Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Middle East

Hezbollah's Moment of Reckoning in Qusayr

Rami Khouri — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:16:06 -0500

The battle for Qusayr is only the haphazard spark within the larger Syrian war that could ignite this fire. The real causes of this combustible condition of the Arab region remain the dysfunction of modern Arab states and central governments, the ascendancy of police states and military regimes, the repercussions of the century-long Zionism-Arabism conflict, and the continuing status of the Middle East as a proxy battleground for regional and foreign powers.

U.S. Action in Syria Could Sway Iran on Nukes

Meghan L. O'Sullivan — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:39:53 -0500

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad must be pleased at how, within a week, the conversation has shifted from his regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons to an international peace conference on Syria’s civil war.

Nuclear Iran: A Glossary of Terms

Simon Henderson and Olli Heinonen — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:19:39 -0500

At a time when the possibility of military action against Iran's nuclear program is being debated, the need for a clear understanding of the issues and the controversial science and technology behind them has never been more acute. Toward that end, the Washington Institute and Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs have copublished an interactive online glossary of terms used in the discussion about Iran, prepared by proliferation expert Simon Henderson and Olli Heinonen, former deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

When Arab States and Citizens Differ on Palestine

Rami Khouri — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:56:07 -0500

May 18, 2013

"Tensions between the Arab state and its citizens will expand in the years ahead, as the fundamental contradictions of Arab state-building, national identity, regional relations, the Arabism-Zionism confrontation, and international alliances all clash visibly. Jordan and Egypt provide the clearest examples because of their peace treaties with Israel, but they are not unique. Most other Arab states suffer similar contradictions and stresses, especially Levantine and Gulf states that must satisfy American-Israeli demands that contradict the sentiments of many of those Arab states’ own citizens."

Belfer Center Perspectives On Iran

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:49:52 -0500

As debate over Iran's nuclear program intensifies, Belfer Center experts on Iran have been interviewed and quoted in numerous media reports and have written opinion pieces on the issues involved. Here are recent published perspectives.

David Hamburg on Giving Peace a Chance

James F. Smith — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:41:18 -0500

May 16, 2013

When Dr. David A. Hamburg led the Carnegie Corporation of New York in the 1980s and ‘90s, he drew on his roots as a physician to foster projects and research that advanced a simply stated goal: “the prevention of rotten outcomes.”

Now in his late 80s, Hamburg is still putting his medical instincts to work. He is discovering new ways to use early-prevention methods to avoid deadly conflict and enable healthy human development.

Hamburg spoke at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs on May 3 about his new book, Give Peace a Chance. His son and co-author, filmmaker Eric Hamburg, joined him at the event, along with two Harvard friends, Law School Dean Martha Minow and Belfer Center Director Graham Allison.

Insights on the Nuclear Negotiations with Iran

Olli Heinonen — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:03:42 -0500

Written at a time when Iran's nuclear issue, a subject of diplomatic efforts since 2003, remains unresolved, it would be reasonable to glean what explanations the book can provide to this end. Meanwhile, Iran has steadily progressed toward nuclear weapons capability and continues to disregard UN Security Council and IAEA resolutions. It is subject to increasingly tightened international sanctions and censure. Can Iran move away from steps that have caused its economy to tailspin and walk away from an isolated path?

New Rules of the Evolving Arab Order

Rami Khouri — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:32:43 -0500

May 14, 2013

The uprisings that erupted across the region as of December 2010 have been the single most important sign of a region-wide malaise that was gnawing at the core of Arab countries for decades, signaled in its earlier stages in the 1980s-90s by the rise of mass Islamist movements that reflected widespread citizen discontent and challenged autocratic governments. The evolving regional order is now entering its most dynamic stage of change, with every component element transforming into something new.

Belfer Center Newsletter Summer 2013

Sharon Wilke — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:20:44 -0500

The Summer 2013 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s expanding work on complex cybersecurity issues and Middle East challenges, offers reflections on the role of the U.S. in Iraq, and spotlights work being done by the Center and its affiliates on environment and energy issues.

International Council Members Debate Critical Issues

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:16:43 -0500

The Belfer Center launched its annual International Council meeting on April 9 with animated discussions of, among others, U.S. energy politics, the links between economic policy and national security, cybersecurity, and the rise of China. Participants included members of the Center's International Council and Board of Directors as well as faculty and senior fellows.

Conference Spotlights Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Middle East

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:14:29 -0500

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Al Faisal told a standing-room only audience at Harvard Kennedy School in April that his nation is investing huge sums in solar, wind, and nuclear energy to reduce domestic reliance on its oil reserves. Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia’s security depends on a healthy energy policy that uses oil to earn export revenues rather than for domestic consumption.

Nussaibah Younis: Foreign Policies of Weak States Matter

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:10:43 -0500

The invasion of Iraq prompted a deluge of work written on the country from a U.S. perspective, but Nussaibah Younis, a fellow with the Belfer Center's International Security Program, wants people to start considering Iraq as an actor in its own right. While at the Center, Younis is working on a project that seeks to understand internal Iraqi foreign policymaking dynamics since 2003.

Marisa Porges’ Journey from Naval Flight Officer to Counterterror Expert

Wesley Nord — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:09:02 -0500

"Belfer Center Fellow Marisa Porges’ career has already spanned the worlds of academia and policymaking, the government and the military. As an undergraduate at Harvard, Porges earned honors with a degree in geophysics and, during senior year, commanded her Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps unit. After graduation, she commissioned as a naval flight officer in the U.S. Navy and managed the weapons systems aboard EA-6B Prowlers, a carrier-based electronic warfare jet.... [now] as a doctoral candidate in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and a research fellow with the Belfer Center’s International Security Program, she now combines scholarship and practice."

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.

Views on Iraq: 10 Years Later

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:06:33 -0500

In March 2003 the United States invaded Iraq. In March 2013, on the 10-year anniversary of the war’s commencement, a number of Belfer Center faculty and affiliates reflected on the war and its legacy. Below is a sampling of those viewpoints.

International Security Journal Highlights

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:01:28 -0500

International Security is America’s leading journal of security affairs. It provides sophisticated analyses of contemporary security issues and discusses their conceptual and historical foundations. The journal is edited at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and published quarterly by the MIT Press.

Podcast: Syria's "Endless" Nightmare: Humanitarian and Political Consequences

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:47:13 -0500

May 13, 2013

On Monday, May 6, the Middle East Initiative hosted a panel discussion addressing the most pressing concerns in the deepening, unabated Syrian crisis that has plagued the country since March of 2011. Moderated by Hilary Rantisi, Director of the Middle East Initiative, the panelists addressed the political, economic and humanitarian consequences of the violence in Syria, as well as the responses and responsibilities of the global community.

China Addresses the Middle East

Rami Khouri — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:02:44 -0500

May 10, 2013

The Israeli settlement news is nothing new, but the actions of the three big powers are new and noteworthy. The American, Russian and Chinese initiatives to resolve the Arab-Israeli and Syrian conflicts are as laudatory as they are difficult to achieve, though efforts like this open up new possibilities for collaborative diplomacy through the UN Security Council, which is usually critical for success.

The Cost of Saving Lives in Bangladesh

Ben Heineman — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:30:13 -0500

May 10, 2013

The horrific death of more than 900 Bangladesh garment workers in the collapse of a building, following the death of 112 garment workers in a Bangladesh factory fire five months ago, has led, of course, to the inevitable calls for reform. The immediate question is how to ensure structural soundness of factories after the multi-storied Rana Plaza facility--making garments for as many as 30 international retailers--broke apart, burning, suffocating and crushing its workforce. But broader issues of worker health and safety for Bangladesh's 5,000 garment factories have also come to the fore.

Options for Action in Syria

Chuck Freilich — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:42:51 -0500

"...[E]ven the limited use of chemical weapons violates a fundamental international norm and an American failure to respond would create another North Korea–like precedent that would be a source of deep encouragement for the Assads of the world: WMD buys even a heinous regime immunity from international retaliation. Iran is no doubt watching in the wings, deriving its own conclusions regarding what the U.S. defines as unacceptable behavior."

A Beginning for Syria Talks

David Ignatius — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:38:30 -0500

"It shouldn’t have been this hard, but Secretary of State John Kerry has finally gotten Russia to back the peace plan on Syria that it endorsed in principle last June. This isn’t a breakthrough, but at least it’s a beginning.

What the United States and Russia seem to have realized is that a negotiated transition of power in Syria is better than a fight to the death, which would destabilize the region. That’s a wise judgment, but it’s not clear that it’s shared by either the Alawite clique backing President Bashar al-Assad or the Sunni jihadists who are the backbone of the opposition."

The Real Scare in Syria is Not Chemical Weapons

Rami Khouri — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:21:34 -0500

May 7, 2013

"One of my rules of thumb of observing which way the wind blows in the Middle East is now in active operative mode: When Hezbollah and Israel both are actively fighting in the same third country, and Iran and the United States are both actively warning about their determination to act to protect their allies and their interests in that same third country, it is time to make another pot of coffee and make sure you have plenty of fresh batteries at home for your transistor radio."

Ellis Goldberg: "Sectarian Violence: The Third Rail of Egyptian Politics" Podcast

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:56:56 -0500

May 7, 2013

The Middle East Initiative hosted Professor Ellis Goldberg for a lecture on May 1, 2013 to discuss sectarian violence in Egypt. Professor Goldberg is currently the Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, and is a professor of political science at the University of Washington.

Drop the Failed Approaches and Try New Ideas

Rami Khouri — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:00:38 -0500

May 4, 2013

"There is good news and bad news on the Arab-Israeli peace-making front this week. The good news is that the United States and the Arab League’s ministerial committee seem energized to restart Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. This culminated a few days ago in the Arab clarification that the 2002 Arab Peace Plan that offers Israel a comprehensive and permanent peace can include minor and mutually agreed land swaps around the 1967 borders."

Out on a Presidential Limb

Charles G. Cogan — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:56:36 -0500

"...[I]n the event of a worst-case scenario in which negotiations completely fail, Barack Obama has committed himself to an unprovoked military attack on Iran, which would have a disastrous effect on world public opinion and lead to unpredictable human and material damage."

Why Obama Remains Cautious About Syria

David Ignatius — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:35:43 -0500

The Obama administration has been cautious in its response to the evidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons in part because it still hopes to convince Russia to join in an internationally supported move for a political transition from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Frustrated by Obama’s Caution on Syria

David Ignatius — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:30:49 -0500

"Gen. Salim Idriss, the commander of rebel forces in Syria, complained late Tuesday that President Obama’s desire “to wait and wait for more evidence” that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons is encouraging their continued use — and that these attacks will only stop if the United States and its allies impose a no-fly zone."

Obama Bets Big on Syrian Rebel Leader

David Ignatius — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:26:09 -0500

"The Obama administration is placing a large bet on the ability of a Syrian former professor of military engineering to build a coherent rebel army that can defeat the regime of Bashar al-Assad, combat Islamic radicals and help build a stable new Syria."

Why Maliki Must Go

Nussaibah Younis — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:47:22 -0500

"...Mr. Maliki, who took office in 2006, had a successful first term, he has squandered the opportunity to heal the nation in his second term, which began in 2010. He has taken a hard sectarian line on security and political challenges. He has resisted integrating Sunnis into the army. He has accused senior Sunni politicians of being terrorists, hounded them from power and lost the cooperation of the Sunni community. The result: the political bargain that had sustained the fragile Iraqi state broke down."

Arab Transitions Are Slow for Good Reasons

Rami Khouri — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:43:22 -0500

May 1, 2013

"In the context of today’s Arab world, the political transitions being experienced in some countries provide the first ever opportunity for citizens to discuss and agree on the core elements of their statehood and nationhood."