JOURNAL ARTICLES
Fall 2011
"Correspondence: Sea Powers, Continental Powers, and Balancing Theory"
International Security, issue 2, volume 36
By David W. Blagden, Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson
David W. Blagden responds to Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson's summer 2010 International Security article, "Balancing on Land and at Sea: Do States Ally against the Leading Global Power?"
AP Photo
Fall 2011
"India's Nuclear Odyssey: Implicit Umbrellas, Diplomatic Disappointments, and the Bomb"
International Security, issue 2, volume 36
After decades of flirting with nuclear weapons, India finally emerged as a nuclear power in the 1990s. New evidence suggests that India was able to hold off in part because it was able to secure protection through an alternate method: implicit “umbrellas” from superpowers. In the late 1970s, however, U.S. support for India waned as it began to improve its relations with Pakistan, and India lost its other major backer with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. By the late 1980s, India could no longer protect itself through diplomatic means, and acquisition of the bomb became an inevitable response to its security needs.
AP Photo
Fall 2011
"Veto Players, Nuclear Energy, and Nonproliferation: Domestic Institutional Barriers to a Japanese Bomb"
International Security, issue 2, volume 36
Although Japanese politicians have expressed interest in the bomb in the past, the country’s veto players make acquisition unlikely. Early research viewed proliferation exclusively as a response to security needs. Since the 1980s, most models have included domestic factors, but they have focused exclusively on a single actor whose influence can be negated if veto power is widely enough dispersed. Thus, despite Japan’s intimidating plutonium supply, and its persistence in building a complete fuel cycle, the country’s large and growing number of veto players suggests the continuation of a rigid nuclear weapons policy. As this analysis indicates, historical institutional analysis is crucial to understanding a state’s propensity for proliferation and should be considered alongside other contributing factors.
AP Photo
Fall 2011
"The Collapse of North Korea: Military Missions and Requirements"
International Security, issue 36, volume 2
By Bruce W. Bennett and Jennifer Lind
The upcoming transition in North Korea’s leadership will not inevitably bring about a collapse of government, but the potential consequences of such an event necessitate advance and combined planning. It is imperative that China, South Korea, and the United States develop a coordinated response, as each of these countries could take destabilizing action to protect their individual interests. A relatively benign collapse could require 260,000 to 400,000 troops to gain control of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, prevent humanitarian disaster, manage regional refugees, and ensure stable U.S.-Chinese relations. Civil war or war on the peninsula would only increase these requirements.
AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh
Fall 2011
"States in Mind: Evolution, Coalitional Psychology, and International Politics"
International Security, issue 2, volume 36
By Anthony C. Lopez, Rose McDermott and Michael Bang Peterson
Viewing coalitions through the lens of evolutionary psychology leads to several hypotheses that can help generate important predictions about group behavior. For example, studies show that humans represent coalitions as a special category of relatively unreliable individual, which has implications for theories on conflict and cooperation among states. The study of psychological mechanisms also indicates that factors such as a man’s strength, whether or not a woman has children, and the size of a coalition can help predict whether or not an individual will support an aggressive foreign policy.
Fall 2011
"Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Serious Is the Threat?"
International Security, issue 2, volume 36
By Risa Brooks
Despite a surge of arrests in 2009, evidence suggests that Muslim American terrorist activity—a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “homegrown” terrorism—is not on the rise. The 2009 arrest count is likely a combination of more aggressive law enforcement and an accident of data: several long-term plots led to arrests in 2009, and many of the plots involved groups, increasing the number of arrests per incident. In addition, many plots have been detected with the help of inside informants. It is therefore crucial not to overreact to statistics in a way that could alienate the Muslim community.
September 27, 2011
Mosques as American Institutions: Mosque Attendance, Religiosity and Integration into the Political System among American Muslims
By Karam Dana, Former Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Religious institutions and places of worship have played a pivotal role in American Politics. What about the role of the mosque? Does the mosque, as an institution, in any sense play a different role than that of churches or synagogues in political participation? Some scholars have argued that Islam as a religion and a culture is incompatible with liberal, democratic American values; not only is Islam inconsistent with the West, but it poses a direct conflict.
AP Photo
September 2011
"Dynamics of Rural Energy Access in India: An Assessment"
Energy, issue 9, volume 36
By Balachandra Patil, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, 2009–2010
India's rural energy challenges are formidable with the presence of majority energy poor. In 2005, out of a rural population of 809 million, 364 million lacked access to electricity and 726 million to modern cooking fuels. This indicates low effectiveness of government policies and programs of the past, and need for a more effective approach to bridge this gap. However, before the government can address this challenge, it is essential that it gain a deeper insight into prevailing status of energy access and reasons for such outcomes. Toward this, we perform a critical analysis of the dynamics of energy access status with respect to time, income and regions, and present the results as possible indicators of effectiveness of policies/programmes.
AP Photo
September/December 2011
"Realist-normative Power Europe? Explaining EU Policies toward Lebanon from an IR Perspective"
Comparative European Politics, issue 4-5, volume 9
By Chiara Ruffa, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2010–2012
This article seeks to explain the relationship between the European Union (EU) and one of its Middle Eastern neighbors: Lebanon. By conducting an in-depth empirical single case study and engaging in competitive theory testing, this article shows that the EU in Lebanon behaves at the same time as a normative and a realist power. This article challenges both the scholarship on the EU that sees the EU as a normative power as well as scholarship that focuses on structural neorealism to explain the EU's role in its neighborhood.
AP Photo
September/December 2011
"South East and Eastern European Countries EU Accession Quandary?"
Comparative European Politics, issue 4-5, volume 9
By Amy Verdun, Chiara Ruffa, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2010–2012 and Gabriela E Chira
Amy Verdun and Chiara Ruffa are the guest editors of Comparative European Politics' special issue: South East and Eastern European Countries EU Accession Quandary?
