STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS PROJECT
September 25, 2000
A Partisan Panel Scatters Poppycock
Los Angeles Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Twelve Republican House members, constituted as the Cox Commission on Russia, have issued a report on the Clinton administration's policy toward Russia that amounts to "sound and fury," in Shakespeare's fine phrase, "signifying nothing." Nothing except that, in the midst of a presidential campaign, a dozen Republican members of Congress dislike Clinton and Al Gore and support Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
May 31, 2000
ABCs of ABM and Missile Defense
Christian Science Monitor
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Re-ignition of heated debate about missile defense, the ABM Treaty, and another arms race befuddles many normal Americans. Can these cold-war relics really dominate President Clinton's agenda in his first meeting with Russia's new president next month in Moscow? One is reminded of Yogi Berra's observation that this is "deja vu all over again."
March 27, 2000
The Real Putin
Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
The central question for Russia-watchers today is: Who is Putin? Even among fellow KGB spooks in his first profession, Putin earned a reputation for being "secretive." He personifies Winston Churchill's characterization of Russia: "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
December 21, 1999
The 'Democratic Presumption' is Taking Hold in Russia
Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Sunday's stunning victory for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his supporters in the new Unity Party surprised most observers. Just three months ago when Russian President Boris Yeltsin made Putin prime minister, knowledgeable Muscovites dismissed the Kremlin entourage as politically spent. It was judged too corrupt and too incompetent to matter.
April 25, 1999
Could the US and Russia Wind up at War?
Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Could NATO's current bombing campaign against Serbia lead to deadly conflict between the United States and Russian military forces? Until last week, my answer was a categorical no. But then I went to Moscow
August 31, 1998
Why Russia's Meltdown Matters
Washington Post
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
For Americans watching the deepening economic crisis in Russia, the most important question is why it matters to us. Given modest levels of U.S. investment and trade and muffled impacts on American markets, Russia's crisis would be important, but no more so than earlier crises in Korea and Indonesia.
April 23, 1998
Showdown in Moscow
New York Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Tomorrow's showdown in Moscow between President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament is shaping up to be not only a crisis in Russian politics, but also a profound threat to Russian democracy.
October 19, 1997
Nuclear Dangers: Fear Increases of Terrorists Getting Hands on 'Loose' Warheads as Security Slips
Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
The box-office hit film "The Peacemaker" is a pulse-pounding spellbinder in which terrorists hijack nuclear weapons from Russia, smuggle one into the United States, and target New York City. Unfortunately, that make-believe scenario is a real-life worry.
April 1, 1996
Russia's Loose Nukes a Serious Threat to US
The Houston Chronicle
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
The greatest single threat to the security of America today, and indeed the world, is the threat from loose nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material from Russia. "Loose nukes' - the loss, theft or sale of weapons-usable nuclear materials or nuclear weapons themselves from the former Soviet arsenal - is not a hypothetical threat; it is a brute fact. Since the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the number of reported, suspected and documented cases of diversion of weapons-usable nuclear material has been increasing steadily.
April 30, 1995
Must We Wait for the Nuclear Morning After?
Washington Post
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
What is the message of the Oklahoma City bombing for American national security? First, the oft-repeated assertion that with the end of the Cold War, the United States faces no direct or immediate threat to our security at home is dead wrong. As the most open society on a shrinking globe, America's democracy is also most vulnerable to terrorists' attacks. Such actions threaten not only our security but also our freedom.
