Azeem Ibrahim

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Summer 2009

"Testing the NATO Alliance: Afghanistan and the Future of Cooperation"

Op-Ed, Harvard International Review, issue 2, volume 31

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"...[O]n the ground, Afghanistan does not look like a NATO mission, but a deployment of an ad hoc alliance. This impression is bolstered given that eight non-NATO countries are also contributing troops. This arrangement calls into question how genuine and useful the alliance will be in the future. It is no good to argue that NATO countries should share the burden more equally. That will not be enough to persuade skeptical governments to offer more troops. The truth is that the differences in deployment levels reflect real differences of public and political opinion. Unfortunately, there is no reason to expect that they should agree in the future either, as there is no longer agreement on what constitutes NATO's mission in Afghanistan."

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October 27, 2009

"We Mustn't Judge Leaders by Values of Hollywood"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"Imagine the front-ranking opposition front-bencher, with decades of work and experience behind him, forced to conclude he was underqualified to lead his party because he lacked a full head of hair. Or the shadow cabinet team, waiting to listen to speeches by two leadership contenders, knowing before either candidate has stepped on to the podium who they will vote for as leader by looking at their faces alone."

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October 20, 2009

"Seeking More Private Investment is a Nobel Cause for Universities"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"For too long here, we have believed that the money should come only from the poor put-upon taxpayer. As should be painfully clear, that is insufficient. As is starting to happen, universities need to diversify their sources of income to provide the investment that turns an adequate university into a great one. That means making greater use of alumni contacts, and aggressively looking for philanthropy and endowments."

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October 16, 2009

"Thinking Outside the Box Could Save Royal Mail"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"Since 1969, it has been a public limited company owned by the government. But as mail volumes have fallen, the debate about whether it should be public or private has forced it to live in uncertainty about its future. Some see it as an essential public service which the government should run. But last year's Hooper Report says it is 40 per cent less efficient than its European counterparts...."

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October 12, 2009

"Why PR Won't Represent the Country"

Op-Ed, politics.co.uk

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"Coalitions are held together by leaders 'buying off' the smaller parties to prevent them splitting and triggering new elections. That inevitably result in leaders kowtowing to factional whims and offering concessions to the preoccupations of small parties, however arcane. That would be a very real risk here, where small party support has grown from 3 per cent to 14 per cent in the last thirteen years. In many countries this results in money for the pet projects of small parties or individuals. This is an awful idea at a time when there is such an urgent need to restrict spending."

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October 7, 2009

"Business Sense and Maturity Could Save Us All a Pretty Penny"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

All too often, we are governed by politicians who either do not have the experience to match their responsibility or the abilities to match their power....Over the past 20 years, MPs have got younger and younger. Of course, it is important for MPs to be in touch with the electorate, but this needs balance. Less experience of life and work outside politics means less experience of the society they represent. That has not led to better governance."

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September 2009

"The Next Government Must Fund Britain's Armed Forces to Match the Many and Growing Threats to National Security"

Policy Brief

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"The choice facing the next Prime Minister and government is clear. On the one hand, he can continue the policy of the present Government. This will result in a slow slide down the second division of nations, an inability to defend the sea passages on which our global trade and standard of living depend (ninety per cent of our trade still comes by sea), an inability to secure our growing imported energy supplies and the vital food supplies which we in this country take for granted.

Or, the next Government can resist this decline, hold firm against the pressure to reduce defence funding, and provide an adequate defence provision with contingency reserve capability for all three Services. If this decision is made, it should be done as a deliberate and well researched policy."

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September 28, 2009

"Paying for University Education is Key to Improving its Quality"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"Because of rising incomes and falling travel costs, education is internationalising. And universities themselves are now competing globally. Whereas, for example, St Andrews would have once worried about its standing compared to Oxford or Manchester, it must now worry about its standing compared to Yale or the University of Tokyo."

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September 25, 2009

"Long-term Defence Strategy Cannot be Based on the News"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"...[W]e cannot make defence decisions only on those threats which are foreseeable. History shows that the biggest threats are actually those we do not foresee. It is no good making defence policy decisions based on the news cycles of 2009, and then complaining that we cannot adequately defend ourselves and our interests in 2020."

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September 8, 2009

"Big Business Fears Obama's Plans to Radically Reform Healthcare in US"

Op-Ed, The Scotsman

By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program

"...[H]ealthcare reform would open up health insurance companies to more effective competition, and they fear it. Many are lobbying hard and trying to muddy the argument with scaremongering stories. In fact, many of the angry people at the town hall meetings were actually members of organised groups, paid for by vested interests."