GRI Newsletter April 2023
Dear Friends of GRI,We just hosted our Spring Research Showcase. Twelve different student teams representing 18 different majors gave lightning talks on their current research. I always love this event because I get to learn about what all the labs at GRI are doing, and what may come next. Research from student-faculty teams can shape academic disciplines, content we teach at W&M, and decisions made at the highest levels of government. When I look at the 12 colored tiles below, I recall previous Research Showcases, or just conversations on the front porch, where students explained their next big idea. Some of those ideas are now reflected below as peer-reviewed publications, policy reports for government partners, or news coverage in The New York Times. GRI researchers now brief practitioners at the United Nations, Amnesty International, the Department of State, and the White House. Almost all of the research leading to those outcomes began as collaborative student-faculty projects at GRI. I can’t wait to see what’s next.On Tuesday, William & Mary will celebrate 10 Years of One Tribe One Day — a day to give back and pay it forward. I’m asking for your support on April 18. GRI labs have figured out how to teach students through research, offer courses that blend the best of academia with insights from practitioners, produce research that informs policy debates, and help transform 18 and 19-year-olds into the leaders of tomorrow. If you believe in the value of a liberal arts education and want to support that at William & Mary, I promise that your philanthropic gift to GRI (on the 18th!) will advance those goals.
Best,Mike
Authors at GRI's AidData, the World Bank, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Kiel Institute published a new study on China's dramatically expanded rescue lending to countries in financial distress. In 2010, less than 5% of Beijing’s lending portfolio went to bail out borrower countries in distress; by 2022, that number had soared to 60%. This renewed focus on emergency lending and Belt and Road bailouts led China to undertake 128 rescue loan operations across 20 debtor countries worth $240 billion by the end of 2021, the authors find. The three tiles below feature a sample of the media coverage this report has generated.
Read key findings and analysis.
Renminbi Loans
Global system
Evolving Tactics
International Justice Lab
As the international community determines how to respond to crises in Haiti, IJL Director Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo and Fellows Alexandra Byrne '23 and Zoha Siddiqui '23 consider the legality of a U.S. proposal for an armed humanitarian intervention.
Global Scholars Program
The first cohort of Global Scholars spent spring break in Brussels and Paris, where students learned firsthand about the function of international organizations through visits to NATO HQ, European Commission, the Ukrainian Mission to the EU, OECD, and more.
Teaching, Research & International Policy Project
If China used military force against Taiwan, International Relations scholars would support several strong U.S. policy responses, as evidenced by new research from the TRIP Project.
Blockchain Lab
A student-faculty team has been developing a computational tool to support food sovereignty among Virginia's Indigenous communities, GRI Affiliate Troy Wiipongwii explains in a new interview.
AidData
In an ongoing effort to quantify Russia's influence in Eastern Europe & Eurasia, AidData will release more than 40 reports illuminating impacts across three pivotal domains: civic space, energy security, and media resilience.
NukeLab and AidData
NukeLab Director Jeff Kaplow and AidData's Director of Policy Analysis Samantha Custer consider global implications of the Russia-Ukraine war, accounting for factors such as allies' resolve, sanctions' impact, and NATO's expansion.
NukeLab and GRI Affiliate Marcus Holmes
In their weekly podcast, Cheap Talk, NukeLab Director Jeff Kaplow and GRI Affiliate Marcus Holmes use IR theory to explain new developments in international affairs, such as debates over TikTok's security risks, potential implications of Xi Jinping's Moscow visit, Iran's nuclear weapons program, and more.
AidData
Transaction fees and lack of access to nearby banks can prevent remittances from helping displaced people, so Post-Doc Nara Sritharan and Yining Li '23 outline how governments and formal banking systems can deliver financial tools more successfully.
Ignite
As Rwanda seeks to minimize the prevalence of childhood stunting, Ignite Post-Doc Julius Odhiambo and co-authors identify factors such as child age, wealth index, and antenatal care as key determinants in sustaining reduction.
