On climate, America is more than Washington

In spite of drastic federal rollbacks, numerous public and private actors remain committed to environmental causes.

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America Firsters Need to Take Tennis Lessons

There are lessons for nationalists to learn at the U.S. Open and other international sports contests, Evan Lieberman writes in a guest essay. “Americans can wish for their nation’s economic success but also support fairness, cooperation and even empathy in relationships with those outside our borders.”

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MIT Without Borders

MIT undergraduates gain global experience and new insights through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives.

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Fact-checking Trump’s video, images about South Africa during Oval Office meeting with Ramaphosa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa came to the White House to talk about trade, but President Donald Trump had other plans. Trump wanted to talk about “genocide” of white people in South Africa, and he brought a batch of news articles, talking points and a four-minute video ready to make his case. There were factual issues in Trump’s clips, pages and comments.

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Lessons from Donald Trump’s South African doppelgänger, Paul Kruger

Paul Kruger, the second president of the South African Republic, might as well have been a prototype for Donald Trump. The echoes between their leadership styles — xenophobia, nationalism, disdain for intellectualism, and corporate favouritism — are striking.

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New Study Examines American Attitudes on Global Climate Policies

A recent study in Climatic Change, led by MIT professors Evan Lieberman and Volha Charnysh and co-authored with MIT PhD student Jared Kalow and UPenn postdoc Erin Walk PhD ’24, explores US public opinion on global climate policies considering our nation’s historic role as a leading contributor of carbon emissions.

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Collective Action in a Multipolar World

The world confronts a set of profound problems with origins and consequences that traverse international boundaries, such as climate change, pandemic spread, widespread poverty and human trafficking. Tackling these problems will demand much more coordination of public and private action, including increased sharing of resources from where they are currently concentrated. As this report makes clear, this will require a much greater degree of global solidarity. But how?

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South Africa at 30: Significant Progress Amid Challenges

Even though South Africa’s democracy faces challenges as it turns 30, Busani Moyo converses with Evan Lieberman and discovers there is plenty to celebrate.

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Q&A: Exploring Ethnic Dynamics and Climate Change in Africa

Professor of political science Evan Lieberman discusses his research into perceptions among African and American citizens about the climate crisis and how their governments are responding.

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Democracy in Africa: Reflections on Democracy in South Africa

Evan Lieberman writes a blog about his recently published book Until We Have Won Our Liberty and his experiences studying democracy in South Africa.

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Limitless Africa (True Africa) How Do You Stop Ethnic Interests Influencing Politics?

Evan Lieberman, Mutemi wa Kiama, and Bakary Sambe join Claude Grunitzky on this episode of Limitless Africa to discuss how we can stop ethnic interests from influencing politics in Africa. The episode discusses how the ‘family’ and ‘tribe’, traditional ways of organizing African societies, can also be a source of conflict and how unscrupulous leaders can stoke tensions or focus resources on certain groups. Is the idea of ethnic groups at odds with the idea of a modern state?

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Vermont Conversation (VT Digger): What the world can learn from South Africa

The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are making a difference. In this episode Evan Lieberman offers a fresh take on South Africa’s journey to democracy in his new book, Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa After Apartheid.

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The Best Books on Africa Politics, Recommended by Evan Lieberman

Despite their enormous variety, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa share some common challenges when it comes to politics and governance. Here, political scientist Evan Lieberman talks about the struggles for democracy in the continent and some of the specific obstacles African countries face in state-building and administration.

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Krugersdorp News: Mogale the Focus of US Academic’s Book on Post-Apartheid South Africa

Evan Lieberman’s book about post-apartheid South Africa, Until We Have Won Our Liberty, focusing on Mogale City in particular. The book counters much of the conventional wisdom about contemporary South Africa and offers hope for the enduring impact of democratic ideals.

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Democracy Paradox
Evan Lieberman on South Africa: Democracy in Hard Places

Justin Kempf, host of Democracy Paradox, interviews Evan Lieberman. Over the course of the interview they cover Why Evan Lieberman is optimistic about democracy in South Africa, the role of Nelson Mandela on South Africa’s democracy, the importance of South Africa for democracy in the world, an account of the housing community Ethembalethu, and what the 2019 election says about democracy in South Africa.

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Princeton UP Ideas Podcast: Until We Have Won Our Liberty

At a time when many democracies are under strain around the world, Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa After Apartheid (Princeton UP, 2022) shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era’s most closely watched transitions away from minority rule. South Africa’s democratic development has been messy, fiercely contested, and sometimes violent. But as Evan Lieberman argues, it has also offered a voice to the voiceless, unprecedented levels of government accountability, and tangible improvements in quality of life.

Countering much of the conventional wisdom about contemporary South Africa, Until We Have Won Our Liberty offers hope for the enduring impact of democratic ideals.

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From South Africa, a success story for democracy

MIT political scientist and director of the Global Diversity Lab’s Director Evan Lieberman’s new book, Until We Have Won Our Liberty, examines the condition of South Africa, a quarter-century after it became a multiracial democracy.

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Project Syndicate: The Promise of South African Democracy

Although South Africans’ increasing frustration with their government is borne out in public polling, critics who describe the country as a failed state completely miss the mark. Considering where South Africa started in 1994, its progress has been nothing short of remarkable.

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Q&A: Climate Grand Challenges finalists on building equity and fairness into climate solutions

Research demonstrates that climate change disproportionately affects disadvantaged groups. How can we minimize the impact? Professor Evan Lieberman recently spoke with MIT News to discuss a research proposal (co-authored with Danielle Wood and Siqi Zheng) aimed at reducing these disparities. The proposal was a finalist in MIT’s first-ever Climate Grand Challenge.

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The Future of International Education

MIT News interviews Professor Evan Lieberman, the new MISTI faculty director, to discuss the future of international education and the unique opportunities provided by MISTI (MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives).

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GBH NPR: New Study Shows Differences In How Social And Racial Groups Perceive COVID-19 Health Disparities

GDL Director Evan Lieberman was interviewed about one of his recent publications by Craig LeMoult of GBH, NPR’s local affiliate in Boston. They discussed how messaging surrounding racial disparities in COVID-19 can impact attitudes and preferences among various groups.

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Study reveals mixed reactions about Covid-19 health disparities

Recently published research by GDL Director Evan Lieberman and co-author Allison Harell was featured in MIT News. Their work examines the consequences of COVID-19 messaging surrounding racial disparities.

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All Things Considered (NPR): Researcher Studies How Messaging on COVID-19 Disparities Affects Policy Preferences

NPR’s Michel Martin interviewed GDL Faculty Director Evan Lieberman about his recently published paper examining COVID-19 messaging and racial disparities. The interview was featured on the NPR radio program All Things Considered.

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Opinion: The ‘Us and Them’ Pandemic Shows America is Still Impervious To Black Pain

A recent Washington Post article authored by Michele Norris highlighted research from GDL Faculty Director Evan Lieberman. The piece examines the connection between public opinion and racial disparities surrounding COVID-19.