Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - US primacy

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.

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."

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.

Australia's Kevin Rudd on China's Leadership and Reform

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:09:50 -0500

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke at a Belfer Center Director's Lunch on "China's New Leadership and the Prospects for Economic and Political Reform."

Graham Allison, director of Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, introduced Rudd at the event. A video podcast of Rudd's opening presentation is available below.

Lee Kuan Yew - the Man and the Book

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:42:44 -0500

Belfer Center Director Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill, a former Harvard professor and now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, with Belfer Center associate Ali Wyne, have written a new book that has people once again focusing on Lee, now 89 and as blunt as ever. Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World, was published in February by MIT Press to acclaim from reviewers, including Fareed Zakaria, who said on his weekly Sunday talk program on CNN: “This short book [is] packed with intelligence and insight. If you are interested in the future of Asia, which means the future of the world, you've got to read this book.”

Obama’s Pragmatic Approach to Mideast

David Ignatius — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:25:00 -0500

"Here’s the coldblooded calculation at work as President Obama shapes his foreign-policy agenda: If he took 'full ownership' of the Syria problem through direct military intervention, that’s probably all he could accomplish during his second term — and even then, he might fail in reconciling that country’s feuding sects.

So Obama is moving instead toward a more pragmatic approach in Syria, with the CIA playing a central role, supplemented by the State Department and the U.S. military. The United States will train Syrian rebels and help build governance in areas liberated from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Washington will work harder to coordinate policy with the key regional powers — Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — whose conflicting agendas have threatened in recent days to pull the Syrian opposition apart," explains David Ignatius in the Washington Post.

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.

Dialogue of the Deaf?

Richard N. Rosecrance — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:25:48 -0500

Harvard and Beijing representatives met in Beijing January 13–16, 2013 to discuss challenges and opportunities in U.S.-China relations. Richard Rosecrance, director of Harvard's U.S.-China Relations Project, writes that despite a warm welcome and cordial personal relations on both sides, "no agreements were reached on short or long term policy."

Triste Anniversaire

Charles G. Cogan — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:46:03 -0500

"...[T]his was a useless war, conceived under the mistaken pretext that Saddam was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and resulting in untold sacrifices of dead and wounded on all sides."

What the Suez Crisis Can Remind Us About U.S. Power

David Ignatius — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:52:12 -0500

"Chuck Hagel means it when he describes himself as an “Eisenhower Republican.” He kept a bust of President Dwight Eisenhower in his Senate office for a dozen years and has a portrait of Ike on the wall of his current office at Georgetown University.

But the most compelling evidence of Hagel’s fascination is that he purchased three dozen copies of an Eisenhower biography and gave copies to President Obama, Vice President Biden and then-Defense Secretary Bob Gates, according to the book’s author, David Nichols," writes David Ignatius in The Washing Post.

'Iran is the Main Beneficiary of the Iraq War'

Max Tholl and Stephen M. Walt — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:35:30 -0500

"Iran has always been a major power in that region. Under Saddam however, Iran and Iraq were bitter enemies who fought a long war and were strongly opposed to one another. There was almost a rough balance of power between the two countries. By reducing Iraq's power and by allowing the Shia to become the dominant political force in Iraq, the US removed the main country balancing Iran, and helped bring to power a government that has at least some sympathies and links to Iran. So, Iran is by far the main strategic beneficiary of the Iraq War, which made it even more difficult for the US and its allies to deal with the country."

Our Pacific Predicament

Joseph S. Nye — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:10:56 -0500

"American interests rest on stability in the region to allow the continuing growth of trade and investment that benefits all countries. The U.S.-Japan alliance remains crucial to stability in East Asia, but so too are good relations in all three sides of the strategic triangle. One thing is clear: If, despite all we do, Sino-Japanese relations deteriorate toward literal conflict, the United States will be faced with some very tough choices."

Can We Close the Power Gap?

David Ignatius — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:59:51 -0500

"Imagine that you’re sitting at the table as the National Security Council debates the deteriorating political and security situation in a North African country (take your pick). The president asks how the United States can prevent conflict there without sending in the military. Various Cabinet members and agency directors look awkwardly at each other — because nobody has a good answer," writes David Ignatius of the Washington Post.

A New Great Power Relationship

Joseph S. Nye — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:42:46 -0600

"...[T]he United States has accepted the rise of Chinese power and invited Chinese participation as a responsible stakeholder in the international system. Power is not always a zero sum game. Given the global problems that both China and the United States will face, they have much more to gain from working together than in allowing overwrought fears to drive them apart, but it will take wise policy on both sides to assure this future."

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.

Wooing Russia — and its Influence

David Ignatius — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:38:10 -0600

"The administration is exploring ways to engage Russia as President Obama begins his second term. At the top of the list are the biggest U.S. headaches — Syria, Iran and North Korea. The White House thinks that, after a period of frosty relations, Putin is also looking to rebuild a cooperative relationship," writes David Ignatius of the Washington Post.

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.

India is a Nation of Unfulfilled Greatness

Robert D. Blackwill, Ali Wyne and Graham Allison — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:02:41 -0600

Read an excerpt in The Times of India from a new book on Lee Kuan Yew by Belfer Center Director Graham Allison and Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, with Belfer Center Associate Ali Wyne. The book is titled: Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.

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.

'Downton Abbey' Is Entertainment, but 'Brideshead Revisited' Was Art

Ben Heineman — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:43:30 -0600

February 1, 2013

Downtown Abbey is entertainment. Its illustrious predecessor in television mega-success about the English upper class, Brideshead Revisited, is art. This distinction between entertainment and art helps explain the decline in Downton this year—it is simply not as entertaining. For those, who have a chance to see the Brideshead DVD (of the 30-year-old series) its power as art is undiminished.

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.

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."

Correspondence: Debating China's Rise and U.S. Decline

Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson and Michael Beckley — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:22:09 -0600

Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson responds to Michael Beckley's winter 2011/12 International Security article, "China's Century? Why America's Edge Will Endure."

Don't Come Home, America: The Case against Retrenchment

Stephen Brooks, G. John Ikenberry and William Wohlforth — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:51:22 -0600

After sixty-five years of pursuing a grand strategy of global leadership—nearly a third of which transpired without a peer great power rival—has the time come for the United States to switch to a strategy of retrenchment? This analysis shows that advocates of retrenchment radically overestimate the costs of deep engagement and underestimate its benefits. We conclude that the fundamental choice to retain a grand strategy of deep engagement after the Cold War is just what the preponderance of international relations scholarship would expect a rational, self-interested leading power in America’s position to do.

Global Challenges Line Up For Obama

David Ignatius — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:05:29 -0600

"On foreign policy, President Barack Obama effectively posted a sign on the White House lawn last summer that said, Come back after Election Day. Now, the moment has arrived, and the world’s problems are lining up for attention," tells David Ignatius of the Washington Post, as he outlines the international challenges facing the second Obama administration.

Declinist Pundits

Joseph S. Nye — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:58:54 -0600

"Decline is a misleading metaphor that assumes there is an organic life cycle for countries as there is for individuals. We know little about the life cycle of states. It took three centuries for the Western Roman Empire to decline from its apogee to collapse. After Britain lost its American colonies in the 18th century, writer Horace Walpole lamented that Britain was reduced to the insignificance of Sardinia. He missed the fact that the Industrial Revolution was about to produce Britain's greatest century. Put simply, we do not know where the United States is in its supposed life cycle."

Russia, China on 'Wrong Side of History' in Arab World

Chuck Freilich — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:45:43 -0500

"China, a great power in the making, and Russia, a fading but nonetheless aspiring power, have repeatedly positioned themselves on 'the wrong side of history' in regard to the Iranian nuclear program, events in Syria, and more. Great power status confers not just prestige and influence, but also a need to share responsibility for international security and the 'global good.' With their uncaring pursuit of narrow national interests, neither is demonstrating a predilection to do so."

Advice To The Next President: National And Homeland Security

Graham Allison and Juliette Kayyem — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:31:34 -0500

"Having a professional military means that the United States can go to war while the vast majority of citizens are not directly affected. Therefore it falls upon the president, more than any other individual, to make sure the nation goes to war only if and when absolutely necessary."