POLICY BRIEFINGS, TESTIMONY & PRESENTATIONS
AP Photo
May 2012
"Leadership Decapitation and the End of Terrorist Groups"
Leadership decapitation has largely failed to produce desired policy results against organizations other than terrorist groups, such as state regimes and drug cartels. For example, killing or capturing kingpins has had little effect on the flow of drugs into the United States, and worse, it has often led to more drugs, more cartels, and more violence. Terrorist groups are different. Because they are violent, clandestine, and values-based organizations, terrorist groups are especially susceptible to leadership decapitation.
AP Photo
June 2012
"The Effectiveness of Leadership Decapitation in Combating Insurgencies"
By Patrick B. Johnston, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2010–2011: International Security Program/Intrastate Conflict Program, 2009–2010
"The findings indicate that militant leaders do matter and that removing them enhances the effectiveness of counterinsurgency strategies. In brief, decapitations were associated with curtailed insurgent activity, decreased insurgent violence, and an increased likelihood of government victory. These patterns were not limited to certain types of groups; there was no statistical evidence that the impact of decapitation differed across groups with different aims and ideologies."
June 11, 2012
"The Special Senate Committee on Anti-terrorism"
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom and Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
On June 11, 2012, the Belfer Center's William Tobey, Matthew Bunn and Simon Saradzhyan testified before Canada's upper house of parliament, the Senate, on the threat of nuclear terrorism and strategies to combat it.
June 1, 2012
"Analysis of Small Particles in Support of Big Decisions"
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Olli Heinonen, senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, made this presentation on the inauguration of a new multimillion dollar instrument at the Transuranium Institute in Germany on June 1, 2012.
May 22, 2012
"IAEA Inspections in Perspective"
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Olli Heinonen, senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, presented the paper "What the IAEA Could do to Detect Clandestine Nuclear Activities" at a conference focused on "Reassessing the Assumptions Driving Our Current Nuclear Nonproliferation Policies," hosted by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) on May 21, 2012.
AP Photo
March 29, 2012
"The IAEA and Fukushima: Best Laid Plans, Reality Checks, and Doing It Better Next Time"
By Trevor Findlay, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
Professor Findlay analyzed the response of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the March 2011 nuclear reactor disaster at Fukushima, Japan. He compared the expectations that the Agency, its member states, and other nuclear stakeholders had of the IAEA's role in such a situation with the harsh reality. Drawing on these insights, he suggested possibilities for strengthening the Agency's capacities for handling the next Fukushima.
September 4, 2012
"Living Sustainable Development: Opportunities for Planets, Places and People"
By William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP
On April 23, 2012, Harvard Kennedy School professor William Clark, a leading scholar on sustainable development, spoke to HKS faculty and staff about “Living Sustainable Development: Opportunities for Planets, Places and People.” Clark’s presentation not only conveys the big picture of sustainable development challenges and policy choices that affect the whole planet -- it also brings the issues down to the level of personal decisions that can make a difference.
March 22, 2012
China’s Plutonium Recycling: Policy Considerations
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
A presentation to the International Symposium on Nuclear Security and the Korean Peninsula on the policy considerations of China's plutonium recycling plans.
March 22, 2012
"The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime Challenged"
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Presentation by Olli Heinonen at the Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference, March 20, 2012, in Busan, South Korea, in advance of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26-27, 2012.
March 18-23, 2012
Rethinking Chinese Policy on Commercial Reprocessing
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
This paper will discuss the status of China’s nuclear power reactors, breeders, and civilian reprocessing programs. In addition, this paper will examine whether the breeders and civilian reprocessing programs make sense for China, taking into account costs, proliferation risks, energy security tradeoffs, health and environmental risks, and spent fuel management issues.
