Past Grants

Orville Schell will research and write a book that examines the Chinese Communist Party’s manipulation of modern Chinese history and reflect on the implications of China’s unwillingness to confront its history more objectively. He will analyze Chinese writings on its historiography and the literature dealing with the role of history in political narratives, specifically with respect to Japan, Germany, South Africa, and Russia.

Angela Hawken will lead an effort to help public officials make greater use of randomized controlled trials to improve their policies and programs. She will work with public officials in school districts and social service agencies to set up trials to test various reforms. The project’s findings will appear in a report and a series of briefings.

Aaron Lobel will lead an effort to develop and broadcast public affairs programs in partnership with local networks in Muslim-majority countries. He will help produce a television series on Islam, science, and modernity; develop feature-length documentaries on Hezbollah and the Shia/Sunni jihadist nexus; partner with a Jordanian entrepreneur to develop a television series about Arab heroes who have fought the Islamic State and other extremist groups; and broadcast bilateral and trilateral town halls connecting audiences in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India to discuss areas of regional cooperation.

Logan Wright and Daniel Rosen will develop an analytical framework to better gauge the economic underpinnings of China’s great-power status, particularly in terms of the internal financial risks to the Chinese economy. They will analyze primary Chinese source materials and secondary literature on the Chinese economy and conduct interviews in order to undertake a net assessment of the risks to the Chinese economy, its resilience to those risks, and Beijing’s capacities to mitigate or respond to a crisis. The project’s findings will appear in a monograph.

Nikolai Sokov and Dmitry Adamsky will examine how Russia might use its military and non-military instruments of power to shape events in Europe and around the world. They will assess the nature of Russia’s “new generation warfare,” particularly its orchestration of military and non-military instruments and its nuclear and non-nuclear strategies. They will also examine Russian military writings and undertake case studies of Russian policies and actions vis-à-vis NATO, Ukraine, and Syria, testing the theory of new generation warfare against Russian practice. The project’s findings will appear in a co-authored monograph.

Zack Cooper will research and write a book exploring how major powers revise their defense policies in response to perceived changes in the balance of power. He will draw on historical case studies to illuminate how the United States and China might respond to the evolution of the global security environment.

Justine Hastings will direct the research and publications program of the Rhode Island Innovative Policy Lab. The lab will link data on educational outcomes, employment and earnings, and enrollment in public assistance programs in order to create opportunities to assess the effectiveness of various initiatives, including job training, nutritional assistance, and paid parental leave. The project’s findings will appear in a series of reports and policy briefs for state officials.

Allison Atteberry, Daphna Bassok, and Vivian Wong will examine whether enrolling young children in a full-day preschool program can increase their readiness for school and lead to better school-related outcomes by the time they complete third grade. They will work with officials in the Westminster, Colorado, school district to institute a lottery to award slots in the district’s new full-day preschool for four-year-old children. Those students will be tracked as they progress to third grade and evaluated on their progress on reading and math assessments, attendance, grade retention, and special needs diagnosis. The project’s findings will appear in a report and a series of papers.

Robert Johnston will examine the geopolitical implications of the possibility that global demand for oil will peak or even decline. He will develop a framing document covering the issue of peak oil demand, convene a workshop of analysts from supply- and demand-side firms to debate the key variables affecting future demand, undertake modeling to construct scenarios, and analyze the geopolitical consequences of potential alternative futures. The project’s findings will appear in a report and a series of issue briefs.