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MAY 22, 2025 |
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Harvard Kennedy School | | | |
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The Eastern Greenland village of Ittoqqortoormiit in Scoresby Sound Fjord has a population of approximately 300 inhabitants. (Photo by Olivier Morin/AFP) | | |
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Energy & Environment |
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Protecting the Arctic from geopolitical conflict, funding cuts, exploitation, and climate change |
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Former White House science advisor and HKS Professor John Holdren and researcher Jennifer Spence, who lead the Arctic Initiative in the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, say multiple new threats are endangering both the Arctic’s vital ecosystem and its legacy of inspiring international cooperation. In the latest episode of the HKS PolicyCast podcast, Holdren and Spence say scientists, diplomats, policymakers, and Indigenous people have for decades set aside national concerns to try to save one of the world’s most vital places. But that cooperation and the Arctic itself are now endangered by political conflict over Russia’s war in Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s attempts to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark; budget cuts to science programs and retreats from climate commitments; and the economic lure of the region’s reserves of rare earth elements and new shipping routes made possible by melting sea ice. Holdren says unless some of these concerning trends can be reversed, “the process of science diplomacy, engaging a wide array of actors in common cause to address problems that are in everyone’s interest to solve, is going to be in big trouble.”
Learn more about Environment & Energy at HKS » | | |
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Health |
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What is Medicaid and how is it funded? A Shorenstein Center “Unlocked” explainer |
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The federal Medicaid program is a hot news topic, as millions of its recipients face the loss of their health care coverage due to cuts proposed by Republicans in Congress. As of November 2024, nearly 72 million people were enrolled in Medicaid in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. But what exactly is Medicaid? A new explainer in the “Unlocked” series from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy breaks down Medicaid and answers common questions about the program, which was signed into law in 1965. Medicaid provides health coverage to one in five Americans with low incomes, including adults, children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with disabilities, and is a major source of federal funding for state governments. The explainer is published in The Journalist’s Resource, a project of the Shorenstein Center.
Learn more about Health at HKS » | | |
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International Relations & Security |
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Former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Syria sees an opening for a “grand bargain” in the Middle East |
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Edward Djerejian, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, believes the current chaotic situation in the Middle East presents a unique opportunity for a “grand bargain” for peace and stability in the region. Djerejian, who is now a senior fellow with the Middle East Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at HKS, explains why he sees opportunity in this moment when so many other diplomatic efforts for peace and stability in recent decades have failed. In a recent essay, Djerjian proposed a comprehensive diplomatic effort involving a ceasefire in Gaza, a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, normalized relations between Israel and Arab states, and U.S.-Iran negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. But he says such a bargain will only be possible if the right political conditions are in place, including a new Israeli government without Benjamin Netanyahu, a new Palestinian government and a demilitarized Hamas, and a strong and sustained diplomatic effort by the Trump administration. “I think President Trump has a real opportunity to exert the United States’ leadership in the changing dynamics we are witnessing in the Middle East to steer the region away from conflict,” he says.
Learn more about International Relations & Security at HKS » | | |
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