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May 5, 2008

Preventing Terrorist Attacks: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom

By Erik J. Dahl, Research Fellow, International Security Program

Why do terrorist attacks frequently succeed, even though later investigations almost always show that warnings had been available but were either misunderstood or ignored?  Conventional wisdom, as seen in the 9/11 Commission Report, holds that disasters such as the 9/11 attacks have been caused by failures of analytical imagination, a lack of long-term strategic intelligence on the threat, and organizational limitations that prevent the U.S. intelligence community from being able to “connect the dots” of the existing intelligence. 

April 28, 2008

International Security Program "Paths to Violence" Research Workshop

The International Security Program (ISP) at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs hosted a research workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 25, 2008. Workshop organizers Erica Chenoweth (ISP) and Adria Lawrence (ISP/Intrastate Conflict Program) brought together leading scholars to explore the conditions under which non-state actors resort to violence and the various strategies state actors use to address aggrieved populations. Workshop participants addressed issues such as why the use of violence varies among non-state actors, how the decision to use violence affects strategic outcomes of internal and international conflicts, and how states arrive at decisions to accommodate, assimilate, or ethnically cleanse minority groups. Participants received feedback on original research papers prepared in advance of the workshop. The final drafts of the papers will be compiled into an edited volume, which will be submitted for review in fall 2008.

AP Photo

2008

"The Shia Factor"

Heartland: Eurasian Review of Geopolitics, (The Pakistani Boomerang Issue), issue 1

By Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program

The new rivalry between two main Muslim communities is the result of the political developments in Iraq. The pragmatic relationship between Iran and the Shia factions in other countries. The fears of Sunni regimes of a Shia crescent moon.

AP Photo

April 14, 2008

"Separating Tibet and the Olympics"

The Boston Globe

By Xiaohui (Anne) Wu, Associate, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

"Some people believe it is fair to vent their grievances with China, but don't see any unfairness in depriving China and its people of the dream to host the Games. In both 1936 and 1948, Chinese Olympian athletes had to detour through Asia to raise fund for their trips by performing in competitions. They ended up exhausted and defeated in the Olympics. It would be equally unfair to deprive the world's athletes of their dreams and the chance to compete in the most important global athletic competition."

April 2007

Service to Country: Personnel Policy and the Transformation of Western Militaries

By Curtis Gilroy and Cindy Williams

"Extraordinarily useful....The changing demographics of affluent Western societies; the near 180-degree reversal in mission focus of Western militaries after the end of the Cold War; the particular difficulties of former Communist countries trying to shed one model of military manpower recruiting, management, and structuring for another—are all treated with length and with sophistication by both academics and practitioners." — Journal of Military History

Service to Country explores the ongoing transformation of military personnel policies in Europe and North America, looking at causes as well as potential costs and benefits of personnel policy transformation.

August 2007

Reassessing Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific: Competition, Congruence, and Transformation

By Amitav Acharya and Evelyn Goh

Since the 1990s, Asia-Pacific countries have changed their approaches to security cooperation and regional order. The end of the Cold War, the resurgence of China, the Asian economic crisis, and the events of September 11, 2001, have all contributed to important changes in the Asia-Pacific security architecture.

February 2007

Dealing with Dictators: Dilemmas of U.S. Diplomacy and Intelligence Analysis, 1945-1990

By Ernest R. May, Faculty Affiliate, International Security Program and Philip D. Zelikow, Former Faculty Affiliate, International Security Program

The United States continues to proclaim its support for democracy and its opposition to tyranny, but American presidents often have supported dictators who have allied themselves with the United States. This book illustrates the chronic dilemmas inherent in U.S. dealings with dictators under conditions of uncertainty and moral ambiguity.

July 2006

The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy

By Brenda Shaffer, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program; Former Research Director, Caspian Studies Project

The contributors to The Limits of Culture find that, contrary to the currently popular view, culture is rarely more important than other factors in shaping the foreign policies of countries in the Caspian region.

Read the Foreign Affairs review.