June 16, 2013

"Win a Few, Lose a Few"

The Huffington Post

By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program

"The United States and its Allies outsmarted the Russians on Libya — by enticing it into supporting a UN Security Council vote against Qadhafi. So far, Russia has outsmarted the West on Syria, by blocking a move in the Security Council against Bashar al-Asad."

White House Photo

June 12, 2013

"A Smarter Way to Deal with China"

Los Angeles Times

By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor

"In meeting many of the new transnational challenges, the U.S. has to get away from thinking just about power over others and think about power with others. We do not want to become so fearful that we are not able to find ways to cooperate with China."

May 18, 2013

"Why a Middle East Role is Essential for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime"

GlobalPost

By Tytti Erästö, Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom and Sven-Eric Fikenscher, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

"In the worst case, suspicions about the Iranian nuclear program persist, and the futile war of words between Iran and Israel is taken to a new, multilateral context. In the best case, however, Iran's participation can increase regional actors' confidence in its intentions — a development that could also alleviate Israeli concerns and have a positive effect on the P5+1-Iran negotiations."

June 3, 2013

"The E.U.'s Feeble War on Unemployment"

New York Times

By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy, International Security Program

"Banking regulation may not be the most voter-friendly topic. Yet the reality is that the best way to create employment in the periphery is by ending the fragmentation of the financial system that continues to plague Europe. As long as Greek, Portuguese, Spanish or Italian entrepreneurs need to pay a premium of between 4 and 6 percent above what their German counterparts pay on bank loans, how can they possibly start new businesses?"

USMA Photo

May 27, 2013

"The VA's Generational Problem"

Boston Globe

By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy

"The media-savvy, talking-point-hungry, Twitter-obsessed, Facebook-friending world that Shinseki is part of now doesn't interest him. Shinseki's reticence has its quaint appeal, but it doesn't represent the attitude of newer veterans, the 2.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. More mobile, technological, opinionated, and media-friendly, these veterans aren't particularly tolerant of the problems the VA faces today."

May 22, 2013

"How to Make the 'Red Line' Mean Something"

American Interest

By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program

"A failure to respond to Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons would not only encourage him in the belief that he can perhaps get away with an even bigger use next time; it would also undermine U.S. strategic credibility well beyond the Syria case. This begs the obvious question: At what point does the 'red line' really become one?"

Ed Wray - AP Images

February 2013

Wartime Sexual Violence: Misconceptions, Implications, and Ways Forward

By Dara Kay Cohen, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Amelia Hoover Green and Elisabeth Jean Wood

Wartime rape is neither ubiquitous nor inevitable. The level of sexual violence differs significantly across countries, conflicts, and particularly armed groups. Some armed groups can and do prohibit sexual violence. Such variation suggests that policy interventions should also be focused on armed groups, and that commanders in effective control of their troops are legally liable for patterns of sexual violence they fail or refuse to prevent.