Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Globalization

Yvonne Yew Offers Insight into Crucial Asian Security Issues

Ramiro Gonzalez Lorca — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:08:12 -0500

"Researching Asian security issues has never been more topical,” Yvonne Yew said in discussing her work at the Belfer Center. Despite Asia’s economic growth, she said, “simmering tensions, territorial disputes, nuclear proliferation concerns, and military skirmishes serve to potentially undermine the region’s peace and prosperity. As a former Singaporean diplomat and representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yew is in a unique position to view security issues spurred by the momentous and ongoing rise of Asia."

Noora Lori Looks at Changing Nature of Immigration

Dominic Contreras — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:07:06 -0500

The study of citizenship, what it means and what it entails, has always been a topic of considerable debate in international relations and political science. Discussions of citizenship usually occur from the perspective of those who are included within a particular community, yet accelerated changes in global migration flows over the past 60 years have shifted the discussion into new waters. Noora Lori is among those attempting to understand this changing relationship between the state, the citizen, and the migrant.

Hot Off the Presses

Susan M. Lynch — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:03:27 -0500

A survey of recent books by Belfer Center affiliates.

Are Chechen Immigrants a 'Threat'?

Simon Saradzhyan — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:09:38 -0500

“There are still many questions left unanswered as America seeks to understand how the Tsarnaev brothers could have inflicted harm on the innocent people of the country that has granted them shelter, food and education.But there is one question that should not be asked at all, and that is whether the horrendous attacks in Boston should prompt the United States and other countries to consider immigrants a security threat just because they belong to a certain ethnic group.”

Rebooting African Economies: Science and Engineering for Rapid Economic Transformation

Calestous Juma — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:41:11 -0500

A lecture by Calestous Juma from 3:00–5:30 PM, April 18, 2013, at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Organized by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA). Africa's identity has historically been associated with its vast natural resources which have shaped not only its political culture but also defined its place in the global family of nations. In recent years, however, a new picture of Africa has started to emerge. African economies are increasingly being view as rapid adopters of emerging technologies. The aim of this lecture is to identify approaches for leveraging the world's fund of scientific, technological, and engineering knowledge for rapid economic transformation.

Why America Should Not Retrench

Stephen Brooks, G. John Ikenberry and William Wohlforth — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:52:37 -0500

The United States' extended system of security commitments creates a set of institutional relationships that foster political communication. Alliance institutions are first about security protection, but they also bind states together and create institutional channels of communication. For example, NATO has facilitated ties and associated institutions that increase the ability of the United States and Europe to talk to each other and to do business. Likewise, the bilateral alliances in East Asia also play a communication role beyond narrow security issues. Consultations and exchanges spill over into other policy areas. This gives the United States the capacity to work across issue areas, using assets and bargaining chips in one area to make progress in another.

Europe’s Work is Far From Over

Lawrence Summers — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:02:39 -0500

March 18, 2013

"Europe’s economic situation is viewed with far less concern than was the case six, 12 or 18 months ago. Policymakers in Europe far prefer engaging the United States on a possible trade and investment agreement to more discussion on financial stability and growth. However, misplaced confidence can be dangerous if it reduces pressure for necessary policy adjustments," warns Lawrence Summers in an op-ed for the Washington Post.

UN's Cold, but Correct, Call on Haiti

Juliette Kayyem — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:38:04 -0600

"Putting aside whether the UN's attitude has been sympathetic enough, whether it should vet peacekeeping forces better before deploying them, and whether the organization has a moral obligation to give Haiti more help with its public health needs, Ban's decision will protect all relief efforts in the future. It is the only outcome that provides the necessary protections to those who are asked to work voluntarily in dangerous situations. Most importantly, it will maintain an incentive for nations to support UN efforts for assistance or peacekeeping missions that have, by any measure, done far more good than harm."

Lee Kuan Yew's China

Graham Allison, Robert D. Blackwill and Ali Wyne — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:47:25 -0600

Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill spotlight Lee Kuan Yew in their latest book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.

Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Talks America's Strengths And Weaknesses

Graham Allison, Robert D. Blackwill and Ali Wyne — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:00:29 -0600

Both in the United States and abroad, many influential observers argue that the U.S. is in systemic decline. Not so, says Lee Kuan Yew, the sage of Singapore. Lee is not only a student of the rise and fall of nations. He is also the founder of modern Singapore. As prime minister from 1959 to 1990, he led its rise from a poor, small, corrupt port to a first-world city-state in just one generation.

Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World

Graham Allison, Robert D. Blackwill and Ali Wyne — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:43:50 -0600

When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, and CEOs listen. Lee, the founding father of modern Singapore and its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, has honed his wisdom during more than fifty years on the world stage. Almost single-handedly responsible for transforming Singapore into a Western-style economic success, he offers a unique perspective on the geopolitics of East and West. This book gathers key insights from interviews, speeches, and Lee's voluminous published writings and presents them in an engaging question and answer format.

New Book by Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill Explores Global Insights of “Grand Master” Lee Kuan Yew

Sharon Wilke — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:03:20 -0600

When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, who listens? Presidents, prime ministers, chief executives, and all who care about global strategy.

Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill, two leading strategic thinkers, asked Lee Kuan Yew the toughest questions that matter most to thoughtful Americans weighing the challenges of the next quarter century. The result is their new book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World – published today by MIT Press.

End the Damaging Obsession With Deficit

Lawrence Summers — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:30:06 -0600

In the two and a half months between the election and this week’s inauguration of President Barack Obama, America’s public policy debate has been focused on prospective budget deficits and what can be done to reduce them. Lawrence Summers writes that while we should address budget deficits, we should "not obsess over it in counterproductive ways – nor lose sight of the jobs and growth deficits that will ultimately have the greatest impact on the way this generation of Americans lives and what they bequeath to the next."

The Promise of India

Nicholas Burns — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:44 -0600

Nicholas Burns writes, "It has been a big idea in American foreign policy for over a decade: The United States would align its interests with a rapidly rising and democratic India to balance China’s burgeoning power in the vital Asia Pacific region. But that ambitious strategic bet depended on the critical assumption that the chaotic, poor, and struggling India of today would develop into the vibrant, wealthier, and more stable India of tomorrow that many of its admirers think it may yet become.

The World in 2030

Joseph S. Nye — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:11:12 -0600

"The question of America's role in helping to produce a more benign world in 2030 has important implications for President Barack Obama as he approaches his second term. The world faces a new set of transnational challenges, including climate change, transnational terrorism, cyber insecurity, and pandemics. All of these issues require cooperation to resolve."

Immigration and American Power

Joseph S. Nye — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:56:59 -0600

"While too rapid a rate of immigration can cause social problems, over the long term, immigration strengthens U.S. power. It is estimated that at least 83 countries and territories currently have fertility rates that are below the level needed to keep their population constant. Whereas most developed countries will experience a shortage of people as the century progresses, America is one of the few that may avoid demographic decline and maintain its share of world population."

Moving Beyond Race in Malaysian Electoral Politics

Derwin Pereira — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:09:22 -0600

"The coming general election in Malaysia will be a watershed no matter who wins. It will demonstrate how ethnicity and economics interact today, four decades after they threatened to tear the country apart," writes Derwin Pereira for Malaysia's The Straits Times.

Time to Reform Complex Tax Code

Elaine Kamarck — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:38:41 -0600

"The top priority for Democratic and Republican lawmakers is jobs. Reforming the corporate Tax Code by lowering the rate to an internationally competitive rate and broadening the base is just the solution we need. For example, a corporate rate of 25 percent would add 581,000 jobs every year for the next decade and increase GDP growth by up to 2 percent. More important to the middle class, comprehensive tax reform would boost take-home pay for a family of four by $2,484."

The Toughest Sanctions

Juliette Kayyem — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:22:44 -0500

"Companies that manage the transport of all these resources can have tremendous impact on any nation's survival, making the movement of goods across the seas an unrecognized animating force in foreign affairs. The sanctions and the resulting economic crisis made the route through the Strait of Hormuz unsustainable for this major shipping line."

The Role of Border Carbon Adjustment in Unilateral Climate Policy: Insights from a Model-Comparison Study

Christoph Böhringer, Edward J. Balistreri and Thomas F. Rutherford — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:45:06 -0500

A new Harvard-Project Discussion Paper examines the relationships between domestic climate policy and trade. The study compares the output of a range of economic models, using the methodology of the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF).

Panama's Magic Number

Juliette Kayyem — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:12:43 -0500

"The United States is the only modern society that does not have a federal agency responsible for port strategy. Maritime planning is left to the states. The White House can merely promise expedited engineering review, as it did last month, of the port changes in New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, all trying to get to that depth of 50 feet, fast."

Panama Canal's Future Depends on Accommodating Wider Loads

Juliette Kayyem — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:57:34 -0500

"To remain competitive in a global transportation industry where the vast majority of all goods are moved on waterways, the canal had to change. Ships that are too large for the canal take their goods elsewhere: to Suez, or the Straits of Malacca (between Malaysia and Indonesia), or the ports of Los Angeles where cargo is routed on the 'land bridge' of railways and highways from West to East Coast. Or the large ships are unloaded at the base of the Panama Canal onto smaller vessels, a process that occurs here every Friday–Sunday."

The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia

Richard Armitage and Joseph S. Nye — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:03:29 -0500

The following report presents a consensus view of the members of a bipartisan study group on the U.S.-Japan alliance. The report specifically addresses energy, economics and global trade, relations with neighbors, and security-related issues. Within these areas, the study group offers policy recommendations for Japan and the United States, which span near- and long-term time frames. These recommendations are intended to bolster the alliance as a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

No Need to Panic about Corn

Robert Paarlberg — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:35:42 -0500

"US officials have long scolded China for not letting markets work, and for trying to run too much of their modern economy through state targets and inflexible mandates. The damage done by the US' ethanol mandate in the context of today's Midwest drought gives Chinese officials a chance to tell their counterparts from the US, 'Practice what you preach'."

Robert B. Zoellick to Join Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center as Senior Fellow

Robert B. Zoellick — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:10:23 -0500

Robert B. Zoellick, outgoing president of the World Bank, will join Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in July as a senior fellow. Zoellick, whose five-year term at the Bank ends June 30, is a former Belfer Center research fellow and an alumnus of the Kennedy School. He has also been named a distinguished visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C.

Cyber Disorders: Rivalry and Conflict in a Global Information Age

Lucas Kello — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:29:49 -0500

The risks posed by the proliferation of cyber weapons are gaining wide recognition among security planners. Yet the general reaction of scholars of international relations has been to neglect the cyber peril owing to its technical novelties and intricacies. This attitude amounts to either one or both of two claims: the problem is not of sufficient scale to warrant close inspection, or it is not comprehensible to a non-technical observer. This seminar challenged both assertions.

Fears of Migration Add to Europe's Woes

Juliette Kayyem — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:29:06 -0500

"The irony today is that all this talk of one Europe is actually grounded in motivations that are quite protectionist. Money matters, but the panic is also tied to a strategic effort to keep people from moving. Publicly, Britain may be hugging its European Union allies, but the motive behind it all is pure, and understandable, self-interest."

Internet Fragmentation: Highlighting the Major Technical, Governance and Diplomatic Challenges for U.S. Policy Makers

Jonah Force Hill — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:25:42 -0500

The Internet is at a crossroads. Today it is generally open, interoperable and unified. Tomorrow, however, we may see an entirely different Internet, one not characterized by openness and global reach, but by restrictions, blockages and cleavages. In order to help ensure that the Internet continues to serve as a source of global integration, democratization, and economic growth, American policymakers must be aware of the most significant technical, political and legal challenges to a unified Internet.

The Twenty-First Century Will Not Be a 'Post-American' World

Joseph S. Nye — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:34:28 -0500

"After the collapse of Cold War bipolarity, power in the global information age became distributed in a pattern that resembles a complex three-dimensional chess game. On the top chessboard, military power is largely unipolar, and the United States is likely to retain primacy for quite some time. But on the middle chessboard, economic power has been multi-polar for more than a decade...with the United States, Europe, Japan, and China as the major players, and others gaining in importance. The bottom chessboard is the realm of transnational relations that cross borders outside of government control. It includes nonstate actors as diverse as bankers electronically transferring funds, terrorists transferring weapons, hackers threatening cyber-security, and threats such as pandemics and climate change. On this bottom board, power is widely diffused, and it makes no sense to speak of unipolarity, multipolarity, or hegemony."

The Self-destruction of Arizona

Juliette Kayyem — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:20:22 -0500

"Later this week the heads of state and government of 34 nations in this hemisphere will meet in Cartagena, Colombia, at the sixth Summit of the Americas. Obama will be there, and all our American brethren, minus Cuba and Ecuador, will too. They will talk about their economies, energy supplies, trade agreements, and commerce. They will talk about drugs, of course, and the insatiable US appetite for them. But they will not be talking about whether classes in Hispanic studies are inherently anti-Anglo."