OP-EDS
May 9, 2008
"Breakfast in Beirut"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
This was the third time in a generation that I lived through armed conflict in Beirut, including the early months of the civil war in 1975, the war with Israel in summer 2006, and now this battle -- both a local test of political strength and a proxy battle for the wider ideological war pitting United States-led, predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs vs. Iranian- and Syrian-led, heavily Shiite Muslim Arabs. The regional and global confrontation translated this week into who controlled a few buildings and streets in West Beirut.
May 6, 2008
"The Mystery of Political Charisma"
Wall Street Journal
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"Followers are more likely to attribute charisma to leaders when they feel a strong need for change, often in the context of a personal, organizational or social crisis. For example, the British public did not see Winston Churchill as a charismatic leader in 1939, but a year later, his vision, confidence and communications skills made him charismatic in the eyes of the British people, given the anxieties they felt after the fall of France to the Nazis and the Dunkirk evacuation. Yet by 1945, when the public turned from winning the war to building the welfare state, Churchill was voted out of office. His charisma did not predict his defeat. The change in voters' needs was a better predictor....Barack Obama's charisma is in the eyes of his followers. Voters should be aware that charisma tells them something about a candidate, but even more about themselves, the mood of the country, and their desire for change."
May 6, 2008
"The Global Food and Energy Crises and the Middle East"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
Things will be much more difficult this time around. The consequences could be much worse, especially in view of the ripple effect of the war in Iraq, Iran's growing influence, continued stalemate in Palestine, and the weakening of some Arab governments. It is difficult to predict exactly what will happen in the years ahead, but the stressful factors pushing change are already clear and we would be foolish to ignore them.
thisismysansar4
May 6, 2008
"South Asia, A New Center of Democracy?"
The Providence Journal
By Xenia Dormandy, Director of the Belfer Center's Project on India and the Subcontinent
Thus far this year we’ve seen elections in Pakistan, Bhutan, and Nepal. Elections have been promised in Bangladesh and the Maldives later this year, and scheduled in India and Afghanistan for next year. Yet, barring India, we rarely think of these nations as democracies. Could this then be the next wave?
AP Photo
5 May 2008
"A Strategy to Promote Healthy Globalisation"
Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers explains why a growing global economy is worrisome to U.S. workers, and encourages policymakers to work for the interests of U.S. citizens while maintaining an open, global economy.
May 5, 2008
"Linus Pauling Still Teaches Courage"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
Any scientist -- even political scientists and politicians -- should be able to hear and understand the cries for a more orderly, safe and just society that emanate from throughout the Middle East. Many of the preconceived ideas or simplistic impressions about Middle Eastern Arabs and Muslims that prevail in the United States and other Western countries are not derived from careful observation of facts.
April 27, 2008
"America Needs to Make a New Case for Trade"
Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Larry Summers writes about America's need to reevaluate international trade in this current financial crisis in order to support the American people.
April 23, 2008
"Nuclear Attack a Worst-Case Reality?"
Washington Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative
Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center, argues against contrarians who claim that nuclear terrorism is not an immediate threat, but a "worst-case fantasy." He argues that if countries, including the United States, do not begin to work harder to develop techniques to control and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, then the probability of a nuclear attack occurring is extremely likely.
April 29, 2008
"Washington Cedes its Role"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
It is telling of the damage the United States has done to its influence in the Middle East that the potentially most important diplomatic development in the past generation -- a possible Israeli-Syrian treaty -- seems to be taking place without any significant American role.
AP Photo
April 29, 2008
"Averting an Energy Crisis"
The Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative and Robbie Diamond
Graham Allison and Robbie Diamond warn readers of the grave impacts of rising oil prices to US security. "Add to this continued instability - and in some cases, hostility - in some of the world's most prolific oil-producing nations, and the conclusion is clear: America's dependence on oil, particularly oil from unstable and undemocratic parts of the world, threatens national security and economic stability."
