
The Rise of Far Right Populism in the West: Picks of the Week
Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash | Ronald F. Inglehart and Pippa Norris The Ruthlessly Effective Rebranding of Europe’s New Far Right | The Guardian The Power of Populism | Foreign Affairs Podcast What the Right’s Intellectuals Did Wrong | The New York Times In a singularly thoughtful working paper, Ronald F. Inglehart of the University of Michigan and Pippa Norris from the Harvard Kennedy school set out … Read More

Memorializing our Conflicted Past: Historic Preservation and Slavery in New England
The Pell Center had the privilege of hosting four excellent speakers on November 1, 2016. The lecture centered around the question: how do we as a nation memorialize the slavery and injustice of our past? Each speaker focused on answering this question in regards to slavery in New England. Joanne Pope Melish spoke first, describing the immensity of the slave trade in New England and describing how New England began as … Read More

Can the Vote Really Be Hacked? Picks of the Week
No, the presidential election can’t be hacked | CNN US election machine technology is out of date, expert say | CNBC How Clinton, Trump Could Champion Cybersecurity | Dark Reading Although we are aware of the efforts by the Russian government to discredit American democracy and interfere with the election, the chance that a malicious actor can carry out a hack that would change the outcome of the presidential election … Read More

Dr. Mark R. Jacobson joins Pell Center as Adjunct Senior Fellow
Newport, R.I. – The Pell Center at Salve Regina University announces the addition of Mark R. Jacobson as an adjunct senior fellow. Dr. Jacobson has extensive experience in the federal government, international organizations, and academia working on some of the most complex and politically sensitive national security issues facing the United States. He is currently an advisor at Dūcō and a Professorial Lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs. … Read More

We Know What a Fair Election Looks Like
In a remarkable election season, with one candidate speaking frequently about voter fraud and “rigged” elections, we asked an experienced international election observer how we would know if the election was fair. Here is his response. Standing amidst the rubble of war, a woman stood against a cold and bitter wind. I asked the woman why she stood patiently waiting in a line with hundreds of her neighbors. “I have … Read More

The Ethical Challenge of New Technologies
On October 5, 2016 the Pell Center hosted an audience full of eager students and community members in the beautiful ballroom of the Young Building for a thought-provoking lecture on the complex ethical future of the world as emerging technologies continue to yield unexpected consequences. The talk featured Naval War College Provost Lewis M. Duncan. As a member of the Board of Directors for the Advancement of Science in Space, … Read More

A Republic, If You’ll Keep It: Picks of the Week
How Russia Pulled Off the Biggest Election Hack in U.S. History | Esquire Steve Bannon’s Vision for the Trump Coalition After Election Day | The New Yorker Donald Trump’s Contempt for Democracy | The New York Times Hackers Used New Weapons to Disrupt Major Websites Across U.S. | The New York Times The United States is currently the target of a Russian information operation—of this there is no doubt. From … Read More

Mercy Leadership Conference
Every other year, the Sisters of Mercy host their International Mercy Leadership Conference in the original home of Catherine McAuley on Bagot Street in Dublin. This year, Salve Regina sent several students to the conference, advertising the opportunity to those involved in Mercy activities such as Mercy in Motion and Sigma Phi Sigma. Sarah Johnson, 17, Gabrielle Kubba, 18, Caroline Kelley, 18, Campus Minister Mathew Kelly and I traveled to … Read More

Ongoing Tensions in Asia: Picks of the Week
Rodrigo Duterte, Scorned Abroad, Remains Popular in the Philippines | The New York Times If Duterte Kicks Out U.S. Special Operators, A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall | War on the Rocks Vietnam Says No to Foreign Military Base on its Soil | Reuters Everything is Not Well in the South China Sea | The Huffington Post Australia As Donald Trump’s campaign enters its Gotterdammerung phase, our attention has been captured by … Read More

Who Stole Conservatism?
The American political system has always cycled through periods of progress and conservatism. As voters grapple with just which course they favor in 2016, Mario DiNunzio, professor emeritus of history at Providence College, kicked off the Pell Center’s 2016-2017 lecture series with a discussion of his new book, Who Stole Conservatism? DiNunzio outlined a history of conservatism from the 18th century to today, crediting the structure of classic conservatism to political … Read More