EAST AFRICA
AP Photo
March/April 2008
"Power House"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy, (Inbox Section), issue 165
By Matthew Kroenig, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
"When Kenya convulsed with violence after its flawed election in late December, many expressed surprise that one of Africa’s most stable countries could so quickly fall victim to ethnic hatred. But political scientists Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig noted something else: a feeble legislature. Despite the opposition winning twice as many legislative seats as the president’s party, opposition members still took to the streets. Why? Because they wanted the only office that has any power in the country: the presidency...."
February 1, 2008
"Kenya Countdown"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Newsweek
Should foreign peacekeepers be deployed to Kenya? In spite of the involvement of high-profile facilitators, like former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, killings are continuing in what was once one of Africa's most stable countries.
AP Photo
January 9, 2008
"Kenya's Real Problem (It's Not Ethnic)"
Op-Ed, The Washington Post
By M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
"Like Kenya, Benin and Ghana are ethnically divided countries that have experienced closely fought and possibly flawed presidential elections in recent years. But Benin and Ghana have stronger legislatures, so the losers in presidential elections have less fear of being politically excluded. They have reacted to defeat by using their sway in parliament to control the president, and they have not resorted to mass violence."
AP Photo
December 20, 2007
"Our MPs Should Keep off CDF"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Kenyans go to the polls to elect leaders that they hope will help them improve their welfare. They have one powerful instrument against which to judge their performance: the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Much attention has been devoted to CDF misuse. But a more serious issue is the conflict of interest among parliamentarians. There should be separation between legislative roles and executive functions as foreshadowed in the Constitution....Parliament is the right place to adopt laws that govern the use of funds. But MPs are unlikely to encourage legal provisions that demand higher accountability standards."
November 15, 2007
"Africa Warms Up to Biotechnology"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Ismail Serageldin and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Much of the debate about biotechnology in Africa assumes that African countries are only being asked to accept products developed elsewhere. To the contrary, Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development shows that extensive biotechnology research is under way in Africa...."
November 8, 2007
"Africa's 'Text Generation' is Here"
Op-Ed, Business Daily
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Kenyans will elect a new president in December. But unlike in previous elections, the president will preside over a country dominated by the youth who have a new outlook on life....Performance standards will soon take centre stage and will start to directly challenge patronage as a management style....The "text generation" will be more interested in a functioning economy and less in ethnic politics that has dominated Kenya and most of post-colonial Africa."
October 18, 2007
"Protect Africa from Technological Vandalism"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Predicting technological doom is not new. Early critics of the microelectronics revolution claimed that labour-saving technologies would create unemployment and lead to economic decline. African countries caved in to the scaremongering and imposed restriction on key fields such as industrial automation. Such decisions contributed to the so-called “digital divide” that separate Africa from the rest the world."
October 11, 2007
"Give African Universities Free Internet Access"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project
"Africa (other than South Africa) is currently linked to the developed world by a single fiber-optic cable down the West Africa coast. It is the most digitally-isolated region on the globe."
Summer-Fall 2007
"The Virtues and Vices of Fixed Territorial Ownership"
Journal Article, The SAIS Review of International Affairs, issue 2, volume XXVII
By Boaz Atzili, Research Fellow, International Security Program
Today, territorial ownership of states is essentially fixed, in marked contrast to earlier periods in history. This change has affected states in two very different ways. In regions in which most states are socio-politically strong, fixed territorial ownership is a blessing. It enhances peace, stability, and cooperation between states. In regions in which most states are socio-politically weak, however, fixed territorial ownership is largely a curse. It perpetuates and exacerbates states' weakness, and contributes to internal conflicts that often spill overacross international borders.
AP Images
Fall 2007
"Professor John P. Holdren Moderates the Energy & Climate Panel at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting"
Media Feature
By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
John P. Holdren, director of the Belfer Center's Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, moderated the Energy & Climate panel "Stabilizing the Climate: Pathways to Success" at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York on September 27, 2007.
