BROWSE BY PUBLICATION TYPE
April 30, 2013
Obama’s Dilemma: The Keystone XL Pipeline Decision
News
By Zahra Hirji
David Keith, Michael Levi, and Elana Schor discussed how the media influence public debate on the Keystone XL decision during a special seminar sponsored by the Environment and Natural Resources Program.
April 30, 2013
"Global Grand Challenges for Engineering and International Development"
Op-Ed, Technology+Policy | Innovation@Work
By Sujata K. Bhatia, Associate, Science, Technology, and Globalization
"Africa has demonstrated the capability to innovate in hardware and software, and that it is easier to introduce novel technologies in settings where no incumbent industries exist; this presents a unique advantage for innovators in the developing world and must be emphasized in policy discussions."
April 30, 2013
"Boston Bombing Puts Spotlight on Security Services' Failure to Cooperate"
Op-Ed, RIA Novosti
By Simon Saradzhyan, Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Was the bombing of the Boston marathon the result of an intelligence failure? There seems to be no clear answer to that question yet. But it does seem to me that had there been a greater degree of trust between the US and Russian secret services, they would have been more willing to share information and act on each other’s warnings, preventing Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from allegedly bombing the Boston marathon's finish line on April 15."
April 30, 2013
Energy and the Arab Awakening: A View from Riyadh
News
The Middle East Initiative and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs hosted distinguished scholars and energy experts from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a panel discussion on Thursday, April 25. The panelists included Dr. Mohammed Al Sabban, Professor, King Abdulaziz University, former advisor to Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Mr. Ali Al Shihabi, Founder, Rasmala Investment Bank; and Mr. Abdulaziz al Fahad, Principal of Abdulaziz al Fahad Law Firm.
April 25, 2013
"The Collapsing Arab State"
Op-Ed, Project Syndicate
By Nawaf Obaid, Visiting Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The so-called Arab Spring generated a wave of hope among those fighting or advocating for democratization of the Arab world’s authoritarian regimes. Now, following leadership changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and with a brutal civil war raging in Syria and increasingly fraught conditions in Bahrain, Sudan, Jordan, and Iraq, there is much talk of a major shift – and hope for improvement – in the nature and prospects of the Arab state.
April 26, 2013
"For Israel, Tranquil Days"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"To be sure, the Iranian threat looms on the horizon. And Amos Yadlin, a retired major general who heads the Institute for National Security Studies, warns of an approaching choice between 'bombing or the bomb' — that is, attacking Iran or accepting it as a nuclear-weapons state. But in terms of imminent dangers, this is a surprisingly tranquil period for the Jewish state," writes David Ignatius for the Washington Post.
April 29, 2013
Prince Turki on Saudi Arabia's Role after Arab Awakening
News
In a speech for the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative, Prince Turki al Faisal laid out Saudi Arabia’s two–pronged security strategy as the Gulf kingdom contends with the fallout from the 2011 Arab uprisings and fast-changing global energy trends. Prince Turki, who directed the Saudi intelligence service for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and then to the United States, said Saudi foreign policy doctrine is based on two themes: external security and energy security.
The full text as prepared for delivery is attached (pdf).
April 29, 2013
"Diluting the Terror Watch Lists"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"...[T]he necessity to remove Cuba from the list is immediate. We need to rationalize these terror lists, whether they designate individuals or countries. The term 'state sponsor of terrorism' means nothing if Cuba is on the list: It simply says we kind of don't like you and will find any reason to make it hurt. An over-inclusive list, as we are seeing in the Boston case, can be as damaging as an under-inclusive one."
April 3, 2013
"Accelerate the Accelerators! Are There Alternatives to Nuclear Research Reactors?"
Presentation
By David Nusbaum, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This seminar reviewed the alternatives to nuclear research reactors and the benefits of adopting the technology of accelerators in order to reduce dependence on enriched uranium.
April 2013
"DOE Budget Authority for Energy Research, Development, & Demonstration Database"
Fact Sheet
By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
In our annual review of the budget request for fiscal year 2014 for the Department of Energy's energy research, development, demonstration (RD&D) programs, we observe that it is significantly higher than the FY12 budget, a 33 percent increase overall, from $3.25 billion to $4.30 billion (current dollars), not including basic energy sciences. The increase in basic energy sciences is also large compared with FY12, a 17 percent increase for a total of $1.74 billion. We observe a huge decline in spending on deployment programs since the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Our database, including charts, is available for download.
