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1. Mastering the Digital Age: Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Regulation

Author:
Olivia J. Erdelyi
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
In recent years, news about a mysterious new technology referred to as artificial intelligence (AI) has been everywhere. Even for the most tech-averse individuals, it is virtually impossible to remain oblivious to AI’s existence. While there is positive news establishing a craving for it, blunders and scandals are not far behind, invoking the wrath of the public and calls for reigning in the ac- tors, mostly perceived to be tech companies, that endanger democratic rights. 1 Leveraging the benefits provided by modern information and communication technologies, people rush to take part in the public discourse of the hour, forming strong opinions before understanding the topic. While eye-catching headlines and impassioned debates continue to spread online, few understand the concept of AI. This scenario presents a problem, as mastering the digital age requires some AI literacy.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. It’s All About the Benjamins: Why Banknotes Look As They Do, and Why You Should Care

Author:
Jacques E.C. Hymans
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
In his classic treatise The Philosophy of Money, sociologist Georg Simmel asserts that money is “colorless” and “abstract,” a “system of numbers” that relentlessly promotes the rationalization and depersonalization of modern life.1 Simmel might be right about money, but banknotes are a different story. The banknotes of the world contain many colorful images of human beings, animals, landscapes, and other eye-catching features. What are the purposes of banknote iconography? What kinds of images best achieve those purposes? Does the art of the banknote still matter in the digital age? The answers to these questions also speak to broader issues, including the bases of social trust, the content of collective identities, and the power of visual politics. Some people think of physical cash as a relic of the old days of brick-and- mortar retail. It is true that credit and debit cards and digital means of payment are on the rise. Even the Monopoly board game no longer comes with its famous colorful paper money; instead, a voice-activated electronic “banker” processes players’ transactions and keeps track of their balances.2 Yet reports of the death of the banknote are highly exaggerated. Between 1990 and 2020 the value of cash in circulation soared worldwide from about $1 trillion to $7 trillion, and the annual rate of increase has been accelerating over time.3 The coronavirus pandemic that erupted in early 2020 caused a further spike in cash demand all over the world.4 A comprehensive study of 140 currencies found that the value of cash in circulation in 137 of those currencies rose in 2020 over the previous year while it declined in only three.5 The value of U.S. currency in circulation shot up by 16 percent during 2020, double the average increase of the previous 10 years.6 As of the end of June 2023, it stood at $2.3 trillion, or to be more precise, $2,342,265,000,000—almost 10 percent of U.S. GDP.7 In short, banknotes remain greatly in demand almost everywhere; and wherever there are banknotes, there is banknote iconography.
Topic:
Economy, Currency, and Iconography
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. How Poster Art of the “Long 1960s” Fueled International Solidarity

Author:
Lincoln Cushing
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
With internet and cell phone connectivity enabling instant worldwide dissemination of information, many individuals presume that communication between international social justice activists during the twentieth century was tedious, insular, and ineffective. Yet analysis of the vast output of published graphics from that period reveals a different story, one of dynamic interchange and cross-national support.
Topic:
Cold War, History, Arts, Culture, Solidarity, and Internationalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Stablecoins, United States Competitiveness, and the Cloud

Author:
Michael B Greenwald
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Recent geopolitical events and the overleveraging of U.S. sanctions has strained the relationship between the U.S. dollar and other world financial powers, bringing the current system—fundamentally grounded in the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement—to a critical inflection point. Although the past 80 years has seen a global financial system that hinged on the chosen policy of the United States, adversaries and allies alike are actively searching for ways to diversify from a dollar-centric system. Simultaneously, the innovation of financial technology has led to the creation of blockchain based, non-state currencies and demand for more efficient settlement of transactions. These trends have given rise to a crucial moment for infrastructure that underpins these innovations: the cloud and U.S. financial policy. In developing a long-term strategy that supports a robust global financial system, policymakers should heed the revolutionary potential of innovation and the cloud, specifically related to stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Topic:
Infrastructure, Digital Currency, Competition, and Stablecoins
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

5. The Future of the Digital Asset Space

Author:
Christian Catalini and Nicholas Sanzi
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Christian Catalini is founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, and Research Scientist at MIT. He is also the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Lightspark. Previously, he was a co-creator of Diem (formerly Libra), Chief Economist of the Diem Association, and Head Economist of Meta FinTech. While a Professor at MIT, Christian designed the MIT Digital Currency Research Study. In 2018, Christian was appointed as a Faculty Research Fellow in the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto (Rotman School of Management), and MSc (summa cum laude) in Economics and Management of New Technologies from Bocconi University, Milan.
Topic:
Economics, Cryptocurrencies, Interview, Digital Currency, and Stablecoins
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. 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

7. Militarized Global Apartheid

Author:
Catherine Besteman and William Kattrup
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Catherine Besteman is Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College. A past President of the Association of Political and Legal Anthropologists, her most recent books include Militarized Global Apartheid (2020), Making Refuge: Somali Bantu Refugees and Lewiston, Maine (2016), and the co-edited Life by Algorithms (2019). In addition to coordinating the 2021 abolitionist initiative Freedom & Captivity, she has published six other books, and received recent fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations.
Topic:
Apartheid, International Affairs, and Interview
Political Geography:
South Africa, Global South, and Global North

8. Why Most Communities in Zimbabwe Are Embracing the Right2SayNo

Author:
Farai Maguwu
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
A new scramble for Africa’s natural resources is leaving communities more impoverished, oppressed, and traumatized. Enriching the ruling elites and mul- tinational corporations, the withdrawal of natural resources from the Earth con- tributes to land and water grabs, violence, intimidation, desecration of cultural heritage sites, pollution of water sources, and poverty in communities hosting natural resources. Whereas exploitation of natural resources is expected to boost local economies and improve livelihoods, the lived realities of host communities in Zimbabwe demonstrate that living standards decline when natural resource extraction occurs. There is often trading of accusations between government and extractive industries on the problem of whose responsibility it is to develop resource-rich communities. Corruption and a rent-seeking culture have weakened governance, leading to social stratification, class formations, and entrenched autocratic rule. Access to resource rents is also turning the focus of government away from other more sustainable sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. This paradox of plenty, also known as the resource curse, confirms the long-held view that countries with abundant natural resource reserves are prone to poverty, confliict, and poor governance. In these countries, natural resources are sometimes used to finance violence, repression, and rigged elections.
Topic:
Corruption, Natural Resources, Elites, Value Extraction, and Rent-seeking
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

9. Rethinking Recovery: How to Sustainably Support Communities A!ected by Genocide and Sexual Violence

Author:
Nadia Murad
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
In August 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS) surrounded Yazidi villages in Sinjar, Iraq as part of an e2ort to ethnically cleanse Yazidis from existence. Over a two-week period, ISIS militants murdered more than 5,000 men and older women, took more than 6,000 women and children captive, and forced more than 400,000 individuals to 1ee their homes.1 I lived in one of those villages. My family members were killed and dumped into unmarked, mass graves. My sisters, nieces, and I were taken captive and forced into sexual slavery. 3is was no accident. Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war. ISIS believed that violating Yazidi women would destroy the community from within.2 For much of history, the use of sexual violence as a weapon has been considered an unfortunate byproduct of con1ict at the high- est levels of peace and security. While the international community has begun to recognize sexual violence as a weapon, many survivors are still silenced by shame and stigma. It is imperative that the taboo surrounding sexual violence is broken so that the international community can work proactively to prevent and respond to this gender-based weapon.
Topic:
Genocide, Islamic State, Sexual Violence, and Yazidis
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

10. Democracy, Demography, and the Future of the European Union

Author:
Dubravka Šuica and William Kattrup
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Dubravka Šuica is the European Commission Vice President for Democracy and Demography. She is leading the Commission’s work on deliberative democracy, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), demography, children’s rights, and child protection.
Topic:
Demographics, Children, European Union, Democracy, and Protection
Political Geography:
Europe

11. Transparency and the Internet: Facebook’s Global Reach

Author:
Frances Haugen, Caroline Allen, and Kamran King
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Frances Haugen specializes in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algo- rithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp, and Facebook. In 2019, she was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, and later also worked on counter-espionage. In 2021, Haugen disclosed tens of thousands of Facebook’s internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Wall Street Journal. Haugen is an advocate for accountability and transparency in social media.
Topic:
Internet, Transparency, Interview, and Facebook
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. Reification of Data: the Right to be Forgotten, Data Ownership, Network Usage Fee, and Data Sovereignty

Author:
Kyung-Sin Park
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
A regression is taking place around the world: the reification of data. Data is a relationship between sentient beings and the objects sensed, knowledge of the world external to the consciousness of that being. Transfer of data is speech. Collection of data is learning. Thus, a restriction on the transfer of data is a restriction on speech or the freedom of speech.1 A restriction on the collection of data becomes a restriction on learning or the freedom to learn. Data—origi- nally, a configuration of the consciousness perceiving external objects—is being rei3ed, that is, treated as if it is a tangible thing. Increasingly, data is deemed to be a possession by people reflected in it or those producing it and subject to delivery fees for transfer. Data is deemed capable of being “owned by data subjects,” “owned by data producers,” or charged fees for delivery.2
Topic:
Science and Technology, Networks, Data, Digital Sovereignty, and Right to be Forgotten
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. Remaking the Future of the Internet

Author:
James Lewis
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
A rule of thumb in Hollywood is when you have no new ideas for a 1lm, remake an old one. 5e United States is taking a similar approach to internet policy, with the well-intended “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” (hereafter referred to as “the Declaration”) reiterating themes from the dawn of the internet.1 5ere is a real opportunity for a new approach to internet policy that endorses democratic values and a reformed multistakeholder model, but the Declaration does not provide this opportunity because it ignores sovereignty and great power con6ict—the forces reshaping the internet. 5ere are 193 countries in the world. Only 60 endorsed the Declaration.2 If this had been an election, the United States would have lost. 5is outcome may partly re6ect a lack of diplomatic skill by the United States, but it also re6ects a paucity of ideas to address concerns in the developing world, which center around development, sovereignty, and the rule of law. Many nations would have welcomed a bold new vision for the internet that took their interests into account. 5ey did not get this vision from the Declaration.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Internet, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

14. Inclusion and Environmental Protection in Space

Author:
Tony Milligan
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
A push for inclusion has been one of the most striking features of space programs in recent years, with a diverse range of agents going up to the Inter- national Space Station. NASA has been promoting the recognition of the early, but hidden, role of black scientists such as Katherine Johnson within its pro- grams of the 1960s (Johnson was celebrated in the 2016 7lm Hidden Figures).1 Beyond this, private sector activities are emerging with some built-in elements of inclusion. In 2021, Wally Funk fially could make it into space on a private sector Blue Origin suborbital flight, 60 years after being part of the privately trained female Mercury 13 group. These women were not part of the official NASA program, and they never made it into space, despite public criticism and the advantages of sending women in the cramped capsules given their generally smaller size. The women had what Margaret Weitekamp has referred to as “right stu:, wrong sex.”2
Topic:
Environment, Women, Space, Inclusion, and Protection
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. The Artemis Theory of Warfare

Author:
Mark J. Sundahl
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Outer space, long the province of peaceful competition and international cooperation, is being rapidly militarized. We stand today at a rare in8ection point in history that deserves careful thought as humanity moves forward. In short, we face the following choice: we can either protect and build on the special nature of space norms and customs to preserve space as a “laboratory of peace,” or we can militarize space as the new “highest ground” under largely the same rules that govern terrestrial warfare.1 4e sad reality is that our history, being inextricably linked to warfare, predicts that the dream of a peaceful future in space will almost certainly remain just that—a dream. 4at said, if you point out a problem, you should always propose a solution. I will propose a solution to the threat of warfare in space at the end of this article. But, before we get there, I will take a step back and explain some of the assertions above. Why do I call space a “laboratory of peace?” And why is this special status of outer space in jeopardy?
Topic:
International Cooperation, Space, Military, and New Generation Warfare
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. The Strength of Small, Lean, and Agile

Author:
Brian Binnie
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
As a youngster, the 1960s wereexciting times for space exploration. In 1968, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie that sparked the minds of young adventurers everywhere. Just one year later, in 1969, I watched alongside the world as two men bounced around on the moon. With millions of others, I believed that since everything was happening so quickly, by the time we were older, there would be all sorts of opportunities available in the burgeoning 1eld of space. 9ese expectations were never realized. For 45 years, the same starry adventurers watched from the sidelines as the severed operations of NASA maintained their exclusive grip on all things space with the Shuttle and International Space Station operations. But in 2004, a small, privately owned company shocked the landscape, 0ying three space 0ights with a reusable ship to the rapt attention of millions worldwide. With the visibility provided by a $10 million prize, these 0ights became the leading story of that year.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Regulation, Space, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Political Geography:
United States of America

17. Talking About NASA: Outer Space and World A!airs

Author:
John M. Logsdon, David Del Terzo, and Luka Willett
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Dr. John M. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus at George Washington University’s (GWU) Elliott School of International A!airs, where he was the founder and long-time director of GWU’s Space Policy Institute. He is an author of many articles, essays, and edited books, with his most recent publication being Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). In 2003, he was a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and was formerly a member of the NASA
Topic:
International Affairs, Space, Interview, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

18. Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Prostitution Toward Children in Mexico

Author:
César Niño
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Oscar was born in an illegal prostitution center where his mother was a sex worker (we are not certain if she worked there voluntarily). Oscar was first prostituted at age four, serving up to six “clients” daily at the same center where his mother worked. Both he and his mother were constant victims of rape and physical violence. This was the environment in which he was raised. In recent decades, according to a Reinserta study, violence against children in Mexico has intensi7ed nationwide.1 From 2006 to 2018, there were 325,699 homicides, according to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). Of these victims, 23,420 were men under the age of 19, a little over 7 percent of the total, and 6,022 were women under the age of 19, about 2 percent of the total.2 Children represent a particularly vulnerable group, as they are immersed in practices that violate their human rights and make it impossible for them to develop physically and psychologically in an adequate manner and according to their age. They experience physical violence, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of violence that are normalized from an early age.
Topic:
Human Rights, Children, Sexual Violence, Abuse, and Prostitution
Political Geography:
North America and Mexico

19. The State of Exception: Gangs as a Neoliberal Scapegoat in El Salvador

Author:
Leisy Abrego and Steven Osuna
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
On 26 March 2022, gangs in the small Central American country of El Salvador killed 62 people, making it the deadliest day in modern Salvadoran history.1 In the span of just three days, between 25 and 27 March, there were a total of 87 seemingly random murders of people laboring and commuting in El Salvador. In line with the common political practice since the 1990s, Salvadoran politi- cians zeroed in on punishing gangs, whom they have blamed for all social ills. Indeed, the brutal intercommunal violence of gangs is horrifying and dehuman- izing in ways that permeate everyday life for large swaths of Salvadoran society. 3ese realities make gangs particularly visible and therefore politically useful for the ruling elite, who can and frequently do turn to gangs as a distraction from their own corruption. 3e proliferation of gangs and violence, however, was not inevitable, and a political and media focus solely on gangs misses the larger picture. Gangs, and the social conditions surrounding them in El Salvador, are ultimately a symptom of a larger root problem: neoliberal capitalism. To best understand the conditions of the present moment, we trace how neoliberalism developed in El Salvador, why it has thrived across party lines, how it is fueling the actions of this particular Salvadoran administration, and how a growing grassroots cross-border movement is resisting it.
Topic:
Neoliberalism, Violence, Organized Crime, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America and El Salvador

20. Fighting Gangs to Dismantle Democracy: How Anti-Crime Policies Have Contributed to the Authoritarian Drift in Central America

Author:
José‐​Luis Cruz
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
For several years, the northern countries of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—have seen some of the highest levels of criminal violence globally. 5ey are also ground zero for two of the most brutal street gangs in the Western Hemisphere: the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (Barrio 18). Di6erent government administrations have imple- mented various policies to address gangs and criminal violence; however, no policy has been more controversial or frequently used than the zero-tolerance, or mano dura (iron fist), crackdowns. Zero-tolerance crackdowns were introduced at different moments in all three countries but have been a dominant feature of state response to crime in Central America in the last two decades. In this essay, I examine the latest installment of hard-on-crime policies in El Salvador and how they contributed to the democratic erosion of the country. This case exemplifies how Central American governments have repeatedly used the fight against crime as a justification to strengthen security forces without oversight, ignore human rights standards, and leverage the justice system to serve corrupt government officials.
Topic:
Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Central America