BALKANS
March 21, 2013
"Fascism's Nascent Comeback in Europe"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The austerity measures enacted in response to the Greek economic crisis have propelled the rise of right-wing politics; nationalist groups are gaining footholds throughout the country. One far-right party, Golden Dawn, has embraced the language and ideology of German fascism, focusing its ire on immigrants. Greece sits at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia, and shares a porous border with Turkey. The mass migration of refugees from Africa and the Middle East, in particular Syria with its 1 million displaced citizens, has led to increased violence against real and perceived outsiders in Greece."
February 28, 2013
"Engineering Green Growth"
Op-Ed, Global Grand Challenges Summit Blog
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Recent trends in a variety of engineering fields have shown the prospects of pursuing ecologically sound technological leapfrogging. For example, the rapid adoption of mobile phones in African countries demonstrates how connectivity can be increased while reducing the ecological footprint of communication. Similarly, the rapid adoption of genetically engineered crops has shown how agricultural production can be enhanced while reducing the use of harmful agricultural chemicals."
February 8, 2013
"Forging New Diplomatic Bonds Through Science and Technology"
Op-Ed, Technology+Policy | Innovation@Work
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Slovenia and Kenya are inventing a form of science and technology diplomacy that is based on commitment to taking on global challenges irrespective of size and level of development. The cooperation points to a new future in which science and technology will increasingly become the bond that ties nations together in new diplomatic arrangements."
February 7, 2013
"What's the Most Critical and Under-appreciated Issue in International Security? World Peace"
Op-Ed, Power & Policy Blog
By Scott Moore, Giorgio Ruffolo Doctoral Research Fellow, Sustainability Science Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group
"...[I]t is clear that the international community possessed neither the analytic tools nor the institutional capabilities to deal with a world order in which ethno-religious groups, and not nation-states, were the primary operative actors. Which brings us back to the question: what if organized state violence and warfare is the exception rather than the rule in international security?"
December 11, 2012
High-Risk, High-Reward: Will Obama Seek a Free-Trade Pact With Europe?
Op-Ed, The Atlantic
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Just after the New Year, President Obama will have to decide whether to take a dramatic, high-stakes gamble on a very unsexy topic: a U.S.-EU free trade agreement. It will be one of the key high-risk, high-reward choices of his second term, writes Ben Heineman.
December 5, 2012
"A free-trade agreement with Europe?"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
At a recent meeting of German business and foreign-policy leaders, one participant summed up an anxiety that’s almost palpable here: “Europeans have a sense of being left alone. You Americans don’t understand how much we need you.”
December 1, 2012
Europe at a Crossroads
Event Report
In a public address on Europe’s imminent choices, former EU Commissioner and Fisher Family Fellow Anna Diamantopoulou offered an analysis of the origins of Europe’s crisis and sketched her vision of the new narrative necessary to ensure European cohesion.
November 20, 2012
"Don't Waste Draghi"
Op-Ed
By Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy, International Security Program
European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi's Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) gives the populists' opponents a new weapon: support while structural reform takes hold. As he implied on Thursday, purchases are rewards for the countries implementing good reforms. Conversely, the ECB can stop OMT if it judges national policies to be "deserving" of punitive rates. Draghi should not hesitate to use this power to preserve credibility: while monetary policy operates within democracy, it is not itself be democratic.
AP Photo
November 19, 2012
"Syria: Would Putin Pull a 'Pristina'?"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Might Putin, if Bashar's regime became more threatened, be tempted to pull another Pristina? — the moment in 1999 when Russian troops, in support of their Serbian allies, sent a column in to occupy Pristina airport, in Kosovo. The Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR), Wesley Clark, was in favor of blocking the runway against Russian reinforcements, but the leading British military officer in place there, Michael Jackson, countermanded Clarke, and a potentially dangerous East-West confrontation was avoided."
October 13, 2012
"Why Europe Deserved the Peace Prize"
Op-Ed, CNN.com
By Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy, International Security Program
"With all its imperfections, Europe today is the largest single market in the world, featuring effective anti-trust regulations, curtailing economic nationalism, and promoting free trade agreements with counties as far away as Asia and Latin America. New potential members are eager to join, from booming Turkey to crisis-ridden Iceland. Despite all the talk of stalling, Turkish membership will eventually come to pass."
