In addition to the most pressing issues of the day, scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies focus their research on many regions of the world, from Beijing to Brazil.
Research Spotlight
The Ripple Effects of China’s College Expansion on American Universities
Researchers at SCCEI trace how China’s unprecedented expansion of higher education has impacted U.S. graduate education and local economies surrounding college towns.
While Nayib Bukele's style of authoritarianism may have some successes on paper, Beatriz Magaloni and Alberto Diaz-Cayeros argue that the regime is headed for a reckoning.
Time for Iran to Make a No-enrichment Nuclear Deal
The time has come for Iran’s leaders to reconsider their past intransigent, deceptive posture and instead pursue a nuclear power program that will benefit the Iranian people, write Abbas Milani and Siegfried Hecker.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy
International Journal of Behavioral Development,
January 10, 2025
This study aims to compare the ratings of primary caregivers and teachers of any mental health problems of preschool children in rural China. The primary caregivers and teachers provided their ratings of mental health of 1,191 sample rural preschool children (mean age = 56.8 months; 587 girls) using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). According to the findings, primary caregivers consistently gave their children higher SDQ scores and identified more symptoms across the different categories of mental health problems (i.e., normal, borderline, and abnormal) than teachers. The correlations between the ratings of caregivers and the ratings of teachers were low. The study also identifies the characteristics of children, caregivers, and teacher that were correlated with the differences in the ratings. Specifically, boys, children that were identified by scales of cognitively development as being delayed, and those that parented with authoritarian style were more likely to be rated differently by primary caregivers and teachers. In addition, primary caregivers from relatively poor families rated their children differently from teachers, compared with primary caregivers from relatively rich families. Regarding teachers, they tended to rate on child mental health differently from primary caregivers when they were male or at older age. These findings suggest considering multi-informant reports when assessing the mental health problems of preschool children in different settings. In addition, understanding factors linked to informant discrepancies can potentially improve the accuracy of the assessments.
Against the backdrop of China’s post-1978 economic transformation, recent challenges such as COVID-19 have prompted speculations about rising popular pessimism regarding current inequalities and opportunities to get ahead. This study compares findings from three new nationally representative surveys conducted in 2023 with three earlier surveys from 2004, 2009, and 2014. Results reveal a significant attitudinal shift, with 2023 respondents expressing markedly more critical views about the fairness of current inequality patterns. Respondents in the 2023 surveys increasingly attribute poverty versus wealth to structural factors like unequal opportunities rather than to variations in individual merit. Respondents also reported lower expectations for future income growth compared with the earlier surveys. While not indicating imminent threats to political stability, such trends suggest that China’s leaders will likely face increasing skepticism and even critical popular responses as they try to mobilize their citizens to confront the serious challenges that China faces in coming years.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
December 20, 2024
There is a widespread perception that China’s digital censorship distances its people from the global internet, and the Chinese Communist Party, through state-controlled media, is the main gatekeeper of information about foreign affairs. Our analysis of narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War circulating on the Chinese social media platform Weibo challenges this view. Comparing narratives on Weibo with 8.26 million unique news articles from 2,500 of some of the most trafficked websites in China, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States (totaling 10,000 sites), we find that Russian news websites published more articles matching narratives found on Weibo than news websites from China, Ukraine, or the United States. Similarly, a plurality of Weibo narratives were most associated with narratives found on Russian news websites while less than ten percent were most associated with narratives from Chinese news sites. Narratives later appearing on Weibo were more likely to first appear on Russian rather than Chinese, Ukrainian, or US news websites, and Russian websites were highly influential for narratives appearing on Weibo. Altogether, these results show that Chinese state media was not the main gatekeeper of information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for Weibo users.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools,
December 18, 2024
Purpose: This mixed-methods study examined how differences in parental time, knowledge, and economic constraints, as well as community socioeconomic contexts, may contribute to differences in home language environment and child language ability outcomes between peri-urban and rural households in China.
Method: We conducted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods analysis using data from 158 children aged 18–24 months among peri-urban and rural households with low socioeconomic status (SES) in southwestern China. Audio recordings were collected from each household and analyzed using the Language ENvironment Analysis system. The Mandarin version of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories was administered to each child's primary caregiver. We also conducted qualitative interviews with primary caregivers in 31 peri-urban and 32 rural households. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded.
Results: The quantitative results reveal that children in peri-urban households heard less adult speech and had lower language ability than children in rural households. Directed content analysis of interviews found that peri-urban caregivers faced more severe time constraints and less favorable community socioeconomic contexts than rural primary caregivers. Taken together, these findings suggest that differences in time constraints and community socioeconomic contexts between the two populations are the most likely factors contributing to the inferior language environment and language ability among children in peri-urban households.
Conclusion: The mixed-methods study indicated that parental time constraints and community socioeconomic contexts should be considered alongside SES for a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing parental investment in the home language environment in China.
The quick reversal of President Yoon’s martial-law order is being celebrated as a democratic victory. But the problems run deeper than one man. What comes next?
