Maxwell School News and Commentary

“Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine is greatly damaging Russia’s future, with the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the front and the emigration of some of Russia’s best and brightest young people,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. 

Co-authored by Anne Mosher, associate professor of geography and the environment, the article was published in Landscape and Urban Planning.

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, has co-authored a new book, Understanding International Security: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2025). The book explores the meanings and debates around international security, with chapters addressing war, terrorism, violence, cyber security, health and more. 

The article, authored by Anne Mosher, associate professor of geography and the environment, was published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

Heather Law Pezzarossi, assistant professor of anthropology, has co-edited and contributed to a new book, The Archaeology of Hassanamesit Woods:The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead (BAR Publishing, 2024). The book explores the Sarah Burnee/Sara Boston Farmstead, a household in the Nipmuc community of Hassanamesit, and its excavation. 

“The invasion scenarios that dominate U.S. military planning—involving massive amphibious assaults on Taiwan and preemptive strikes on American bases—may fundamentally misread Beijing’s calculus,” writes Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

Sandra D. Lane, professor emerita of public health, has written Belief, Behavior, and Health: Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (Routledge, 2025). The book details how religious beliefs across cultures impact health outcomes. It draws from research from the United States as well as Africa and the Middle East. 

“Using a Community-Based Cultural Approach to Promote Life Skills and Leadership for Social Determinants of Health in Adolescents From Disadvantaged Communities in Casablanca, Morocco: A Sidi Moumen Community Case Study,” co-authored by Maxwell professors Robert Rubinstein and Sandra Lane, was published in BMC Public Health.

Undergraduates and recent alumni interested in public service spent a day at the Maxwell School attending sessions, discussing policymaking processes and growing their network.

“President Trump is planning—at least he's saying he's going to do this, and he seems to be taking steps towards doing this—to very aggressively use this moment of a shutdown to make further changes in government, to remove more federal workers, to rescind funding that's been appropriated,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.