Moynihan Institute News, Research and Commentary

Mongolia’s leaders plan to move the nation’s capital from increasingly congested Ulaanbaatar to the culturally-significant yet undeveloped area called Kharkhorum. But Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment, says, “Buildings on a blank slate, it's a lovely image, but it doesn't solve any of those bigger structural issues in a state."

Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology, said several factors could be behind the trend showing a drop in the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S., beyond the anxiety over changes in U.S. policies, including the rise of “intra-Asia migration” with more students studying in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

“Whether or not people will keep buying as much stuff is very hard to predict,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics. “Chinese goods might still be relatively cheaper than the alternatives.”

Any funding not covered by what tariffs have raised would likely have to come through Congressional authorization, says Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics. “It’s not something the president can just wave a magic wand and disperse the money as they see fit,” he says.

“There is no silly sensationalism in this book, merely sound storytelling and measured judgments. The author writes of ‘that particular German approach to war-making in the first half of the 20th century—tactical ingenuity in the service of strategic vacuity,’ writes Max Hastings, book critic for The Sunday Times.

Co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, the study was published in the British Journal of Political Science.

“The presence of U.S. troops in Mexico will severely and irreparably undermine [President of Mexico] Sheinbaum’s counter-narcotics policies, which are netting results. Crippling the Sheinbaum administration will give rise to an even bigger and stronger enemy south of the border,” writes Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.

“We're on an upward tide in relations for right now, but in general in the long term, I would expect this kind of ratcheting up and down to continue,” says Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics.

Chris DeCorse, Distinguished Professor and chair of anthropology, shares how Halloween evolved from its ancient roots to become a family-friendly holiday.

Co-authored by Professor of Economics Devashish Mitra, the study was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

“Immigration attitudes are not immune to strategic electoral thinking and hyper-partisanship,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs. “For many Americans, our study shows that the desirability of immigration depends not just on cultural or economic factors, but also whether voters believe migrants have the same partisan preferences that that they do.”

“Let's say a company offshores programming work to India, they would probably be paying a quarter of what they pay here, or even less,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics. “So even if the U.S. government taxes them 100% for what they're paying foreigners abroad, it's still going to work out well for the Big Tech companies.”

Part-time instructor of anthropology Fethi Keles's review of the book African Witchcraft and Global Asylum Seeking: Border-Crossing Beliefs, written by Katherine Angela Luongo, was published in the International Journal of Refugee Law.

Osamah Khalil, professor of history and expert on the modern Middle East, says it’s untrue that Obama or Biden “held a personal animus toward Israel, especially Biden. Indeed, both administrations oversaw expansions in U.S. military assistance and coordination with Israel.”

“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. 

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 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.

“Bavaria is a very agrarian place, even more so at that time,” says Robert Terrell, associate professor of history. Even today nearly half of Bavaria’s land remains devoted to agriculture, and every four years, the Bavarian Central Agricultural Fair coincides with Oktoberfest.