Thanks to significant philanthropic and foundation support over the last year, students across American University’s College of Arts and Sciences are turning what they learn into real-world impact.
A new study in the Social Science & Medicine journal co-authored by SIS Professor Lauren Carruth looks at how conflict, political instability, and informal economies can affect the risk of zoonotic diseases, or those that spread between animals and people. Because most research on the factors driving zoonotic diseases is often limited in conflict-affected and politically insecure locations, this s
Since 2016, wealthy countries have dramatically increased funding to manage migration, often funding repression in the process. In Aiding Autocrats: Migration Management, Governance, and Repression in Africa , SIS Professor Nicholas Micinski and Rice University co-author Kelsey P. Norman examine how this happens, drawing on data from around the world and detailed case studies of Kenya, Ethiopia, E
When does the U.S. Congress move to impose sanctions on foreign countries? While prior research highlights Congress’s influence on sanctions policy, little is known about what drives legislators to act. A new paper co-authored by SIS Professor Jordan Tam a investigates factors driving the introduction and approval of sanctions legislation, arguing that the factors shaping sanctions policymaking va
Hackers tried to break into at least 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota on July 26-27, 2026. Since then, Michigan and five other states have reported similar cyberattacks .
If implemented, the framework agreement hammered out between Lebanon and Israel in June 2026 could serve as the most consequential agreement between the two countries in nearly 80 years.
On June 9 th , SIS and Kogod professor Derrick Cogburn led a side event at the United Nation’s 19th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to officially launch and demonstrate the CRPD Disability Rights Data Dashboard that Cogburn and his team of research associates developed to evaluate the implementation progress of the CRPD across 170 Me
SIS Professor Agustina Giraudy , co-authored with Kent Eaton, has published a new article in Studies in Comparative International Development examining subnational undemocratic regimes (SURs) across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. The article argues that federalism in all four countries has historically sheltered state-level authoritarian practices even under nationally democrati
American University has released Chemical Match Finder for Chemical Weapons Control Lists, or CMF-CW, a free-to-use web application developed by Stefano Costanzi, Isbell Professor of Chemistry and Policy in the College of Arts and Sciences. CMF-CW is designed to help users determine whether a chemical is covered by chemical-weapons-related control lists.
In 2021, Dana R. Fisher was heralded by PBS as "One of America's Most Prescient Political Thinkers" in a piece on the Changing Politics of Climate Change. However, Fisher’s impact goes well beyond climate. As a prognosticator of social change, Fisher’s storied career also spans the topics of policy, democracy, and community resilience through activism, leadership and collaboration.
