précis, the MIT Center for International Studies newsletter, covers the wide range of Center activities and tracks the accomplishments of our faculty, researchers and affiliates. It is published twice yearly, once during each academic semester. Both the current issue and past issues of précis are featured online.

Lessons and Opportunities for International Political Economy

The global financial crisis that began in 2007 is a once-in-a-lifetime event with wide-ranging consequences for government policymaking. The crisis has prompted much soul-searching among economists and financial experts who failed to anticipate it, or whose warnings were not taken seriously by regulators and investors. Read More

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Following the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, Tokyo was rife with speculation... The Bush administration had been viewed by many Japanese elites as good for Japan... Many commentators recalled the Clinton administration's "Japan passing" and saw the appointment of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state as a sign that China would receive more attention than Japan. Read More

JoAnn Carmin is associate professor of environmental policy and planning at the Department of Urban Studies at MIT. She also heads the Center's new Program on Environmental Governance and Sustainability (PEGS). She discusses with precis the mission of PEGS, her work on climate change adaptation, and her future plans.
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