News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
Beirut, 4 August 2020. Amid the rubble caused by one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history, lay a clock with hands frozen at 6:09 PM. The clock not only marked the exact moment of this tragedy, it also became the metaphor for the political paralysis over the years that plunged Lebanon into darkness.
Across the world, election management bodies (EMBs) operate as bulwarks of the democratic process. By superintending electoral competition, EMBs uphold democratic values, influence political behaviour and shape the character of democratic institutions. These daunting tasks vest substantial responsibility in electoral institutions to ensure decisions, policies and programmes are guided by […]
The EU’s Green Deal demonstrated strong climate ambition indeed. Nevertheless, it is far from being free of concerns and controversies, particularly considering its implications beyond domestic EU politics. A controversial element is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This mechanism is intended to place a carbon price on imports of […]
Since the beginning of the year, one topic has dominated the conversation – the coronavirus vaccines. Who’s getting them? Why are they getting them? And, how can we ‘nudge’ hesitant people to get them? In the past term, the class of Applied Behavioural Science for Public Policy (part of our […]
I am into the second month of self-imposed isolation at home to escape from the hell outside called the second wave of COVID-19 in India. Grappling with despair, grief and anxiety, I cut cable connection and stopped reading newspapers to avoid seeing the horrendous images of stacked dead bodies in hospital lobbies, corpses floating down the river and collapsed people battling for breath on the streets.
In its quest to make Europe the ‘first climate-neutral continent’, the EU has established a sustainable finance action plan that seeks to channel funds towards ‘greener’ economic activities and investments that will lead the world towards a net-zero circular economy with little environmental impact. The EU Taxonomy Regulation – an […]
Not everyone knows that behind the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, there are hundreds of trained volunteers contributing from all around the world. They all meet virtually every Thursday and during these calls, we hear directly from influential guest speakers – here are our top takeaways from these sessions.
It might seem odd to find supporters of climate action debating the merits of a concept that science shows to be essential for halting climate change, and which is accordingly embedded at the heart of the defining global agreement.