Browse FSI scholarship on geopolitics, global health, energy, cybersecurity and more.
Featured Publications
Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
A clear-eyed look from Michael McFaul at how the rise of autocratic China and Russia are compelling some to think that we have entered a new Cold War—and why we must reject that thinking in order to prevail.
Gi-Wook Shin explores how Japan, Australia, China, and India achieved economic power and sustained momentum by responding to risks and challenges such as demographic crises, brain drain, and geopolitical tensions.
Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with nonpolitical crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents’ political activism? We argue that doing so disguises political repression and undermines the moral authority of opponents, minimizing backlash and mobilization. To test this argument, we conduct a survey experiment, which shows that disguised repression decreases perceptions of dissidents’ morality, decreases people’s willingness to engage in dissent on behalf of the dissident, and increases support for repression of the dissident. We then assess the external validity of the argument by analyzing millions of Chinese social media posts made before and after a large crackdown of vocal government critics in China in 2013. We find that individuals with larger online followings are more likely to be charged with nonpolitical crimes, and those charged with nonpolitical crimes are less likely to receive public sympathy and support.
Background Under-resourced communities in rural China have long faced limitations in accessing and utilising caregiver and child healthcare (CCH). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health inequities globally, while its precise impacts on CCH remain understudied. We report differences in parental migration, maternal mental health, household and nutrition expenditures, child feeding practices, and prenatal, postnatal, and childbirth care following pandemic lockdowns in rural China.
Methods We compared two groups of families with children who grew to the age of six months either before or during lockdowns. We enrolled eligible households from 80 rural townships, randomly selected from four poverty-designated counties in Sichuan Province, China. We interviewed the control group of primary caregivers in November and December of 2019 (pre-COVID-19), and the case group in May of 2020 (approximately five months into the pandemic). Statistical analyses included t tests and linear regressions with adjustments. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results Compared to the control group, the case group presented significantly lower paternal migration and more favourable maternal mental health. Caregiving behaviours (including household and nutrition expenditures) and child feeding practices did not differ, except for higher spending on infant micronutrient supplements. Prenatal health services utilisation, including home visits, was slightly higher, while postnatal services utilisation was lower.
Conclusions Our findings suggest that many aspects of CCH in rural China were similar or improved during the early pandemic lockdowns. These data highlight the importance of promoting targeted public health interventions, such as mental health support initiatives, accessible perinatal care options, and family-centred education campaigns, in under-resourced communities and during future healthcare crises.
This article examines the problem of statutory obsolescence in the regulation of rapidly evolving technologies, with a focus on GDPR and generative AI. It shows how core GDPR provisions on lawful processing, accuracy, and erasure prove difficult—if not impossible—to apply to AI systems, generating legal uncertainty and divergent national enforcement. The analysis highlights how comprehensive, principle-based instruments can quickly become inadequate in fast-moving technological domains. Drawing lessons from the GDPR, the article reflects on the need for more adaptive, flexible, and responsive regulatory approaches in the technological age.
Combining personal narratives with decades of research, a vivid account of how the gaokao—China’s high-stakes college admissions test—shapes that society and influences education debates in the United States.
