Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Governance

Islamic Law Enhances Rather than Threatens the UK Legal System

Azeem Ibrahim — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:17:49 -0400

"People who think that Sharia law threatens UK law tend to confuse UK law and non-legally binding arbitration, which settle disputes outside the legal system....We live under the rule of law, there can only be one set of laws, and that is British law. Not least because our experience with Unity Family has shown that incorrect rulings by some of these so-called Sharia councils go against the fundamental ethos of Islam, and are often more suitable to Pakistani mores. We must reject calls to allow Sharia rulings to be formally recognised in British law under the 1996 Arbitration Act."

Insure to Assure: A New Paradigm for Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Security

Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan and Debra K. Decker — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:52:42 -0400

"No country has yet encountered major problems in its nuclear fuel supply specifically because of commercial disruptions. However, past political constraints on supply may be part of the motivation for countries like Iran to seek enrichment capability. Thus far it is unclear what other countries might be on the fence about acquiring a full fuel cycle and could be swayed not to enrich if an effective assurance mechanism could address the simply political risk. It is important for IAEA to identify these countries and the assurances they would need so that the best supply assurance mechanism can be crafted. Anticipating nuclear needs—not just for enriched uranium but also for fabricated fuel, transport, spare parts, etc.—and deciding whether and how government should help satisfy such needs is the best way to ensure that the industry develops in ways that serve the public's interests."

McNamara and a Lesson for Lebanon

Rami Khouri — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:55:34 -0400

"Remembering Robert McNamara's ways half a century ago, and watching Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri's deliberations today should remind us that military power, political legitimacy and national influence are three different things."

Hypocritical Kvetching

Rami Khouri — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:32:40 -0400

Negotiating with Iran cannot be any more difficult than it was with the Soviet Union. So why the hesitancy -- and the anguished, hypocritical debate in the West?

The Governance Crisis: First, Let’s Redefine the CEO Role

Ben Heineman — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:08:39 -0400

The witch's brew of high leverage, poor risk management, creation of toxic assets and poor business judgments-all made more poisonous by excessive short-term executive pay-are unprecedented failures of financial sector directors and CEOs. The result: credibility has eroded, trust has dissolved and financial re-regulation seems inevitable.

Three Cheers for Turkey

Rami Khouri — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:48:45 -0400

The most significant development in the Middle East? The continuing civilian control of the Turkish military -- the only instance where the power of military, police, and intelligence-security agencies is being checked by democratically-elected civilian authorities.

Will carbon cap-and-trade incite protectionism?

Martin Feldstein — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:53:15 -0400

"There is no easy answer to this problem. But before rushing to impose tariffs, it is important to remember that cap-and-trade policies would not be the only government source of differences in competitiveness. Better roads, ports, and even schools all contribute to a country`s competitiveness."

Why Do Arabs Not Revolt?

Rami Khouri — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:43:09 -0400

Why do the top-heavy, non-democratic political control and governance systems of the Arab world persist without any significant popular opposition or public challenge?

The Fed must reassure markets on inflation

Martin Feldstein — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:13:23 -0400

"The simplest explanation for the higher 10-year rate is that many investors now expect inflation to rise. Although economic weakness and excess capacity are keeping current inflation low, the explosive rise of bank reserves created by Fed policy provides fuel for future inflation. The prospective decline of the dollar is also a potential source of inflation."

DOE FY 2010 Budget Request and Recovery Act Funding for Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment: Analysis and Recommendations

Laura Diaz Anadon, Kelly Sims Gallagher and Matthew Bunn — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:27:51 -0400

A new analysis of energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (ERD3) funding in the Obama administration's FY2010 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 finds that the total available for energy research development and demonstration alone and ERD3 in FY2010 would double and increase by two-thirds, respectively, compared to FY2009 (based on certain assumptions). These substantial funding increases—coupled with a range of institutional innovations the administration is implementing and movement toward putting a price on carbon emissions—will help accelerate innovation for a broad range of energy technologies. This report analyzes DOE's budget request for ERD3 and the Recovery Act and makes recommendations for further action by Congress and the administration.

The Arabs' Forlorn Envy of Iranians

Rami Khouri — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:34:57 -0400

Broadly speaking, the Arab world has maneuvered itself into a lose-lose situation vis-à-vis developments in Iran -- despite different views of the Islamic Republic.

The Return of Economic Nationalism

Eric Kaufmann — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:13:23 -0400

"...[E]conomic nationalists sacrifice material consumption for the national pride that comes with being a creditor nation that owns foreign assets. On this logic, the U.S. trade imbalance cannot be rectified by the marketplace alone....This sticks in the throat of those who prize national self-sufficiency and the moral fiber that comes from saving more than one spends....Traces of economic nationalism survive in America. It is no accident that the most successful U.S. vehicles are trucks, powerful symbols of rural and working-class masculine patriotism. That GM and Chrysler are being bailed out is partly because their products have been immortalized in song and film as national icons."

Iran Makes History Again

Rami Khouri — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:30:43 -0400

This is uncharted territory in the context of contemporary Iran -- since the 1979 Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah. But it's routine behavior in the wider context of human beings who do not like being treated like idiots by their own government.

Foreign Students are an Opportunity, Not a Threat

Azeem Ibrahim — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:42:45 -0400

"...[W]e should resist the temptation to react to the fear of terrorism by turning inwards, reducing ties to foreign countries, and denying more students entry. Reducing the number of foreign student Visas would be counterproductive. The US tried it after September 11th, but has now reversed its approach, realising the harm it is doing. To do the same would be to be cowed into becoming a more closed society. We must remain open, outward-looking and vibrant. It is precisely many of these foreign students who will help their countries to reduce terrorism over the long run."

The Fight for Pakistan's Soul

Hassan Abbas — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:54:29 -0400

"...[A] lot depends on the state's capacity to hold the Swat area and re-establish civilian institutions there. And, even if the state succeeds, re-asserting control over Swat will only be the first step. The Taliban is spread throughout the NWFP and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. "Punjabi Taliban" militants from the fighting in Kashmir against India continue to shuttle between the Punjab heartland and the Northwest Territories, posing another serious challenge to government authority."

Nothing New from Netanyahu

Rami Khouri — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:32:07 -0400

Netanyahu wants for the Israelis today what God promised the ancient Hebrews in Deuteronomy, Exodus and Numbers: eternal, exclusive, pure, powerful, secure statehood in a land owned by others that will be miraculously ethnically cleansed with Divine mandate and legitimacy.

Harvard Project Participants Join Obama Administration

Robert C. Stowe — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:48:41 -0400

A number of individuals associated with the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements have received appointments in the administration of President Barack Obama. The Project's former Co-Director, Joseph Aldy, is now Special Assistant to the President for Energy and the Environment, reporting to Carol Browner and Lawrence Summers. (Ms. Browner is Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change.) Professor Summers (on leave from Harvard) himself was a member of the Harvard Project's Faculty Steering Committee before becoming Director of the National Economic Council in the White House and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Jody Freeman, also a former member of the Harvard Project's Faculty Steering Committee and a Harvard Law School Professor (on leave of absence), is now Counselor for Energy and Climate in the White House, reporting to Carol Browner.

Bibi Answers Obama

Chuck Freilich — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:29:42 -0400

"In his recent speech to the Muslim world, Obama set a new course for U.S. policy in the region and in so doing challenged Netanyahu to join him in the effort, or risk American ire. Poor Bibi. During his first two months, he caused gratuitous tension with Obama by refusing to explicitly endorse a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and thereby convinced many that Israel, rather than the Palestinians, is the obstacle. Bibi knows that he cannot afford confrontation and that Israel must align itself with any administration."

Moral Hazard and the Crisis

Paul Volcker — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:42:10 -0400

We can, and we should, take steps to limit the need and possibility of official "bailouts." One approach would be to set clear policy limits to access to the "official safety net." Deposit insurance and central bank liquidity facilities are properly confined to deposit-taking institutions. It is, after all, those institutions that remain the backbone of the financial system. They provide basic essential services, meeting the needs of households, businesses and other institutions for credit, for a safe and liquid repository for their funds, and for both everyday and complex payment services.

Reliable Sources: Raising the Stakes of the Interrogation Debate

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:42:30 -0400

"Espionage is an art form, not a science. One never masters the art of intelligence, but is ever humbled by its elusive and myriad forms of expression."

A New Financial Foundation

Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:46:40 -0400

In developing its proposals, the administration has focused on five key problems in our existing regulatory regime -- problems that, we believe, played a direct role in producing or magnifying the current crisis.

What Comes Around Goes Around

Rami Khouri — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:28:07 -0400

Changes in American policies and rhetoric are already triggering intriguing responses from different parts of the Middle East, as we can see in four separate issues: Lebanon, Palestine-Israel, Iran, and American attitudes toward Islam and Muslims.

The Media Must Take Some Responsibility

Azeem Ibrahim — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:54:56 -0400

"The first responsibility is to tell the whole truth. In this scandal, too many commentators have seemed to think that the public interest is best served by their all jumping onto the same bandwagon to tell us the same story: politicians are the bad guys. They are wrong. The public interest is best served by their actually doing what they are paid to do — to report fairly who did what. And that involves admitting that not only did a few MPs make honest mistakes, but that some have come out of these revelations with their reputations actually improved, by claiming little or nothing."

Preventing another collapse

Sir John Gieve — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:29:48 -0400

"There are four key areas in which the change has to go beyond the incremental: discipline on the biggest firms, using capital requirements to dampen the economic cycle, international cooperation, and institutional change."

How Do You Teach and Learn Successful Leadership in a Democracy?

Joseph S. Nye — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:25:30 -0400

"[W]hatever the failures of particular British legislators, the issues go further than merely allowing voters to "throw the rascals out." There is also a question of how successful leadership is taught and learned in a democracy. A successful democracy requires leadership to be widespread throughout government and civil society. Citizens who express concern about leadership need to learn not only how to judge it, but how to practice it themselves."

Before Disaster Strikes: Rate and Raise Public Preparedness Now

Debra K. Decker — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:25:12 -0400

More, more severe, and new types of disasters can be expected to occur as a result of new types of threats (e.g., biological, cyber, nuclear/radiological) and more as well as more severe threats due to increased global interconnectedness and climate change. Yet, most Americans are not adequately prepared to respond to or recover from a catastrophic disaster, and many expect the government to take care of them. Even those who have experienced many common disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes may not make appropriate preparations or exercise proper judgment in responding to new disasters that may require different responses. Although community disaster preparation is considered the purview of state and local governments, when a disaster strikes, the federal government is often called in to respond or to help with recovery. For example, New Orleans estimates that the federal government role in rebuilding that city will be $15 billion. Although all rebuilding costs cannot be averted, better citizen preparation and community standards have been shown to reduce the costs of catastrophes.

Observations on the Recent United Nations Security Council Resolution on North Korea

William H. Tobey — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:16:17 -0400

On June 12, 2009, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in response to recent provocative actions by North Korea, including a second nuclear test. Chinese and Russian support for a new U.N. Security Council resolution that imposes additional sanctions is potentially significant. However, whether China in particular will support tough implementation of the resolution and will take a harder line in its bilateral relations with North Korea remains to be seen, and will ultimately determine the success or failure of efforts to reverse North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The List: Iran's Presidential Wannabes

Kayhan Barzegar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:33:42 -0400

Research Fellow Kayhan Barzegar describes the four candidates for the Iranian presidency (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohsen Rezai) in terms of their credentials, power base, and stances on domestic politics and foreign policy—including the Iranian nuclear program.

Going Beyond MBA Oaths

Ben Heineman — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:38:20 -0400

June 9, 2009

"Siemens had a strongly worded code against bribery. It just lacked principles, practices and, ultimately, a culture to make that code a reality."

Compelling Story or Too Much Information?

Ben Heineman — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:17:45 -0400

June 8, 2009

"The question for politicians really isn't whether to use personal histories--anyone in public life will have a "public" personal history--but for what purpose and how."