FSI's research on the origins, character and consequences of government institutions spans continents and academic disciplines. The institute’s senior fellows and their colleagues across Stanford examine the principles of public administration and implementation. Their work focuses on how maternal health care is delivered in rural China, how public action can create wealth and eliminate poverty, and why U.S. immigration reform keeps stalling.
FSI’s work includes comparative studies of how institutions help resolve policy and societal issues. Scholars aim to clearly define and make sense of the rule of law, examining how it is invoked and applied around the world.
FSI researchers also investigate government services – trying to understand and measure how they work, whom they serve and how good they are. They assess energy services aimed at helping the poorest people around the world and explore public opinion on torture policies. The Children in Crisis project addresses how child health interventions interact with political reform. Specific research on governance, organizations and security capitalizes on FSI's longstanding interests and looks at how governance and organizational issues affect a nation’s ability to address security and international cooperation.
Read the article in the December 2023 issue of Stanford Magazine.
Beatriz Magaloni can tell you which criminal justice reforms make communities safer in Mexico and beyond.
Hikaru Yamagishi joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Japan Program Postdoctoral Fellow for part of the 2023-2024 academic year. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 2022, and most recently was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Her research focuses on democratic institutions and electoral competition, with a special interest in the case of Japan.
Javier is a Master's in International Policy student focusing in Development and Governance. He joins the program from a career rooted at the intersection of business and policy. Prior to Stanford, he served as a consultant, supporting businesses and startups navigate the complexities of Latin America's political and policy landscape. He earned his law degree from Mexico’s ITAM, receiving a Special Mention for his thesis on unearthing the incentive structures in Mexico’s Senate. His academic journey at Stanford is centered around interdisciplinary coursework spanning policy, business, and sustainability to develop a systems understanding of the dynamics between different sectors. Motivated by a vision of a socially mindful and environmentally sustainable global economy, he is passionate about building cross-sectoral partnerships to create and scale positively impactful initiatives. Javier most enjoys spending time with his wife and son. His essence of life is found in the joys of family, the peace of contemplative prayer, and contributing to the world’s journey toward healing and wholeness. He is an aviation aficionado and a seasoned picnic enthusiast.
As we veer ever closer to a global climate catastrophe, it has become clear that incremental tinkering with our systems — including political, environmental, social, and economic systems — will not be an adequate solution. Drawing on Martin Luther King’s idea of Creative Maladjustment, this lecture will argue that rather than responding to the polycrisis with an approach of system recovery, maintenance, and protection, what is urgently needed now is system innovation, redesign, and transformation.
It is imperative that we change the trajectory we are on as a species. Yet activism is failing to win at the scale and speed necessary to do so. The communications deficit that must be addressed by those seeking transformative change will likely need to be multilayered and imbued with intersectionality. This lecture posits the power of artivism — a fusion of art and activism — as a vital force capable of resonating with diverse audiences, instilling a sense of urgency, and fostering various pathways for participation. At this critical juncture, pessimism is a luxury we simply cannot afford. The pessimism that flows from our analysis, observations, and lived realities can best be overcome by the optimism of our thoughts, actions, and creative responses.
The Payne Lectureship is named for Frank E. Payne and Arthur W. Payne, brothers who gained an appreciation for global problems through their international business operations. Their descendants endowed the annual lecture series at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in order to raise public understanding of the complex policy issues facing the global community today and to increase support for informed international cooperation.
The Payne Distinguished Lecturer is chosen for his or her international reputation as a leader, with an emphasis on visionary thinking; a broad, practical grasp of a given field; and the capacity to clearly articulate an important perspective on the global community and its challenges.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kumi Naidoo is a prominent South African human rights and environmental justice activist. At the age of fifteen, he organized school boycotts against the apartheid educational system in South Africa. His courageous actions made him a target for the Security Police, leading to his exile in the United Kingdom, where he remained until 1990. Upon his return to South Africa, Kumi played a pivotal role in the legalization of the African National Congress in his home province of KwaZulu Natal.
Kumi also served as the official spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), responsible for overseeing the country's first democratic elections in April 1994. His dedication to democracy and justice led to notable international roles, including being the first person from the global South to lead Greenpeace International as Executive Director from 2009 to 2016. He later served as the Secretary General of Amnesty International from 2018 to 2020.
In the realm of education, Kumi has shared his expertise, lecturing at Fossil Free University and holding a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy until early 2022.
Currently, Kumi serves as a Senior Advisor for the Community Arts Network (CAN). He holds the position of Distinguished visiting lecturer at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and is a Professor of Practice at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. Additionally, he continues to represent global interests as a Global Ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity. He also holds positions as a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University and an Honorary Fellow at Magdalen College.
In a testament to his family's commitment to positive change, they have established the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism, honoring the legacy of their son and brother, the now late South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through a commitment to supporting artivism and mental health in South Africa.
Kumi has authored and co-authored numerous books, the most recent being Letters To My Mother (2022), a personal and professional memoir that won the HSS 2023 non-fiction award by the National Institute Humanities and Social Sciences.
Virtual: Zoom (no registration required)
Kumi Naidoo is a prominent South African human rights and environmental justice activist. At the age of fifteen, he organized school boycotts against the apartheid educational system in South Africa. His courageous actions made him a target for the Security Police, leading to his exile in the United Kingdom, where he remained until 1990. Upon his return to South Africa, Kumi played a pivotal role in the legalization of the African National Congress in his home province of KwaZulu Natal.
Kumi also served as the official spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), responsible for overseeing the country's first democratic elections in April 1994. His dedication to democracy and justice led to notable international roles, including being the first person from the global South to lead Greenpeace International as Executive Director from 2009 to 2016. He later served as the Secretary General of Amnesty International from 2018 to 2020.
In the realm of education, Kumi has shared his expertise, lecturing at Fossil Free University and holding a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy until early 2022.
Currently, Kumi serves as a Senior Advisor for the Community Arts Network (CAN). He holds the position of Distinguished visiting lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and is a Professor of Practice at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. Additionally, he continues to represent global interests as a Global Ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity. He also holds positions as a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University and an Honorary Fellow at Magdalen College.
In a testament to his family's commitment to positive change, they have established the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism, honoring the legacy of their son and brother, the now late South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through a commitment to supporting artivism and mental health in South Africa.
Kumi has authored and co-authored numerous books, the most recent being Letters To My Mother (2022), a personal and professional memoir that won the HSS 2023 non-fiction award by the National Institute Humanities and Social Sciences.
We studied millennia of Ukrainian history. We debated the legality of seizing frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction. And we drank a cherry liqueur that was once a staple in every household of Old Lviv.
As Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine dragged into its twentieth month this September, we took off with a group of Stanford Law peers from campus to Warsaw, Poland, as part of the school’s inaugural S-Term program (S stands for September). Led by Erik Jensen, director of Stanford’s Rule of Law Program, and Michael Strauss, JD ’01, general counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, our S-Term class, titled Ukraine: The Promise and Perils of Legal Reform and Governance, in Wartime and Reconstruction, was the first ever course at the law school to focus on Ukraine. Inspired by S-Term’s vision of providing unique, immersive learning experiences with faculty leaders and renowned practitioners, Professors Jensen and Strauss gave students an opportunity not only to learn about but also to help address the many challenges facing Ukrainians as they seek a secure, prosperous, and democratic future.
Read the full story in Stanford Lawyer.
Law students discuss their field study of Ukraine via Warsaw, including meetings with experts including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor, Ukraine Parliament member Oleksandra Ustinova, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, Judge Olena Kibenko of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, and more.
The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), Stanford University’s hub for interdisciplinary research, education, and engagement on contemporary Asia, invites nominations for the 2024 Shorenstein Journalism Award. The award recognizes outstanding journalists who have spent their careers helping audiences worldwide understand the complexities of the Asia-Pacific region. The 2024 award will honor a recipient whose work has primarily appeared in American news media. APARC invites award nomination submissions from news editors, publishers, scholars, journalism associations, and entities focused on researching and interpreting the Asia-Pacific region. Submissions are due by Thursday, February 15, 2024.
Sponsored by APARC, the award carries a cash prize of US $10,000. It rotates between recipients whose primary body of work has been featured in Asian news media and those whose primary body of work has been featured in American news media. The 2024 award will recognize a recipient from the latter category.
For the purpose of the award, the Asia-Pacific region is defined broadly to include Northeast, Southeast, South, and Central Asia and Australasia. Both individual journalists with a considerable body of work and journalism organizations are eligible for the award. Nominees’ work may be in traditional forms of print or broadcast journalism and/or in new forms of multimedia journalism. The Award Selection Committee, whose members are experts in journalism and Asia research and policy, presides over the judging of nominees and is responsible for the selection of honorees.
An annual tradition since 2002, the award honors the legacy of APARC benefactor, Mr. Walter H. Shorenstein, and his twin passions for promoting excellence in journalism and understanding of Asia. Throughout its history, the award has recognized world-class journalists who push the boundaries of coverage of the Asia-Pacific region and help advance mutual understanding between audiences in the United States and their Asian counterparts.
Recent honorees include India’s magazine of long-form journalism The Caravan; NPR's Beijing Correspondent Emily Feng; Burmese journalist and human rights defender Swe Win; former Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Tom Wright; and the internationally esteemed champion of press freedom Maria Ressa, CEO of the Philippine news platform Rappler and winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Award nominations are accepted electronically through Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 11:59 PM PST. For information about the nomination procedures and to submit an entry please visit the award nomination entry page. APARC will announce the winner by April 2024 and present the award at a public ceremony at Stanford in the autumn quarter of 2024.
Please direct all inquiries to aparc-communications@stanford.edu.
Sponsored by Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, the annual award recognizes outstanding journalists and journalism organizations for excellence in covering the Asia-Pacific region. News editors, publishers, scholars, and organizations focused on Asia research and analysis are invited to submit nominations for the 2024 award through February 15.
Santiago Paz, from Arequipa, Peru, is pursuing a master’s degree in international policy as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and Fullbright Peru grantee. He graduated valedictorian in economics at Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru. Santiago has more than three years of experience in the Peruvian public sector, assuming leadership positions such as data analytics coordinator at the Ministry of Education and economic development budget coordinator at the Ministry of Economics and Finance. Santiago believes that strengthening civil service is critical for enhancing public institutions and preserving democracy. Thus, he aspires to build fresh relationships between the government and citizens and to promote youth participation in public policy. With this objective, he co-founded the NGO Impacta, which provides professional development to talented young public employees. In recognition of his efforts, in 2022, he was awarded the Young Leaders of the America Initiative fellowship, granted by the U.S. Department of State.
Leticia joins Stanford's Master's in International Policy Class of 2025 from Indonesia. She is interested in exploring ways to build political literacy and public participation to improve accountability and policymaking through latest technological developments.
Prior to Stanford, Leticia was serving as Innovative Financing Officer at UNICEF Jakarta, Indonesia, coordinating a programme leveraging innovative financing to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and improve Indonesian public financial management. Selected to represent 150+ young personnel, she led initiatives promoting workplace inclusivity in the East Asia and Pacific Region. Leticia moved back to Indonesia after three years in Australia as an Analyst at two economics consulting firms, where she evaluated Australian and Indonesian government programs.
Leticia received her Bachelor of Commerce from University of New South Wales, Australia, majoring in economics, and spent her final semester studying at Cornell University, USA.
This news entry was last updated on December 14, 2023.
APARC Communications Manager Michael Breger recently spoke with Dr. Soksamphoas Im, our Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellow on Southeast Asia in fall 2023.
In this conversation, Im shares insights from her research on social welfare in Cambodia and how such public assistance is used by the ruling regime to establish legitimacy. You can listen to the interview on SoundCloud or read the audio transcript.
On November 29, 2023, Dr. Im presented her research at a seminar hosted by the Southeast Asia Program. You can view the event recording on our YouTube channel.
In this conversation, Dr. Soksamphoas Im, APARC's Lee Kong Chan NUS-Stanford Fellow on Southeast Asia, discusses her research into how the ruling Cambodian People’s Party combines coercive capacity with policy reform to legitimize its regime.
The event will be broadcast live from this webpage.
Tune in on December 5th to watch our annual conference! China experts in the policy and academic communities will discuss the state of the Chinese economy, pathways to manage scholarly exchanges, and the future of Chinese foreign policy.
Moderator: Scott Kennedy, CSIS
Panelists:
Zhiguo He, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Bert Hofman, NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Council on Foreign Relations
Moderator: Scott Rozelle, Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions
Panelists:
Li Chenjian, Stanford University
Molly Roberts, UC San Diego
Deborah Seligsohn, Villanova University
Moderator: Ilaria Mazzocco, CSIS
Panelists:
Yunnan Chen, Overseas Development Institute
Carla Freeman, United States Institute of Peace
Francesca Ghiretti, Adarga Research Institute
