic consumption element for [the Biden administration] and a separate face-saving element to allow Israel to claim some kind of victory,” he says.

He is the fourth recipient of the Dominic F. Mazza County Management Fellowship, named in honor of a 1985 alumnus. 

While there is an unavoidable conflict in a petrostate hosting a climate summit, it may also be fitting: The country that was home to the oil industry’s beginnings may also host negotiations that could one day bring the petroleum era to an end. “It is possible to frame it as something of a closure,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

The assistant professor of economics is part of a team exploring the exclusion and expulsion of groups of people from towns and cities from 1850 to 1950.

The Hon. James E. Baker, professor of public administration and international affairs by courtesy appointment, expects the complexity of models to make controversies over AI evidence more vexing than debates over DNA evidence. “The challenge with AI is every AI model is different,” he said, “What’s more, AI models are constantly learning and changing.”

Simon Weschle, associate professor of political science, contributed a chapter titled "Campaign Finance" to the book "The Political Economy of Lobbying: Channels of Influence and their Regulation" (Springer, 2024).

"The recent set of labour reforms are also an encouraging development. Numerous labour regulations have been consolidated into four codes, eliminating contradictions among them," writes Devashish Mitra, professor and chair of economics. 

"The contrast with today's youth highlights broader economic and global trends, namely China's current economic slowdown, which has led to reduced hiring, stagnating wages and a general sense of job insecurity in many industries. This environment naturally makes the stability and predictability of government jobs more appealing," writes Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology.

"Geographically specific associations between county-level socioeconomic and household distress and mortality from drug poisoning, suicide, alcohol, and homicide among working-age adults in the United States," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, was published in SSM - Population Health.

Encouraged by Associate Professor Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, the group of mostly MPA students used public data to address city transportation challenges.

"The EU Commission: Supplying enforcement and demanding compliance," authored by Kari Waters, Ph.D. candidate in political science, was published in European Union Politics.

"Estimated Arterial Stiffness, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults," co-authored by sociologists Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London, was published in Innovation in Aging.

"Digital Communication As Compensation for Infrequent In-Person Contact With Grandchildren During the Pandemic," co-authored by Merril Silverstein, professor and chair of sociology, was published in Innovation in Aging.

"Noncombat and Combat Military Service Experiences, Hearing Difficulty, and Difficulty Remembering/Concentrating," co-authored by sociologists Andrew London, Scott Landes and Janet Wilmoth, was published in Innovation in Aging.

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, warns that the attacks in the Red Sea could easily drag on for the whole of 2024. “In the mind of the Houthi, this is all connected to what’s happening in Gaza,” says Murrett. “And the operations in Gaza could last for the rest of this calendar year.”