Research : The Watson Institute for International Studies

A-Z Index

Research Areas

Global Governance is under consideration as a new focus of research at the Institute. The potential is to establish a sustained, cross-disciplinary conversation among academics and leading thinkers from the fields of law, social science, and the humanities to produce innovative ideas on global governance and new ways to address pressing global issues.	Globalization and Inequality Initiative deals with the new realities of a world growing ever closer together through trade, finance, information, and transportation networks. The dynamics of global integration create new opportunities for some nations, businesses, and individuals, but not all. Emerging and persistent inequalities exclude many groups and even entire nations from the potential benefits of globalization. This, in turn, is generating new political, institutional, and security problems that require attention and action.
Global Environment addresses the challenge of global environmental change through scholarly, policy-relevant analysis drawing on the natural and social sciences.	Political Economy of Development advances the comparative study of global economic and political transformations.
Global Security integrates theory and policy to analyze the most pressing threats and significant vulnerabilities of global security. The prevention of violence, the mitigation of war, and the construction of peace constitute the research area's major concerns. Critical security issues are investigated not only as conflicts among states but as effects of new global actors, transborder flows, and complex networks.	Politics, Culture, and Identity aims to bring cultural and historical analysis to bear on transnational and international issues.
Cross-cutting Initiatives analyzes issues found at the intersections between and among the Watson Institute's four chosen fields of research – development, environment, security, and issues of culture and identity.