Juliette Kayyem
Lecturer in Public Policy
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-496-6743
Fax: 617-495-8963
Email: juliette.kayyem@gmail.com
February 28, 2013
"UN's Cold, but Correct, Call on Haiti"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Putting aside whether the UN's attitude has been sympathetic enough, whether it should vet peacekeeping forces better before deploying them, and whether the organization has a moral obligation to give Haiti more help with its public health needs, Ban's decision will protect all relief efforts in the future. It is the only outcome that provides the necessary protections to those who are asked to work voluntarily in dangerous situations. Most importantly, it will maintain an incentive for nations to support UN efforts for assistance or peacekeeping missions that have, by any measure, done far more good than harm."
February 21, 2013
"Should Boston Try to Host the Olympics?"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The duties of a summer host city are not to be undertaken on a whim: Up to 45,000 hotel rooms; the creation of an Olympic Village for nearly 17,000 athletes; ability to handle a potential media presence of 15,000 broadcasters; a transportation infrastructure capable of moving thousands of visitors; and the capacity to fill 200,000 short-term jobs. But there are now creative ways to privatize these efforts, and many of a city's long-planned public investments might be more politically palatable with an Olympics to host. That was London's strategy, which coupled permanent transportation and infrastructure improvements with its hosting of the games."
February 18, 2013
"Cruise Ships Now Too Big to Bail"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The real disaster is that passengers are unlikely to have much recourse against Carnival. Weak laws govern the seas, making individual causes of action difficult to win and, even worse, collective actions almost impossible to bring....But the Triumph incident shows that passengers need to be worried about more than individual claims. The travelers on the Triumph will get reimbursements, but there's not likely to be the kind of financial penalties that could alter the behavior of ship owners."
February 14, 2013
"Obama: The Master of Disaster"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Across the Eastern Seaboard, from New Jersey's damaged shoreline to the parts of New England ravaged by the blizzard last week, the government is considering whether to allow people to use federal funds to rebuild homes in areas that will, inevitably, be at risk once again. No one doubts the emotional and political consequences of moving people. That's why the federal relief fund for victims of Hurricane Sandy sets aside about $18 billion to rebuild homes and businesses in safer places. There will be another hurricane."
February 11, 2013
"Numbers Matter in Public Safety Reform"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Hundreds of books and academic studies have sought to analyze the major reduction in crime in New York City during mayor Rudy Giuliani's reign in the 1990s. Giuliani's basic proposition was that by focusing police efforts on minor crimes — like breaking windows — there would be a corresponding reduction in major crimes. Broken windows were just a symptom, the theory goes, of unstable environments that lead to more serious crimes....Of course, every major city achieved a significant drop in crime during the same period. What is now seriously in doubt is whether New York's reduction can be tied to a specific police tactic."
February 11, 2013
"Snowstorm Will Provide a Blizzard of Lessons"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"It is worth noting that the only driving-related fatalities this weekend occurred in other states; massive pileups, with drivers stuck in cars for hours on end, took place in states that failed to institute travel bans. Preventing deaths has rarely been simpler. Meanwhile, the deficiencies in the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, in particular, led to advancements in federal emergency management support, airline cancellation protocols, communications systems, and the speed of coastal evacuations, all of which came into play in this storm."
February 7, 2013
"'Frank, We Lost the A Feed'"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The blackout should be examined not merely to cast blame, but to learn about how systems work (and don't work) and how people respond (and don't respond) when there is a Big Fail. The bad news was that half the stadium went dark; the good news was that the other half remained lit, and staff responded calmly. Thus, the Blackout Bowl turned out to be more of a tie than people think."
February 4, 2013
"Hillary, Tina, and Girls Like Them"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Both women were appealing because of their substantive talents, their unapologetic ambition, and their capacity to remain calm when everybody wanted something from them. Both shined not just under constant supervision and analysis, but also in the face of the expectation that their choices should somehow reflect on all of womanhood."
January 31, 2013
"Immigration Commission Brings Border States to Table"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The commission itself is actually a good idea that will make reform much more palatable to border states. Immigration is many things, but it is mostly local. Progressives have long believed in the notion of cooperative federalism — that the most intractable issues of our time are best resolved when local, state, and federal resources work in a cooperative and unified fashion."
Janaury 28, 2013
"From Seneca Falls to Stonewall and Back Again"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The case brought by female plaintiffs who had served, been wounded, and awarded medals of valor meant that the Pentagon was soon facing the prospect of defending the exclusion rules in court. It would have been a terribly divisive process. The lessons learned from the 'don't ask, don't tell' fight — especially the concern that a judge would force the Pentagon's hand — contributed to last week's decision."
