News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
On Wednesday 25 July, Pakistan held its general election which resulted in Imran Khan’s victory after a controversial political campaign. We have asked some of our Pakistani alumni for their thoughts about the election. Wasif Rehman is a current Master of Public Policy student (MPP 2017) and the recipient of […]
April 23th 2018 marked an incredibly important milestone in the history of Armenia and perhaps in the history of the whole post-Soviet space. After 11 days of peaceful protests demanding the resignation of newly elected prime minister Serzh Sargsyan, he resigned, wishing peace and harmony to the Armenian nation. It […]
“Don’t get mad, get even.” That aphorism needs to become the new norm in democratic politics across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Rather than complaining about populist successes, established political parties should take a page from the populist playbook. Three lessons, in particular, cry out for attention. The first […]
It seems reasonable to assume that progressive policies help each other along. That, for example, programmes to improve transparency and lower corruption go hand in hand with efforts to encourage more women to stand for political office. But is this assumption justified? And what if the opposite were sometimes the […]
On 24 June 2016, I devised a game I have been playing ever since. Virtually every time I meet a group of people to talk things like change and leadership, the future of work and politics, the future of Europe or democracy, I ask: “If you are under 35, please […]
In a few hours the tradition of a peaceful transition of power that has taken place since John Adams was sworn-in as the second President of the United States will continue. President Obama will awake as the American Commander-in-Chief and when he ends his day his only title will be […]
“Take back control” has been an intoxicating rallying call to voters not just in Britain, but in the United States, and many other parts of the world. People are “making themselves heard” in elections and referendums. Their votes are signalling that they no longer trust or feel linked to establishment […]
In a number of yearly polls, Gallup has reported that since 2010, between 73 and 79 percent of Americans agree that “corruption is widespread throughout the government in this country.” These staggering figures are by no means unique but there is considerable variation between countries, from 99 percent in Greece, […]