News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
Dr Yajun Bao was a visiting fellow at the Blavatnik School from Feb 2017 to Feb 2018. Here, in conversation with his mentor at the Blavatnik School, Dr Ruth Dixon, he discusses his new paper ‘The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: An Insider’s Perspective.’ RD: Yajun, in your paper you […]
As Christmas approaches, the United Kingdom is accelerating the rollout of a social security scheme only Ebenezer Scrooge could love. The “universal credit” programme replaces six different welfare benefits – such as the child tax credit and the housing benefit – with one. The goal is to incentivise employment, and […]
Project non-completion, commonly attributed to corruption or clientelism, is in fact often caused by an inability to prioritise public expenditure Unfinished infrastructure projects are a common sight in many developing countries. Infrastructure is a high priority for governments, citizens, and donors alike, on account of its crucial role in achieving […]
The crisis of contemporary democracy has become a major subject of political science in recent years. Despite this, the symptoms of this crisis – the vote for Brexit and Trump, among others – were not foreseen. Nor were the underlying causes of this new constellation of politics. Focusing on the […]
Deepening interdependence, due in part to the success of the postwar order, has contributed to an anti-global backlash across the world. Beyond Gridlock (Polity Press, 2017), seeks pathways of change through the gridlock. Can we manage the globalised world we have created? Every day seems to bring new evidence to the […]
Free-market capitalism is on trial. In the United Kingdom, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accuses neoliberalism of increasing homelessness, throwing children into poverty, and causing wages to fall below subsistence level. For the defence, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May cites the immense potential of an open, innovative, free-market economy. Similar “proceedings” are taking place […]
There is something special about the Blavatnik School’s students. During the 2016-17 year, when I took a sabbatical from my regular position at the University of California Los Angeles to spend the year in Oxford, the Blavatnik MPP class included 124 students from 70 countries. Without exception, every student I […]
The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union no doubt carries many risks. But, if British politicians and business leaders are right, it also creates an important opportunity: the possibility of building a safer, greener, more efficient, and more innovative farming sector. If the UK manages to seize this opportunity, […]