Dear Friends,

Some of you may have noticed the long silence on this blog site.  I have spent the last three months transitioning to a new position, as the founding Director of a new Institute for Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

This is my “Pivot to Asia,” where I think many of the critical policy issues of the coming decades will have to be faced.  These including aging, climate change, emerging market growth, internet policy, and promoting innovation and new technologies (robotics, AI, IoT, renewable energy, biotech, etc.).   As  you may know, while Silicon Valley gets the credit for innovations on the web, on many exciting developments, from financial technology to robotics and holographic projections, Asian countries are in the lead.  This is also a ring-side seat to sea what changing economic fortunes come to China, and a safe-viewing distance to watch the circus known as US Presidential politics.

For me this is a great opportunity — HKUST is one of the world’s fastest rising and highest ranked universities, and is in a growth phase that will include public policy, particularly science and tech-related policies.  If you will be visiting Hong Kong, or are looking to join us in building a new public policy research and graduate center in Asia, please let me know.

Of course, the last three months have also seen a string of world-changing events, including the shift of Turkey and Russia into ever greater authoritarian rule, the migrant crisis in Europe, the clear slowdown in Chinese growth, and the remarkable rise of Donald Trump to the top of GOP politics.  So there will be plenty to comment on as I resume.

First is a reflection on why there seems to be a global rise of strong leaders, driven by widespread anger and anxiety.  Glad to be back — I hope you again enjoy these occasional posts.