Politicians’ Self-Interest and the Future of Campaign Finance Reform The debate surrounding campaign finance reform has too long revolved around esoteric questions such as whether money is speech, or whether corporations are persons under the First Amendment. Those questions are fine for the Supreme Court, but for the practical purpose of enacting meaningful campaign finance … Read more
Music, politics, and celebrity in the age of Bono Bono jumped eagerly across the stage, swinging his microphone. The Edge launched the guitar intro for “No Line on the Horizon,” the drum line paused, and the towering stage lights flashed, and Bono began. In front of me soared a 160-foot tall, $25 million claw-shaped stage. … Read more
The question of Jewish liberalism Why Are Jews Liberals?, by Norman Podhoretz, Doubleday, 2009. $27, 295 pp. The story of Norman Podhoretz is as complicated as the political history he examines in Why are Jews Liberals? Once a leftist, he moved rightwards in the 1960s to become one of the great voices of neoconservatism. In … Read more
A new perspective on the Iraq war The Good Soldiers, by David Finkel, Sarah Crichton Books, 2009. $26, 287 pp. David Finkel’s The Good Soldiers has incredible stories at its core, and refines them even further, resulting in an account engrossing through its honesty and simplicity. The Good Soldiers is at once thrilling and horrifying, … Read more
After decades of one-party rule, the Liberal Democratic Party falters In the United States last year, “change we can believe in” became a national catchphrase. In Japan this past August, the slogan of the victorious opposition party was seiken kotai, meaning “political change.” The triumph of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which won 308 … Read more
Dr. John Silvanus Wilson on the new administration’s approach to supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities Harvard Political Review: You have a long history in higher education especially involving HBCUs, but why did you decide to accept the position as executive director of the initiative? John Wilson: Well, my experience in higher education professionally has … Read more
Balancing the personal and the statistical in teacher assessments It is no secret that finding and rewarding high-quality teachers is key to addressing America’s educational shortcomings. But how governments should assess and improve teacher quality eludes decision-makers. There are two primary modes of teacher evaluation: the personal-evaluation model and the statistical, test-based model. Each … Read more
Faith-based initiatives face tough political realities When President Bush campaigned in 2000, faith-based initiatives were at the center of his “compassionate conservative” pitch, and candidate Obama promised to renew the effort to help faith-based charities secure enhanced access to government assistance and funding. But the success of faith-based initiatives has been limited both by conservatives, … Read more
The difficulty of green job promotion Since its inception, the environmental movement has largely defined itself against corporate exploitation, and supported ecological integrity even in the face of economic opposition. Nowhere has more been at stake in this historical confrontation between environmental and economic interests than in the politics of energy and global climate change. … Read more
Can Latin America’s largest country rise above the hurdles? As cannons blasted confetti down upon a roaring crowd in Rio de Janeiro in October, Latin America’s largest nation celebrated its arrival on the world stage. Like China before the 2008 Olympic Games, Brazil greeted the announcement that it would host the Games in 2016 as … Read more