Browse FSI scholarship on geopolitics, global health, energy, cybersecurity and more.
Featured Publications
Security Through Cooperation: Space, Nuclear Weapons, and U.S.-Russia Relations after the Cold War
Rose Gottemoeller uses lessons learned from U.S.-Russia relations during the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations to offer insights into how Russia today may be convinced to end its war against Ukraine and resume cooperation for the sake of global security.
Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
A clear-eyed look from Michael McFaul at how the rise of autocratic China and Russia are compelling some to think that we have entered a new Cold War—and why we must reject that thinking in order to prevail.
The National College Entrance Examination shapes the future of millions of students in China each year, but Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia illuminate how this test of all tests is also shaping education, labor markets, political legitimacy, and social values beyond the PRC.
In rural China, there is an urgent need for investment and innovative approaches for addressing adolescent mental health issues. This embedded mixed-methods study examines the effectiveness of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program in rural primary schools across China and the factors affecting compliance among teachers delivering the program. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed its effect on 2027 students in 49 schools, and 38 teachers were interviewed during the intervention. Results show that SEL courses improved student mental health. Some teachers reported increased workload and lack of support, while others noted the importance of mental health education and positive student outcomes. Performance incentives and the positive perceptions of SEL among teachers were crucial for effective delivery, though workload and lack of support often limited commitment. Overall, enhancing rural students' well-being through SEL programs requires raising awareness for SEL among teachers and building institutional support.
This study examines how center-based parenting interventions aimed at improving early child development in rural China affect the mental health of caregivers. Data from an analytic sample of 615 caregiver–child dyads (children aged 6 to 24 months, 48.5% girls; data collection: 2015–2017) in a 2-year cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 100 villages showed that the intervention had no significant effect on caregiver depressive (β = − .047, SE = .079), anxiety (β = .040, SE = .076), or stress (β = .032, SE = .081) symptoms. Subgroup analyses found no significant difference in effects on mental health by prespecified characteristics after adjustment for multiple comparisons, except that the caregivers of children without social–emotional delay at baseline exhibited lower depression scores after the intervention (β = − .205, SE = .097, p = .043). The findings suggest that the center-based parenting intervention focused solely on strengthening parenting skills may be insufficient to improve caregiver mental health over 2 years.
The Impact of Extending the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control General License 134 Series on Russian Oil Revenues, War Financing, and Humanitarian Implications for Ukraine.
Objectives Considering the importance of caregiver mental health for early childhood development, this study investigates risk and protective factors of mental health of mothers and grandmothers caring for infants and toddlers in rural China.
Methods Using survey data from 777 primary caregivers of children aged 5 to 25 months, we apply regression analysis and structural equation modeling to examine associations between social support, mental health literacy, parenting-related hardships, and mental health among mothers and grandmothers.
Results The study finds that 33% of the caregivers report symptoms of mental health problems, with grandmothers experiencing more severe symptoms. Poor caregiver mental health is associated with lower child language (p < 0.05) and social-emotional development (p < 0.001). Social support and mental health literacy are associated with better mental health, but this association was not statistically significant among either the mothers or the grandmothers alone.
Conclusions Enhancing caregiver mental health is crucial for children’s development. Social support and mental health literacy are predictors of mental health. Future research should examine the effect of improving social support and mental health literacy on the mental health of caregivers for young children.
An empirically powerful account of why interpersonal violence across the globe exacts a far greater cumulative cost on society than war and terrorism combined
A new report by Florence G'sell, visiting professor in the program on the Governance of Emerging Technologies, offers a nuanced analysis of blockchain technology's relationship with legal and regulatory frameworks.
International Journal of Social Welfare,
April 26, 2026
Caregivers' ability to access, engage with, and critically evaluate digital information on parenting practices (henceforth, “e-parenting literacy”) is emerging as an increasingly important determinant of early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. Therefore, the current study provides empirical evidence of the role of e-parenting literacy for ECD outcomes of 6- to 24-month-olds (N = 564) in rural households in a coastal province in East-China. The study focuses on the role of e-parenting literacy of the two most common types of primary caregivers (i.e., persons in charge of the daily care) of young children in the study region: mother and grandmother caregivers. Empirical results show that 76% of the primary caregivers (N = 429) are mothers, the remaining 135 primary caregivers are grandmothers. Overall, e-parenting literacy is found to be positively and significantly associated with children's early cognitive development outcomes. Furthermore, a heterogeneity analysis shows that e-parenting literacy is positively and significantly associated with children's early cognitive and language outcomes when the primary caregiver is a grandmother, but not when the primary caregiver is a mother. This may reflect greater heterogeneity in grandmothers' digital device use and e-parenting literacy, while most mothers already possess adequate e-parenting skills. Additionally, older children (i.e., 16- to 24-month-olds), who may require more advanced parenting skills than their slightly younger peers, are also found to benefit more from gains in e-parenting literacy. This research highlights how digital inclusion can help to bridge gaps in caregiving practices and developmental opportunities of young children growing up in developing settings.
