PUBLICATIONS
AP Photo
August 14, 2009
"ID Cards A Government Mandated Facebook?"
politics.co.uk
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"The quantity of arguments for ID cards looks like an attempt to hide a lack of quality. The government has been hard-pressed to explain how ID cards will make us safer. It is true that they will make it easier for, say, customs officials to ascertain that you are who you say you are. But that can already be done for everyone who has a passport. It is true that biometric chips might make the process more accurate. But that argues for biometric passports, as another recanting ex-home secretary, David Blunkett, has pointed out. If you want to make identification more accurate by introducing a biometric chip, that does not entail spending £3 billion in a recession on an entirely new biometric ID card scheme."
AP Photo
August 14, 2009
"Confucius Could Help Relations Between US, China"
Christian Science Monitor
By Xiaohui (Anne) Wu, Associate, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
"To use the middle way essentially means that Washington and Beijing should not be too optimistic, or even too pessimistic, about their relations. Nor should they overestimate their joint capacity in shaping the world order. Instead, they should value collaboration, but also prepare for deviations. The guiding principle of this middle way is to always solve problems in a peaceful, mutually respectful, and pragmatic manner."
AP Photo
August 13, 2009
"Pakistan's Nukes are Safe. Maybe."
Foreign Policy
By Vipin Narang, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
"...[T]he primary risk to the Pakistani Army's ability to safely secure nuclear assets in its custody would likely be during crisis scenarios either against India or due to a perceived Western threat to the integrity of Pakistan's arsenal that might cause Pakistan to move to a higher state of nuclear readiness. If the Army feels compelled to rapidly disperse or relocate nuclear components and loses the defensive advantage of protecting them in secure fixed locations, insider foreknowledge of movements and the loss of centralized control could increase the probability of theft or loss...."
AP Photo
August 2009
"Improving U.S.-China Relations: The Next Steps"
By Richard N. Rosecrance, Adjunct Professor; Senior Fellow, International Security Program; Director, Project on U.S.-China Relations
A higher Renminbi will have two advantages: for the United States, it will help to equilibrate the past trade imbalance; for China, it will stimulate consumption (and enhance imports). It will therefore help China switch from a purely exporting strategy to one that maintains domestic growth through internal consumption. The goods that were to be sent abroad can now be consumed by an increasingly middle class nation at home. These steps will bring China and the United States closer economically and increase international stability. However, unless the military-security relations of the two countries improve, this will not be a sufficient remedy for the two nations' long term problems.
AP Photo
August 12, 2009
"Making of Great Communicators"
The Korea Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
As president, Obama continues to communicate effectively, but an American president has a problem of dual audiences. Sometimes rhetoric that fares well at home such as Bush's second inaugural address sounds hypocritical to foreign ears. In contrast, Obama's inaugural address was well received both at home and abroad....[B]ut effective leadership is also communicated by actions and policies. At this stage, it is too early to determine whether Obama's policies will reinforce or undercut the effects of his words.
As we await the results, it helps to remember the complexity of the relation between effective leadership and communications.
AP Photo
August 11, 2009
"How America Is Funding Corruption in Pakistan"
Foreign Policy
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"For the last eight years, U.S. taxpayers' money has funded hardly any bona fide counterterrorism successes, but quite a bit of corruption in the Pakistani Army and intelligence services. The money has enriched individuals at the expense of the proper functioning of the country's institutions. It has provided habitual kleptocrats with further incentives to skim off the top. Despite the U.S. goal of encouraging democratization, assistance to Pakistan has actually weakened the country's civilian government. And perhaps worst of all, it has hindered Pakistan's ability to fight terrorists."
AP Photo
August 9, 2009
"Reclaiming Islam"
Sunday Herald
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"In Britain, the radicalisation process has been exacerbated by a gaping lack of mainstream Islamic education for the young, and a dearth of advice on how to apply the rules in a business context. When Islamic companies have needed advice in accordance with mainstream interpretations of Islamic law, there has been no organisation qualified to provide it. This gap has often been filled by scholars who interpret Islamic law in ways that are not appropriate to modern life. In some areas it has been filled by extremist preachers, unqualified in Islamic law and theology, normally from outside Europe, who have replaced traditional pietistic, apolitical Islam with an ignorant, pamphlet-based Islam which emphasises politics. So the best answer to the question of what we can do to break the link between foreign policy and radicalisation is simply to educate our young people in genuine, authentic Islamic teachings. Then, if they encounter radical narratives, dubious theology or ignorant preaching, they will be able to see these for the perversions of the religion that they really are. The fact that the vast majority of extremists have not undergone this process reinforces the point."
AP Photo
August 2009
"A Tighter Net: Strengthening the Proliferation Security Initiative"
By Emma Belcher, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
Australia and other countries should redouble their efforts to fix serious gaps in an international arrangement to stop maritime shipments of materials destined for weapons of mass destruction programs, according to the Brief. It argues that heightened concerns over North Korea provide an opportunity to bolster the Proliferation Security Initiative, a 95-country arrangement to promote interception of transfers of cargoes related to weapons of mass destruction.
AP Photo
August 5, 2009
"Every Quango Should Be Put before a 'Dragon's Den' to Question Its Role and Very Existence"
conservativehome
By Azeem Ibrahim, Research Fellow, International Security Program
Everybody is talking about cutting the number of quangos, organisations set up by the government. Unlike companies like Woolworths, which can go bust if not enough people have any use for what they're doing, once a quango is created it will exist forever until a minister or civil servant decides to shrink or abolish it. And unlike a company, we pay for its services through taxes whether we want to or not, whether or not we find it useful.
There has never been a better time for cutting wasteful spending on quangos than right now. In this financial climate, companies all over the world are having to tighten their belts, and us taxpayers understand that government should do the same.
AP Photo
August 3, 2009
"Gore's Carbon 'Tax Shift' Beats Cap-and-Trade"
Roll Call
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"At the core of the cap-and-trade approach is a new financial market in carbon permits. The economics of a cap mean that permit prices will be very volatile, inviting a frenzy of financial speculation by Wall Street. As Americans suffer through the worst recession in their lifetimes, they will find it hard to trust the fate of the planet to the same individuals who brought us credit default swaps, subprime mortgage securities and other exotic financial instruments."
