The Watsonblogs project, hosted by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, provides an online space for Watson faculty and affiliates to post thoughts and analysis of international affairs. By hosting a group of bloggers under the Watsonblogs umbrella, it is our hope that we can create a critical mass of vibrant, cutting edge and thoughtful insights on contemporary global problems. If you have any suggestions about this initiative, please contact us at Watsonblogs@brown.edu.

Mumbai revelations As gruesome as they were, last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai were a bold wake-up call. The ten attackers entered Mumbai by boat, fanned out across the city, and attacked and laid siege to many of its most notable landmarks....
by Daniel Widome at December 29, 2008 09:53 PM -08:00 GMT

Electronic NHS records: security concerns Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is now starting to store our medical records electronically. Clearly, this can have benefits; however, these records can contain very sensitive information, and the security arrangements currently in place seem woefully inadequate. The BBC's All...
by jon_mendel at December 10, 2008 11:35 PM +00:00 GMT

Is violent disruption of medical care pathognomonic of civil war? From the Times today, "Hospitals Now a Theatre in Mexico's Drug War": Hit men pursuing rivals into intensive care units and emergency rooms. Shootouts in lobbies and corridors. Doctors kidnapped and held for ransom, or threatened with death if a...
by Ben Brown at December 5, 2008 08:13 AM -05:00 GMT

Mumbai attacks: "This was not terror...This was war." In an odd accident of timing, I gave a (pre-planned) lecture this week about counter-insurgency, and the blurring of boundaries between insurgency, war and other types of violence. I was talking about a trend towards an increasing escalation of the...
by jon_mendel at December 4, 2008 02:48 PM +00:00 GMT

On language and motherhood A couple weeks ago, I saw an article titled "Motherhood is not a Universal Experience" on the Global Health Policy blog at the Center for Global Development. The author writes, The difficult birth this week of a new baby girl...
by Ben Brown at December 2, 2008 12:00 PM -05:00 GMT

Tibet, the Victim of a Spineless and Reckless Europe While the world celebrates the fairy tale ascendance of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States and pinches its wallet to prepare for possibly one of the worst world-wide recessions since the Great Depression, many recent diplomatic...
by Kevin Xu at November 28, 2008 04:20 PM -05:00 GMT

Great expectations The election of Barack Obama this month was a historic moment not just for the United States but for much of the world, as well. Polls taken in other countries prior to the election showed that Obama was an overwhelming...
by Daniel Widome at November 28, 2008 03:03 PM -08:00 GMT

China's Other Western Friend Back to blogging again, finally. The campaign trail has been very intense, and I'm trying to put every part of my normal life back together once again, including this blog. The following is my latest installment on Sino-Kazakh relations, a...
by Kevin Xu at November 21, 2008 12:51 AM -05:00 GMT

Global health goes local I've been thinking for a while about how to get this blog going. I've had it set up since May but haven't known quite where to start. However, some recent experiences at the Olneyville Health Center, where I work every...
by Ben Brown at November 17, 2008 01:27 PM -05:00 GMT

Teh Internets [heart] The Smith-Mundt Act? There's a prominent upcoming conference on The Smith-Mundt Act - an act which, among other things, means that the US government cannot legally direct propaganda towards the US population. Abu Muqawama argues that the act was also written in the...
by jon_mendel at November 3, 2008 12:24 AM +00:00 GMT

Electoral conclusion Election day is no longer weeks, months, or years away. In a few short days, Americans will elect either Barack Obama or John McCain as president. If the race has seemed interminable, that's because in many respects it has been....
by Daniel Widome at October 24, 2008 12:05 AM -08:00 GMT

Vice and virtues After months of presumption, Barack Obama and John McCain are now the official standard bearers of their respective parties. More newsworthy than the nominating conventions, however, were the relatively late announcements of each candidate’s vice presidential running mate. Obama proved...
by Daniel Widome at September 25, 2008 09:09 PM -08:00 GMT

Palin's Alaskan Approach to Natural Resources Support of mining projects should not singularly discredit a candidate’s environmental credentials. However, the nuance and care with which such decisions are made deserve greater scrutiny by the public as a mark of leadership versus positional entrenchment. In coming months, Alaskan resource management may well become an unlikely touchstone of presidential acumen for voters.
by Saleem Ali at September 17, 2008 11:46 PM -05:00 GMT

The risk of terrorists using contagious psychosomatic illnesses Fascinating post on Wired: courtesy of wikileaks, a government document [PDF] has emerged which discusses how Americans' fear of a terrorism could create a mass outbreak of a psychosomatic illness -- even in absence of any real attack -- --...
by jon_mendel at September 15, 2008 11:42 PM +00:00 GMT

NYT article: Dexter Filkins on Pakistan, the Taliban and the US Quick follow-up to this post: there's an excellent NYT article by Dexter Filkins online now. Very much recommended....
by jon_mendel at September 9, 2008 02:17 PM +00:00 GMT