PUBLICATIONS
Spring 2012
International Security: Journal Highlights
Belfer Center Newsletter
International Security is America’s leading journal of security affairs. It provides sophisticated analyses of contemporary security issues and discusses their conceptual and historical foundations. The journal is edited at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and published quarterly by the MIT Press. Questions may be directed to IS@Harvard.edu.
AP Photo
January 2012
"To Stay Ahead of China, Stay Engaged in Asia"
By Michael Beckley, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2011–2012
"China narrowed the gap in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and will likely overtake the United States as the world's largest economy sometime between 2015 and 2040. What matters for national power, however, is not gross wealth, but net wealth—the wealth left over after people are clothed and fed. China's 1.3 billion people produce a large volume of output, but they also consume most of it immediately, leaving little left over for national purposes."
Winter 2011/12
"Correspondence: Civilians, Soldiers, and the Iraq Surge Decision"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By Richard Betts, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1974-1975; Editorial Board, Quarterly Journal: International Security, Michael C. Desch, Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security and Peter D. Feaver, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1985-1987; Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
Richard K. Betts and Michael C. Desch respond separately to Peter D. Feaver's spring 2011 International Security article, "The Right to Be Right: Civil-Military Relations and the Iraq Surge Decision."
Winter 2011/12
"Correspondence: Bargaining Theory and Rationalist Explanations for the Iraq War"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By Michael K. McKoy and David A. Lake
Michael K. McKoy responds to David A. Lake's winter 2010/11 International Security article, "Two Cheers for Bargaining Theory: Assessing Rationalist Explanations for the Iraq War."
(AP Photo)
Winter 2011/12
"They Think They're Normal: Enduring Questions and New Research on North Korea—A Review Essay"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By David Kang
The motivations of North Korea’s leaders and people have long been a mystery, frustrating policymakers who must decide whether to pursue a relationship with the government or attempt to isolate the rogue state, but new literature reveals that the North Korean people and their government operate more normally than most people think. This literature also suggests that policies designed to minimize North Korea’s military threat may hurt efforts to improve the lives of its citizens and vice versa. Given this difficulty and the recent regime change, efforts to understand North Korea before making and implementing policy decisions are more important than ever.
U.S. Army A.A.F. Photo
Winter 2011/12
"Present at the Creation: Edward Mead Earle and the Depression-Era Origin of Security Studies"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By David Ekbladh, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2009–2010
Security studies is commonly thought to have emerged as a response to the Cold War, but its roots reach much further back. Historian Edward Mead Earle and his colleagues first addressed the problem of security to cope with the unraveling of the international order in the 1930s. Earle was instrumental in paving the way for security studies as it exists today, laying the foundations for an important discipline that seeks to combine history, economics, and political science to build bridges between the government and academia and use scientific inquiry to inform policy and guide grand strategy.
AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh
Winter 2011/12
"Climate Wars? Assessing the Claim That Drought Breeds Conflict"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By Ole Magnus Theisen, Helge Holtermann and Halvard Buhaug
Climate change will most likely impose great hardships on Africa’s agrarian societies in the coming years, but new research suggests that, despite current thought, it will not increase the likelihood of civil war. The concern that scarcity will breed conflict is understandable, but the data show that civil war is more highly correlated with other factors, such as high infant mortality, proximity to international borders, and high local population density. Climate shocks are certain to increase the suffering of marginalized societies in other ways, which makes it all the more important that we do not militarize the issue lest fear limit immigration and relief efforts.
Imaginechina via AP Images
Winter 2011/12
"China's Century? Why America's Edge Will Endure"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
By Michael Beckley, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2011–2012
The current hype that China is overtaking the United States is wrong. China is rising, but it is not catching up. Globalization and hegemony, often considered burdens, are actually helping the United States maintain its edge by allowing it to reap financial advantages and manipulate the international system to its benefit. The United States should therefore continue to prop up the global economy and pursue a robust diplomatic and military presence abroad.
AP Photo/Mario Tama
Winter 2011/12
"Unrest Assured: Why Unipolarity Is Not Peaceful"
International Security, issue 3, volume 36
For thirteen of the twenty-two years since becoming the world’s sole great power, the United States has been at war. Still, the theory that unipolarity is peaceful prevails. In fact, the potential for war is inherent in each of the three grand strategies available to a unipole: defensive dominance, offensive dominance, and disengagement.
AP Photo
December 14, 2011
"The Exaggerated Threat of American Muslim "Homegrown" Terrorism"
By Risa Brooks
"...[I]nflating the terrorist threat could alienate Muslim communities in the United States. This would be a worrisome development, because those communities’ widespread rejection of terrorism and their ongoing willingness to expose suspected militants are two reasons why the homegrown threat remains small."
