Mailing address
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
79 John F. Kennedy Street, Box 121
Cambridge, MA, 02138
Robert Rotberg
Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: (617) 496-2258
Fax: (617)-491-8588
Email: robert_rotberg@harvard.edu
Experience
Robert I. Rotberg is Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and President, World Peace Foundation. He was Professor of Political Science and History, MIT; Academic Vice President, Tufts University; and President, Lafayette College. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on US foreign policy, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, most recently, Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations (2007), Building a New Afghanistan (2007), A Leadership for Peace: How Edwin Ginn Tried to Change the World (2006), Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa (2005), When States Fail: Causes and Consequences (2004), State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror(2003), Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: The Tribulations of Southern Africa 1960–2000 (2002), Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement in Africa: Methods of Conflict Prevention (2001), Truth v. Justice: The Morality of Truth Commissions (2000), Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation (1999), Burma: Prospects for a Democratic Future (1998), War and Peace in Southern Africa: Crime, Drugs, Armies, and Trade (1998), Haiti Renewed: Political and Economic Prospects (1997), Vigilance and Vengeance: NGOs Preventing Ethnic Conflict in Divided Societies (1996), From Massacres to Genocide: The Media, Public Policy and Humanitarian Crises (1996), and The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power (1988, new ed. 2002).
May 6, 2008
"Turkmenistan under Niyazov and Berdymukhammedov"
In the News
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
A monument of Turkmenistan’s former autocratic ruler, Saparmurat Niyazov, will be removed from the center of the country’s capital, the New York Times reported on Monday, May 5, 2008. The removal was ordered by Turkmenistan’s current president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. What seems to be a symbolic move away from the repression that has plagued Turkmenistan is more likely the removal of one autocratic legacy to make room for another.
May 6, 2008
"Assessing Repression in Syria"
In the News
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Even as evidence mounts pointing to a partnership between Syria and North Korea in the construction of a Syrian nuclear reactor, Syria and North Korea continue to deny the allegations, leading the U.S. to condemn both countries’ secrecy.
May 6, 2008
"Burma: Poster Child for Entrenched Repression"
In the News
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
In late April, President Bush declared that the upcoming elections in Burma would not be “free, fair, or credible” and that the U.S. would impose further sanctions on the state-owned business sector, in order to increase pressure on the ruling junta.
AP Photo
May 6, 2008
"Winning the African Prize for Repression: Zimbabwe"
In the News
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
After much delay, the “official” presidential election results in Zimbabwe were finally announced last week (May 2, 2008). While opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the majority vote (47.9% to Robert Mugabe’s 43.2%), because the 50% minimum that is needed to win outright was not reached, a run-off will take place. This second round leaves Zimbabweans and the international community certain that Robert Mugabe will continue his use of intimidation, force, and violence to secure his re-election.
AP Photo
March 26, 2008
"Politics and Power in Zimbabwe"
Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
THIS WEEKEND President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is expected once again to rig elections in order to hold onto power while neighboring Botswana, Africa's oasis of peace and good governance, will celebrate the retirement of President Festus Mogae after two productive terms. The contrast between Botswana and Zimbabwe could not be more stark, or more illustrative of good and evil in Africa.
Ahron de Leeuw
February 17, 2008
"Bangladesh's model"
Op-Ed, Chicago Tribune
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
With Pakistan on edge ahead of Monday's parliamentary elections and opponents vowing to oust beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf, this is a good time to look at how another nearby predominantly Muslim country is faring under military rule.
December 22, 2007
"Standing up to Mugabe"
Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
GOOD FOR Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Great Britain. Brown (and six other heads of government in Europe) refused to attend this month's European Union-Africa Summit in Lisbon because President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was scheduled to be there.
racoles
December 2, 2007
"Myanmar's leaders are not immune to pressure: Time has come to tighten the screws"
Op-Ed, Chicago Tribune
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
First Lady Laura Bush, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and nearly all of the leaders of the democratic world want to bring Myanmar in from the cold. For too long -- 45 years -- a sternly repressive military leadership has denied fundamental freedoms and basic decency to about 50 million citizens.
November 28, 2007
Virtual Book Tour: Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations
Highlight
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
“This volume makes an unparalleled contribution to the growing and vital field of measurement and human rights. Rotberg offers a useful categorization and assessment of repressive and 'rogue' states, allowing us to measure the extent of repressive state behavior more accurately. His work should embolden external critiques and facilitate more transparent and accountable foreign policy."
Sarah Sewall, Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University.
November 20, 2007
Africa's Successes: Evaluating Accomplishment
Report
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Seven of mainland sub-Saharan Africa’s forty-five nation-states are widely regarded as being success stories. The mixed conclusions of this analysis are instructive in understanding the dynamics of political and economic achievement in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.
