SOUTHEAST ASIA
September 6, 2006
"Conclusion: Seven Lessons Learned from the Fog of Peace"
Book Chapter
By Talbot C. Imlay and Monica Duffy Toft, Associate Professor of Public Policy
"...the fog of peace can never be entirely pierced. Flexibility and constant cultivation of the ability to question received wisdom and to reconsider assumptions are the best security against catastrophic failure in a future war, regardless of whether that war resembles a more traditional interstate war or the current war on terror."
June 6, 2006
"Finish Job in East Timor"
Op-Ed, Baltimore Sun
By Michael Boyle, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2006
"East Timor, once viewed as a U.N. success story because the world body had backed an Australian intervention to rescue the impoverished island from the grips of the Indonesian army, has become beset by poverty and civil turmoil...."
June, 2006
Taxes and Charges to Manage Oil Demand in Australia: Policy Recommendations for the Australian Government
Discussion Paper
Assesses the options available to the Australian federal government to reduce demand for gasoline and diesel through taxation and charges
April 25, 2006
King Gyanendra, We Gave You Fair Warning
Op-Ed, Chicago Tribune
By Xenia Dormandy, Former Senior Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Warnings went unheeded. Now, after two weeks of major demonstrations, the king finally gets it— or at least he says he does. Unfortunately, his actions lag far behind.
March 20, 2008
"Asia's Role in the Illicit Trade of Wildlife"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Vanda Felbab-Brown, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Program on Intrastate Conflict, 2005–2007
"Although some of these unfortunate animals supply the domestic market in Burma, many go to China and elsewhere in Asia for food consumption as well as homemade medicines and good luck charms. Many of the species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but the local authorities in Mong La, the Burmese government, and China have not shown much of an interest in enforcing the prohibitions."
March 5, 2006
Bush in India: It's More Than Just Nuclear
Op-Ed, San Diego Union-Tribune
By Xenia Dormandy, Former Senior Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The advantage of the nuclear deal for India is straightforward: it represents India's best opportunity to obtain international cooperation on advancing much needed civilian nuclear power generation. The value for the United States of working with India to do so should also be clear.
February 17, 2006
"Don't Dumb Down the Army"
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Kelly M. Greenhill, Research Fellow, Program on Intrastate Conflict/International Security Program
"Four decades ago, during the Vietnam War, Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara created Project 100,000, a program intended to help the approximately 300,000 men who annually failed the Armed Forces Qualification Test for reasons of aptitude...Mr. McNamara further concluded that the best way to demonstrate that the induction of New Standards Men would prove beneficial was to keep their status hidden from their commanders. In other words, Project 100,000 was a blind experiment run on the military amid the escalation of hostilities in Southeast Asia."
January 2006
"A Better Strategy against Narcoterrorism"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, MIT Center for International Studies Audit of the Conventional Wisdom, volume 06-02
By Vanda Felbab-Brown, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Program on Intrastate Conflict, 2005–2007
It is widely recognized that access by belligerent groups to the gains from drug production and trafficking contributes to the intensity and prolongation of military conflict. Also, that such groups—terrorists, insurgents, or warlords—grow stronger when they successfully exploit the drug trade. The United States' response—its antinarcotics policy— emphasizes crop eradication. This strategy is too simplistic and, ultimately, ineffective.
December 2005
How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict
Book
By Ivan Arreguin-Toft, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2002-2009
"In How the Weak Win Wars, Arreguin-Toft means to convince the reader that when the very strong meet the weak in asymmetric armed conflict, strategy matters more than power. Despite minor excursions in his conclusions, he achieves this goal through expert scholarly analysis and a writing style that elucidates complex topics with facility. His work is extremely relevant in the current geopolitical context and serves as a warning to US policy makers to get military strategy right, regardless of relative power. Arreguin-Toft's argument makes perfectly clear the perilous consequences of neglecting the importance of strategic interaction."
— Edward Bradfield, Harvard International Review (Summer 2005)
Read the entire review.
October 15, 2005
"Vietnam's Geopolitical Resources"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, The Saigon Times Weekly
By Alexander Vuving, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007; Former Associate, International Security Program, 2007-2008
Vietnam’s Geopolitical Resources in Today’s World Politics
