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21. A Wall of Separation Between Money and State: Policy and Philosophy for the Era of Cryptocurrency

Author:
Max Raskin and Richard A. Epstein
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Throughout history, there have been two fundamental and interrelated debates over the creation and use of money.1 The first debate is whether money should be created by the market or the state.2 When money is created by private markets, individual currencies oper- ate in competition with each other, such that the value of any given currency is measured by its relative strength against the others. In contrast, under a system where the government has a monopoly over the supply of money, the sound- ness of the currency is ensured, if at all, by a set of institutional constraints to prevent its debasement. A second debate arises between those who believe that money should be a tool used by policymakers to achieve certain political, economic, and social ends and those who believe that money should be a neutral unit of measurement, like inches or kilograms.3 Today, central banks are tasked with mandates to achieve full employment, plug budget deficits, and spur real economic growth. The institutional challenge for governments is to decide how to balance these goals with the need for price stability. Discretion by central bankers with respect to these tradeoffs is intended to allow public officials to operate the system for the public benefit. By the same token, government discretion in the management of money creates the possibility of major failures—such as runaway inflation—if that discretion is misused.
Topic:
Finance, Economy, Central Bank, Currency, Cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

22. Sport Diplomacy: An Old Frontier Rediscovered

Author:
Heather L. Dichter and Maame Quakyi
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Dr. Heather L. Dichter is Associate Professor of Sport Management and Sport History at the Inter- national Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. Her publications include Bidding for the 1968 Olympic Games: International Sport’s Cold War Battle with NATO (Massachusetts, 2021) and two edited books: Soccer Diplomacy: International Relations and Football Since 1914 (Kentucky, 2020) and, with Andrew Johns, Diplomatic Games: Sport, Statecraft, and International Relations Since 1945 (Kentucky, 2014).
Topic:
Diplomacy, Culture, Sports, and Interview
Political Geography:
Global Focus

23. Generative AI and the Future of Work: A Reappraisal

Author:
Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Like now, the early 2010s was a time of excitement about new technological wonders. The world had bounced back from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and, despite residual financial malaise, America seemed to be on the cusp of a productivity boom.1 Artificial intelligence (AI), long regarded as an academic backwater, was finally bearing fruit. In 2011, a question-answering computer system known as IBM Watson beat the world champion in Jeopardy. Machine learning—a subfield of AI—further expanded the possibilities of what computers could do; in 2012, a machine learning team from Google trained a deep neural network that, without ever being told what a cat was, proved independently capable of recognizing cat videos on YouTube. Gone were the days when a computer programmer needed to write explicit rules to guide the actions of a machine in every contingency. Computers could now infer rules by tapping into the data trails left behind by increasing numbers of humans online. This phenomenon was most clearly visible with the development of autonomous vehicles. No programmer could be expected to foresee every situation a human driver might encounter in city traffic, and even less to capture these in a sequence of “If-Then-Do” commands. Instead, autonomous vehicles made progress by collecting vast amounts of data on drivers’ actions in city traffic to predict what humans would in any given situation.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Future of Work, and Generative Models
Political Geography:
Global Focus

24. A Bold Plan for Saving the Colorado River

Author:
Mark Squillace
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Heading into the 2022-2023 water year, the condition of the Colorado River looked dire. The water levels on the River’s two main reservoirs (also the two largest reservoirs in the United States)—Lake Powell and Lake Mead—had both plummeted to below 25 percent of the infrastructure’s capacity. The numerous smaller reservoirs in the Upper Basin had been drawn down substantially to bolster the supply at Lake Powell. Still, it seemed plausible that the power head at Lake Powell—a hydroelectric facility that serves as many as 5.5 million people in six states—would be lost sometime in the following year. The winter of 2022-2023 delivered a massive snowpack that brought wel- come, if temporary, relief from this ominous situation. But the River remains in a perilous state. Over the past two decades, water users have routinely consumed more than the system’s average annual production. One good water year does not change the scientific consensus that the Colorado River Basin will likely experience hotter, dryer weather in future decades due to climate change. Aver- age flows in the River system will likely continue to decline.
Topic:
Natural Resources, Water, Rivers, and Resource Management
Political Geography:
North America, United States of America, and Colorado River

25. A Decade of Greek Immigration and Asylum Policy (2015-2024): A Balancing Act of EU Participation, Humanitarian Obligations, and Security Concerns

Author:
Angelo Tramountanis
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Greece was at the forefront of the European Union’s (EU) immigration and asylum policy implementation during the migration crisis of 2015–2016. Throughout this period, it is estimated that more than one million migrants and refugees traveled through Greece, moving toward other Western European countries.1 The sheer size of this transient population—and its multifaceted political and social implications for European countries—prompted the EU to attempt to curb the influx of immigrants to Greece and, by extension, to its member states. In 2023, almost a decade later, a tragic shipwreck near Pylos claiming over 600 lives, as well as ongoing discussions by several actors and organizations regarding Greece’s migrant pushbacks, has brought the country under the European spotlight once again.
Topic:
European Union, Refugees, Borders, Asylum, Humanitarian Response, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

26. Transcending Western Myopia: Understanding Contemporary Middle Eastern Neocolonialism on its Own Terms

Author:
Marjan Greenblatt and Jason Guberman
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
The Middle East has historically been a crossroads for civilizations, and therefore, colonization. Multitudes of people have been the conquerors and the conquered, sometimes sequentially. Observers often perceive decolonization as though its scars only run skin deep, as if it only began in the nineteenth or twentieth century, and exclusively resulted from Western wounds. This myopic view not only unjustly distorts history but also blinds us to the reality of con- temporary neocolonialism in the Middle East, which is a phenomenon made in Iran. Harkening back to the long history of the Persian Empire, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has for four decades pursued an imperialist policy that has entailed political interference, economic exploitation, military projection, demographic manipulation, and cultural indoctrination.1 This policy has played a crucial role in Iran’s exerting control over its diverse domestic population, which includes religious and ethnic minorities. Iran has simultaneously exploited the economic and natural resources of other countries and manipulated the expe- riences of foreign minority populations to power its expansionist agenda. The Islamic Republic of Iran, which struggled with instability in the early days of the Revolution, became a vulnerable target for invasion by Iraq’s Saddam Hus- sein, leading to a devastating eight-year war.2 Learning from this experience, IRI has since strategically invested in unstable regions by deepening domestic divides; supporting rogue leaders and fringe militias; and interfering in politi- cal, educational, and charitable affairs abroad. This approach allows the Islamic Republic to insert itself into power vacuums and exert its power over four major Arab capitals: Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus, and Sana’a.
Topic:
Regional Power, Proxy Groups, Regional Politics, and Neocolonialism
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

27. The Impact of Colonization on Language Policy in Indigenous Languages

Author:
Elisa Loncon
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
On 18 December 2019, in its 50th Plenary Session, the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032) to draw attention to the endangerment and erasure of indigenous languages and to assemble states to allocate funds to revitalize and promote languages.1 This piece will discuss the linguistic policies applied to indigenous peoples and how they have influenced the abandonment of native languages to favor Spanish. Since the Spanish set foot on the lands of the continent, they began to exterminate indigenous languages. The dispossession of the people’s wealth was not only territorial—it was also linguistic and cultural. This piece reflects on the political nature of languages and explains how racism, as part of the colonial paradigm, has contributed to the reduction in the importance of languages and limited our understanding of them to a cultural artifact or folklore.
Topic:
Politics, Culture, Language, Indigenous, Colonization, and Language Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

28. Colonialism and Racism in Twenty- First-Century Mexico

Author:
Federico Navarrete
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Born in 1821, Mexico is one of the oldest nation-states in the world. Mexico is characterized by a strong national identity that is well-known outside of its borders. This identity defines it as a proudly independent nation with a distinct mixed-race Mestizo population. This article will criticize two central elements of the image that Mexico has built for itself as an independent nation. The first element presents Mexico as a post-colonial state that constructed a new republican order for its popula- tion, treating all individuals as equal. The second element presents Mexico as a Mestizo nation, its population and culture being the result of a confluence between its original Indigenous and Spanish communities, transcending the racism inherited from its colonial past. However, different voices and groups in contemporary Mexican society are challenging these definitions and fighting against internal colonialism and racial discrimination.
Topic:
Discrimination, Colonialism, Identity, Racism, and Post-Colonial
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

29. The Strategic Nature of the Digital Age

Author:
Michael Fischerkeller and Richard Harknett
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Cyber operations advance intelligence goals through their capacity to surveil populations at home and abroad, as well as propagate new forms of informa- tional manipulation and communication. But what if those outcomes are only a subset of cyberspace’s potential impact on the conduct of international relations? Political scientist James Rosenau posits that the role of academic theory is fun- damentally to ask and posit answers to the “what ifs” of complex phenomena.1 In our book, Cyber Persistence Theory: Redefining National Security in Cyberspace, co-authored with Dr. Emily Goldman, we examine state activ- ity in and through cyberspace and conclude that it is strategic in potential and intent. There are two fundamental reasons why this focus on strategic potential is important. First, if the emerging field of cyber security studies is to mature, it needs to illuminate the underlying patterns emerging in modern international relations. Second, state policies should reinforce an overall stabilizing dynamic across international security relations as they increase their use of cyber and cyber-enabled operations and campaigns. In both cases, study and policy must be based on an accurate understanding of the logic of cyberspace security. States could focus on a narrow subset of cyber activity, such as traditionally framed propaganda, surveillance, and intelligence, in isolation of its capacity to shift power. However, such exclusion of the numerous other ways cyberspace can be leveraged effectively advances neither the academic nor policy objective.
Topic:
Security, Intelligence, Science and Technology, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

30. Connecting the Pieces: China’s Bricolage Surveillance System

Author:
Kevin D. Haggerty
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Over the last decade, China’s ruling Communist Party has been molding a style of governance built on advanced surveillance capabilities. In some respects, this development is not novel. Modern states have long used surveillance to identify geopolitical risks, fight crime, deliver services, and conduct wars, among other objectives.2 As such, surveillance is normatively neutral; it encompasses practices that run the gamut from appealing to appalling. However, recent developments in China fall on the shocking end of this continuum, signaling an unsettling qualitative and quantitative transformation in state-conducted surveillance. Those interested in the dynamics of governance, the contemporary international order, and the emergence of techno-totalitarianism should pay close attention. China’s surveillance measures restrict millions of peoples’ liberties and are crucial in facilitating the unfolding genocide of the Uyghur people. Furthermore, Chinese officials are globally exporting both these surveillance technologies and the repressive governmental ambitions that shape their use.3 State surveillance involves using familiar tools, such as CCTV cameras and spies, and a tremendous assortment of other devices and systems designed to make populations, processes, and places legible.4 China distinguishes itself not only by the sheer volume of its monitoring devices, but also by optimizing and integrating its computing capabilities into a system unparalleled in scope and efficiency. Since assuming the Presidency in 2012, Xi Jinping has increasingly embraced surveillance, positioning information technology as a centerpiece of China’s pursuit of national stability and enhanced geopolitical standing. Such monitoring serves diverse purposes, but a central concern of the Communist Party is to maintain “social stability.” This catch-all euphemism empowers the authorities to identify and “correct” an eclectic and extraordinarily inclusive assortment of activities through not only more surveillance, but also surveil- lance-augmented forms of shaming, intimidation, re-education, violence, and disappearance. This essay focuses on factors that have contributed to the expansion of totalitarian surveillance in China and offers a framework for interpreting these developments beyond the usual fixation on novel technological tools. While the term “totalitarian” is often used loosely as a simple condemnation, it is apt here given the scope and form of social control currently being pursued by PRC authorities. Monitoring in China has become integral to censorship, propaganda, and unvarnished repression—all tactics that advance and protect the Communist Party’s idiosyncratic vision of social stability. As a result, the Chinese state’s desire for domestic order now entails inspecting everyday life at a granular level that was previously inconceivable.
Topic:
Governance, Surveillance, Totalitarianism, Censorship, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
China and Asia