DUBAI AND THE GULF STATES
September 2007
Governance and Information Technology: From Electronic Government to Information Government
Book
By Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, Faculty Affiliate and David Lazer
Developments in information and communication technology and networked computing over the past two decades have given rise to the notion of electronic government, most commonly used to refer to the delivery of public services over the Internet. This volume argues for a shift from the narrow focus of "electronic government" on technology and transactions to the broader perspective of information government—the information flows within the public sector, between the public sector and citizens, and among citizens....
Governance and Information Technology: From Electronic Government to Information Government is the result of a collaboration between the authors, the Dubai Initiative, and the Dubai School of Government (DSG). The original papers were presented at a DSG conference held in Dubai in May 2005.
September 2007
"Dubai's Electronic Government"
Book Chapter
By Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, Faculty Affiliate and David Lazer
April 25, 2007
"'Shiite Crescent' Might Not Be What It Seems"
Op-Ed, Baltimore Sun
By Brenda Shaffer, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1999-2000; Former Research Director, Caspian Studies Project, 2004-2007
The premise of the Shiite Crescent assumes that states sharing common sectarian ties tend to form alliances and choose cooperation partners. But do they?
April 5, 2007
What We Can Learn From Britain About Iran
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Vali Nasr, Senior Fellow, Dubai Initiative
Through the capture of and subsequent announcement that it would release 15 British sailors and marines, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent its adversaries a pointed message: just as Iran will meet confrontation with confrontation, it will respond to what it perceives as flexibility with pragmatism. This message is worth heeding as the United States and Iran seem to be moving inexorably toward conflict.
February 25, 2007
"Changes Afoot on the Diplomatic Stage"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Seyom Brown, Former Senior Fellow, International Security Program, 2006-2007
"POLICY ANALYSTS in Cambridge and policy wonks in Washington are all astir , trying to ascertain whether the anti-US rhetoric by President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a conference in Munich was mainly for his home audience or signaled a resurgent rivalry with the United States...."
December 19, 2006
Behind the Rise of the Shi'ites
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Time.com
By Vali Nasr, Senior Fellow, Dubai Initiative
The most significant challenge facing the U.S. in an increasingly unstable Middle East today is understanding the rise of the Shi'ites across the region.
Winter 2006-07
"Q&A with Tarik Yousef"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Tarik M. Yousef is dean of the Dubai School of Government (DSG). The Belfer Center’s Dubai Initiative has two objectives: to assist the DSG in establishing an internationally-recognized academic research center by bringing the research, academic and training resources of the Belfer Center and the Kennedy School to students, practitioners and scholars in the region; and to enable the scholars and students of the Kennedy School to learn and to improve their understanding of the emerging political, social and economic issues in the Middle East. Yousef, who received his PhD in economics from Harvard, is an associate professor of economics in the School of Foreign Service and Shaykh Al Sabah Chair in Arab Studies at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.
December 2006
Exploring e-Government Barriers in the Arab States
Policy Brief
By Fadi Salem, Former Research Associate, The Dubai Initiative, 2006-2007
The intended impact of e-government is simply better government. However, a majority of e-government initiatives around the world, including many in the Arab states, have been unsuccessful in securing positive outcomes.
November 22, 2006
Negotiating Change: The New Politics of the Middle East
Book
By Jeremy Jones, Former Joint Research Fellow, International Security Program/The Dubai Initiative, 2004–2007
As the US demand for Western-style democracy in the Middle East grows ever more strained, Harvard Middle East expert Jeremy Jones travels through the region evaluating the prospects for change. He engages with diverse political cultures, from traditional assemblies in the Persian Gulf, to sophisticated multiconfessional politics in the Levant.
November 6, 2006
Ashton Carter appointed to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board
Press Release
At a November 6, 2006 swearing-in at the State Department, Preventive Defense Project Co-Director and Kennedy School of Government professor Ashton B. Carter became a member of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) which is charged with providing advice on a wide range of issues affecting national security.
