ACADEMIC PAPERS & REPORTS
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Fall 2012
"The Psychology of Threat in Intergroup Conflict: Emotions, Rationality, and Opportunity in the Rwandan Genocide"
International Security, issue 2, volume 37
By Omar S. McDoom, Former Research Fellow, Intrastate Conflict Program/International Security Program, 2004-2007; Former Associate, Intrastate Conflict Program/International Security Program, 2007-2008
Group emotions, fear in particular, play an important role in how security threats polarize social groups. The case of the Rwanadan genocide demonstrates that four psychosocial mechanisms (boundary activation, outgroup derogation, outgroup homogenization, and ingroup cohesion) play an important role in group polarization, and that fear is a crucial driver of these mechanisms. A more thorough understanding of how security threats activate group polarization could help policymakers to minimize intergroup conflict.
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Fall 2012
"Israel’s War in Gaza: A Paradigm of Effective Military Learning and Adaptation"
International Security, issue 2, volume 37
The United States and its allies have long sought to learn from major combat encounters and to assimilate their learning into military doctrine, force development, and operating procedures. Israeli’s successful campaign in Gaza in 2008–09 is evidence that the Israel Defense Forces learned from their mistakes in the Lebanon War two years earlier and incorporated that learning into their combat repertoire. Israel’s achievement in this area should be studied as an exemplar of military lessons learned and assimilated.
Full article available.
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Fall 2012
"Just War Moral Philosophy and the 2008–09 Israeli Campaign in Gaza"
International Security, issue 2, volume 37
The controversial 2008–09 Israeli campaign in Gaza violated just war principles on three main accounts: it did not discriminate in its targets, there was no just cause, and it did not exhaust nonviolent alternatives. Human rights organizations have criticized Israel for its methods during the campaign, but its claim that the attack was an act of self-defense and was therefore justifiable is still widely accepted. The campaign’s primary purpose, however, was to crush resistance to Israel’s repression of Gaza—an indefensible cause by just war standards. Moreover, Israel did not fully explore political alternatives before launching the attack.
Full article available.
Fall 2012
"Two Concepts of Liberty: U.S. Cold War Grand Strategies and the Liberal Tradition"
International Security, issue 2, volume 37
By Brendan Rittenhouse Green, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2009–2011
Contrary to conventional accounts, the United States did not immediately adopt a balancing strategy against the Soviet Union after World War II. Rather, the Eisenhower administration sought U.S. withdrawal from Western Europe by pursuing a buck-passing strategy. Only under the Kennedy administration did the United States begin to make permanent commitments to the defense of Europe. A new theory analyzes this shift in policy, defining those who sought to withdraw from Europe as “negative liberals” and those who sought firmer balancing commitments as “positive liberals.”
September 24, 2012
"Leadership is Associated with Lower Levels of Stress"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
By Gary D. Sherman, Jooa J. Lee, Amy J. C. Cuddy, Jonathan Renshon, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2010–2012, Christopher Oveis, James J. Gross and Jennifer Lerner
As leaders ascend to more powerful positions in their groups, they face ever-increasing demands. As a result, there is a common perception that leaders have higher stress levels than nonleaders. However, if leaders also experience a heightened sense of control—a psychological factor known to have powerful stress-buffering effects—leadership should be associated with reduced stress levels. Using unique samples of real leaders, including military officers and government officials, we found that, compared with nonleaders, leaders had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower reports of anxiety (study 1). In study 2, leaders holding more powerful positions exhibited lower cortisol levels and less anxiety than leaders holding less powerful positions, a relationship explained significantly by their greater sense of control. Altogether, these findings reveal a clear relationship between leadership and stress, with leadership level being inversely related to stress.
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April 2012
"Safe, Secure and Effective Nuclear Operations in the Nuclear Zero Era"
By Ronald G. Allen, Jr., Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom, 2011–2012
Without significant change in the geopolitical landscape, nuclear weapons will remain a relevant portion of America's long-term national security strategy. Therefore, the burdens and responsibilities of maintaining an effective nuclear deterrent force are paramount to ensure credibility for America and her allies. Bottom line: nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence are still relevant today and for the foreseeable future. Therefore, to maintian international strategic stability we must embrace the necessity of nuclear deterrence, develop strategic policy that supports deterrence as an essential element and adequately resource the enterprise.
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September 2012 (Working Draft)
Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Context of Strategic Stability
In this discussion paper Andrei Kokoshin, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and sixth secretary of the Russian Security Council, offers a concise discussion of the essence of the most dangerous nuclear crisis in the history of humankind.
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September 2012
"Measuring the Impacts of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions: Placing the Global 'Success' of TRCs in Local Perspective"
Cooperation and Conflict, issue 3, volume 47
By Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, Research Fellow, International Security Program, Megan Mackenzie, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Women in Public Policy Program, 2008–2009 and Mohamed Sesay
"Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) have emerged as an international norm and are assumed to be an essential element of national reconciliation, democratization, and post-conflict development. Despite the increase in the number of TRCs being initiated around the globe and the international consensus regarding their positive effects, there is little understanding of the longterm effects and consequences of TRCs. Specifically, currently there are no established methods or mechanisms for measuring the impacts of TRCs; furthermore, the few examples of efforts to measure these impacts have serious limitations. This article explores both the rise in TRCs as an international norm and the contradictions and inadequacies in existing efforts to measure the impacts and successes of commissions."
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August 31, 2012
"Climate Negotiators Create an Opportunity for Scholars"
Science, issue 6098, volume 337
By Joseph E. Aldy, Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board; Director, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched a process to confront risks posed by global climate change. It has led to a dichotomy between countries with serious emission-reduction responsibilities and others with no responsibilities whatsoever. This has prevented progress, but the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action suggests the prospect for a better way forward and an openness to outside-the-box thinking. Scholars and practitioners have a new opportunity to contribute innovative proposals for a future international climate policy architecture.
August 2012
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia
By Richard Armitage and Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
The following report presents a consensus view of the members of a bipartisan study group on the U.S.-Japan alliance. The report specifically addresses energy, economics and global trade, relations with neighbors, and security-related issues. Within these areas, the study group offers policy recommendations for Japan and the United States, which span near- and long-term time frames. These recommendations are intended to bolster the alliance as a force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
