AFRICA
AP Photo
June 6, 2011
"The Future of al-Qaeda"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Tariq Parvez
"[W]hether al-Qaeda's ideology resonates with segments of the world's Muslim populations will have a critical bearing on the organization's ultimate fate. Recent political developments in Egypt, Tunisia and across the Middle East have exposed the bankruptcy of al-Qaeda's ideas as a means of challenging dictatorships in Muslim countries....Much will depend in the coming months and years on the extent to which the changes heralded by the "Arab Spring" improve the lot of common Arabs in terms of governance and economic prospects."
Summer 2006
"No Place to Hide: Refugees, Displaced Persons, and the Recruitment of Child Soldiers"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 1, volume 31
By Vera Achvarina and Simon Reich
Child soldiers are being used more frequently in civil and interstate wars despite international protocols designed to curb this practice. The reason lies in the varying degrees of protection that children in camps housing internally displaced persons and refugees receive from governments and external actors. Furthermore, the growing use of child soldiers has become more than just a humanitarian concern, as child soldiering can be linked to insurgency, terrorism, and the prolongation of war.
December 2008
"Towards a Global Compact for Managing Climate Change"
Discussion Paper
Despite an enormous amount of work done to persuade the world of the dangers of climate change and the need for quick corrective action, there is little progress toward a global compact for managing climate change. In fact, there are some basic differences of perspectives on climate change policies between developed and developing countries which may bedevil future global agreements on climate change for quite some time. Among the reasons for these differences are the issues of historical responsibility for carbon emission by the developed countries, the need for lifestyle changes in both the developed and developing countries, suspicion in the developing countries about the motives of developed countries and too much focus of current discussions on the very long-term and global effects of climate change.
November 2009
"Climate Finance"
Policy Brief
By The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements
The finance of climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries represents a key challenge in the negotiations on a post-2012 international climate agreement. Finance mechanisms are important because stabilizing the climate will require significant emissions reductions in both the developed and the developing worlds, and therefore large-scale investments in energy infrastructure. The current state of climate finance has been criticized for its insufficient scale, relatively low share of private-sector investment, and insufficient institutional framework. This policy brief presents options for improving and expanding climate finance.
AP Photo
Spring 2012
"Agenda for Peace or Budget for War? Evaluating the Economic Impact of International Intervention in Somalia"
Journal Article, International Journal, issue 2, volume 67
By Aisha Ahmad, Former Research Fellow, Initiative on Religion in International Affairs/International Security Program, 2011–2012
This article shows how international humanitarian aid, particularly food aid, has played an instrumental role in perpetuating chronic civil war and state collapse in Somalia from 1992–2012. During the 1992 famine, food aid created lucrative opportunities for criminal elements of the Somali business community, who partnered with local warlords to create an enduring system of corruption and aid dependence. International aid financed this elite pact between business and warlords, which subsequently undermined domestic processes of order-making and reduced the bargaining power of local communities in the peace-building process.
Spring 2012
The Business of Islamism: A Rational Look at Political Islam in Somalia
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Aisha Ahmad, Former Research Fellow, Initiative on Religion in International Affairs/International Security Program, 2011–2012
"The rise of political Islam in failed states is one of the most pressing security concerns in the world today. Given the increasingly tense interaction between the United States and Islamic countries, such as Pakistan and Iran, the potential for new Islamic regimes emerging out of failed states in Africa, Asia and the Middle East could add a notable degree of uncertainty to future international relations," writes Aisha Ahmad, a research fellow with the Belfer Center's International Security Program/Program on Religion in International Affairs.
AP Photos
January 17, 2013
"Raised on Hatred"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Fellow, The Future of Diplomacy Project
Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes, "As a child growing up in a Muslim family, I constantly heard my mother, other relatives and neighbors wish for the death of Jews, who were considered our darkest enemy. Our religious tutors and the preachers in our mosques set aside extra time to pray for the destruction of Jews."
Summer 2011
"What Role Should the U.S. Play in Middle East?"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School, Ashraf Hegazy, Former Executive Director, The Dubai Initiative, Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs; Faculty Chair, International Security Program
The Belfer Center's Graham Allison, Nicholas Burns, Ashraf Hegazy, Joseph S. Nye, and Stephen Walt consider the U.S.'s shifting foreign policy in the Middle East.
AP Photo
April 8, 2011
"War torn"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
In a Feb. 25 West Point speech, Secretary of Defese Robert Gates proposed a radical prescription for defense policy. If his view were adopted, the “Gates Doctrine’’ would be his most important legacy. In his words: “Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined.’’
(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
March 17, 2011
"U.S. Should Support British and French-led No Fly Zone in Libya"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
"President Obama should announce immediately full U.S. support for a British-French led No Fly Zone over Libya," writes Graham Allison. "He should express confidence in the British and French to organize and conduct this military operation with the backing of their colleagues in the 27-nation European Union and NATO. The US should stand ready to respond to requests for help if we have unique capabilities, including intelligence assets, essential for this mission." The U.S. should not take the lead, Allison argues.
