NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
(Photo by Tom Fitzsimmons)
Winter 2012-2013
"Still Learning Fresh Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis"
Belfer Center Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
Fifty years ago this October, as the Cuban Missile Crisis intensified, the world stood on the brink of a nuclear war. During 13 terrifying days in October 1962, people around the globe watched as President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Khrushchev searched for a way to move their countries—and the world—away from the nuclear cliff.
The Belfer Center commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October by encouraging fresh thinking on lessons learned from that dangerous confrontation—and how those lessons can be applied to crises encountered today.
Winter 2012-2013
From the Director
Belfer Center Newsletter
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
As in October 1962, this fall’s 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded against the backdrop of a national election. The electoral stakes were even higher this year with the presidency in play, not just midterm Congressional races. So it seemed appropriate for the Belfer Center to take the anniversary as a learning moment for politicians and policy-makers, not just for students and scholars.
(Photo by Martha Stewart)
Winter 2012-2013
"Kuwait Foundation Gift Enhances Kennedy School Middle East Initiative"
Belfer Center Newsletter
On July 9, the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) formalized a new five-year agreement with Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). The $8.1 million gift to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ensures the continuation of the MEI’s Kuwait Program at Harvard, and will support a number of initiatives, including a visiting scholars program, degree fellowships for students from the Gulf and wider Mideast region, faculty research, customized executive education programs, and executive education fellowships in existing programs
Winter 2012-2013
"Belfer Center Poll: Americans Have Strong Interest in Global Affairs"
Belfer Center Newsletter
During the 2012 Presidential race, many took it for granted that foreign policy concerns were low on the list of issues important to the American people. However, a poll conducted by the Belfer Center, in conjunction with the Mellman Group, Hill Research Consultants, and Senior Fellow Mike Murphy, found that in Ohio and Florida, national security and foreign policy are still critical to voters.
Winter 2012-2013
"Post Fukushima, Nuclear Experts Discuss Nuclear Power Legislation in China"
Belfer Center Newsletter
By Christopher Wand, Former Program Assistant, Project on Managing the Atom
Given new urgency by last year’s Fukushima accident, China is considering new legislation that will help determine the role that nuclear plants will play in powering one of the biggest and fastest-growing economies in the world. This summer, the Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) hosted a workshop that brought together experts from Peking University’s Nuclear Policy and Law Center with American nuclear experts both from within and outside the Belfer Center. MTA Project Co-Principal Investigator Matthew Bunn chaired the meeting. The visitors from Peking University, who are engaged in helping to draft the new nuclear law, included professors Wang Jin, Wang Yugang, and Tang Yingmao.
Winter 2012-2013
"Center Affiliates Named Most Influential in Foreign Policy"
Belfer Center Newsletter
In September, Foreign Policy published lists of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans whom FP believes have had the greatest influence on their party’s foreign policy. Both lists include several current and former Belfer Center affiliates.
Winter 2012-2013
"Cuban Missile Crisis Events Highlight Decision-Making"
Belfer Center Newsletter
During October 2012, the Belfer Center remembered the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 with a series of events that highlighted the threat and lessons that leaders can take from the most dangerous moment in human history.
Winter 2012-2013
"On Tap at Belfer Center: Oil and Water"
Belfer Center Newsletter
Leonardo Maugeri writes that oil production capacity is surging in the United States and several other countries at such a fast pace that global oil output capacity is likely to grow by nearly 20 percent by 2020—possibly prompting a plunge or even a collapse in oil prices.
Winter 2012-2013
"Center Team Advances Vital Research at Intersection of Water and Energy"
Belfer Center Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
Two years ago, Venkatesh (Venky) Narayanamurti and Laura Diaz Anadon, director and associate director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, set the stage for the Center’s energy research team to zero in on the challenges facing energy and the natural resource essential to it in many countries around the world—water. This article reviews some of their work to date.
Winter 2012-2013
Q&A with David Keith
Belfer Center Newsletter
David Keith is Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. The award-winning scientist, who was named one of TIME magazine's Heroes of the Environment in 2009, has worked near the interface of climate science, energy technology, and public policy for twenty years. He divides his time between Boston and Calgary, where he serves as president of Carbon Engineering—a start-up company developing industrial-scale technologies for capture of CO2 from ambient air. Here, Keith answers questions about his research and ideas for reducing climate change using innovative and sometimes controversial methods.
