Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Educating policy makers

Graham Allison, Robert D. Blackwill, and Ali Wyne on Lee Kuan Yew’s Predictions for China’s Future

Paul Fraioli — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:52:10 -0600

January 30, 2013

Time magazine’s Feb. 4, 2013 international edition published an extensive excerpt from the new book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World (MIT Press, Feb. 1, 2013), by Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill, with Ali Wyne. The book draws on their in-depth interviews with Lee and his voluminous writings and speeches. The excerpt in Time distills Lee’s strategic insights about the future of China.

Kuwait Foundation Gift Enhances Kennedy School Middle East Initiative

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:19:28 -0600

On July 9, the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) formalized a new five-year agreement with Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). The $8.1 million gift to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ensures the continuation of the MEI’s Kuwait Program at Harvard, and will support a number of initiatives, including a visiting scholars program, degree fellowships for students from the Gulf and wider Mideast region, faculty research, customized executive education programs, and executive education fellowships in existing programs

Theory and Policy in International Relations: Some Personal Reflections

Stephen M. Walt — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:06:55 -0500

"It has been nearly thirty years since I received my PhD. At that time, I was convinced that systematic scholarly research could uncover and verify timeless truths about international politics and foreign policy, and that once those discoveries had been made, a grateful policy community would quickly absorb them and adopt the right prescriptions. With the passage of time, I've gained both a greater respect for the limits of what social science can accomplish and a greater appreciation for the imperviousness of the policy community to reasoned discourse, especially in the United States. Even if scholars were able to produce more convincing analyses—itself a debatable proposition—overcoming the entrenched interests that shape what policy makers choose to do is not easy."

Harvard Kennedy School Receives Gift from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

Doug Gavel — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:17:45 -0500

July 13, 2012

The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has given $8.1 million to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) to support the continuation of the Kuwait Program at HKS Belfer Center's Middle East Initiative. The gift will be used to develop leaders with the capacity to address the many challenging public policy issues facing the region. It will also fund research issues of vital importance in the region, such as education, energy, and water.

Juma Lauded for Role in First Innovation Advisory Council

Dominic Contreras — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:15:48 -0600

Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, played a central role in creation of the Lagos Innovation Advisory Council, the first of its kind in Africa.

International Affairs and the Public Sphere

Stephen M. Walt — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:09:33 -0500

"...[T]he academic study of international affairs will be impoverished if the relevant academic disciplines continue to turn inward, to focus on narrow issues that are primarily of interest only to other scholars, and to become even less interested in communicating to policymakers, the broader public, or the bulk of our students (the vast majority of whom do not want to be social scientists themselves). Accordingly, our goal should be to encourage a diverse, engaged community of scholars that is still committed to a free exchange of ideas and to high standards of both rigor and relevance."

An Eye-opening Study of the Boys Club That Still Runs US Foreign Policy

Juliette Kayyem — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:54:25 -0500

Whatever the reason for this discrepancy, Zenko has opened a needed dialogue. We had elevated a few high-profile women in our minds to believe that the gender barriers had been broken. But Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice do not make an establishment....And Zenko made it clear that the arenas where future Susan Rices are cultivated — think tanks and academia — are still weighted in favor of the boys. In addition, it is those think tanks and universities where media finds their "talking heads" and other commentators.

All That Glitters: An American in Vietnam

Dorothy Shore Zinberg — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:05:01 -0600

"Poverty and unemployment are significant even though, like the Chinese, the Vietnamese have managed to cut abject poverty significantly. Wages remain shockingly low. Censorship is rife and Facebook is banned. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (U.S.) before the 2011 Communist Party Congress meetings, Internet cafes and blogs were closely watched; dozens of activists and bloggers were arrested for "spreading propaganda against the state." The government dismantled websites, and a number of journalists remain in jail."

Deciding in a state of ignorance

Ben Heineman — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:19:33 -0500

"Bob Woodward's new book on the Obama White House portrays a president so frustrated with top military advisers for their refusal to provide what he considered a reasonable exit strategy from Afghanistan that he devised one himself. How should leaders reconcile the laudable instinct to rely on the advice of experts with the sometimes urgent need to force them to think outside the box?"

No Cure for the Cancer of Health Care Costs

Ben Heineman — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:36:13 -0500

"The ever more conservative Republicans want to slash government programs (and the increased coverage) over the dead bodies of the Democrats. And the Democrats want to constrain insurance premiums and profit-maximizing in the private sector over the dead bodies of the Republicans. A bipartisan attempt to find the right combination of systemic productivity gains, meaningful competition and appropriate budgeting has receded far over the horizon."

Dubai Initiative Conference Encourages Middle East Adaptation, Innovation

Tue, 18 May 2010 09:35:32 -0500

"Innovation and Adaptation in the Middle East"-the Dubai Initiative's annual conference in May-explored unique responses to the challenges facing the region. Topics included state formation and the role of political Islam, the challenges of the "youth bulge" in the region, and the changing financial markets and global economies.

Health Financing and Health Outcomes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Marwa Farag — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:38:12 -0500

October 31, 2009

This paper presents an overview of health spending and health outcomes in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region over the time period 1995-2006, using cross-country and over-time comparisons. Overall, the region experienced improvements in health outcomes measured in terms of reductions in infant, under-5 child mortality and maternal mortality. However, there are notable exceptions to this trend of declining mortality in countries such as Afghanistan. In addition to providing an overview of changes in health outcomes and health spending over the 12-year period, the paper examines the following two issues:

1) The responsiveness of health care spending to changes in a country's income, and

2) The impact of spending on health care services on health outcomes.

Broadmoor Project Announces 2008 Summer Internships

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:36:49 -0600

The HKS-Broadmoor Project for Community Engagement in New Orleans is pleased to announce 3 paid summer internships in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans.

Iraq Progress Report: Reading Between the Lines

Graham Allison, Kevin Ryan, Paul Kane, Eric Rosenbach and Stephen M. Walt — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

September 7, 2007

With Gen. David H. Petraeus scheduled to appear before Congress next week, Belfer Center experts and researchers offer their insights and analysis — as well as items that Congress should not overlook.

From Prediction to Learning: Opening Experts' Minds to Unfolding History

Richard Herrmann and Jong Kun Choi — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

No expert in the academic or intelligence community can predict the future, but they should at least be able to accurately analyze and quickly update their beliefs to craft effective policy. Too often, experts not only forget what they used to believe, but also see little connection between explaining the past and predicting the future. A two-year case study of fifteen Korean experts examines their initial predictions about security on the Korean Peninsula and demonstrates how a Bayesian approach helped them first to empirically analyze their theories, and then to successfully update them based on events that actually transpired.

Hurricanes are an American Problem

Bob Graham — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500

The 2006 hurricane season began on June 1. Floridians approached this date with dread. During the last two seasons we have suffered some of the most damaging hurricanes in modern history. In the calm months since then, yet another storm has arisen -- the increasing cost and shrinking availability of insurance for wind driven damage for homes and businesses.

Appointments That Disappoint

Juliette Kayyem — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0500

September 12, 2005

At the very least, Congress should reconsider its position of "once approved, always approved."

Prize Terror Suspects Are Being Set Free

Juliette Kayyem — Sun, 12 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0500

September 12, 2004

The collapse earlier this month of the government's case against an alleged terrorist sleeper cell in Detroit is just another example of the Justice Department's failed "arrest by headlines" philosophy in the war on terror.

Africa: Side by Side...But in Starkly Different Worlds

Robert Rotberg — Sun, 04 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0500

July 4, 2004

Comparing Leadership in Africa

Strengthening African Leadership

Robert Rotberg — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Poor leadership has been the depressing norm in Africa for decades. But as a bold new initiative by a group of past and present African leaders takes off, good governance may finally come to the continent.

Ensuring Quality People in Defense

David S.C. Chu, John P. White, John Brown and Nurith Berstein — Wed, 06 Sep 2000 00:00:00 -0500

Chapter in Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future

Managing the Pentagon's International Relations

Dr. Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall, Christiana Briggs and Anja Miller — Tue, 05 Sep 2000 00:00:00 -0500

Chapter in Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future

Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future

Ashton B. Carter and John P. White — Fri, 01 Sep 2000 00:00:00 -0500

Defense experts explore how the United States can rectify organizational and managerial problems to maximize its military effectiveness.