DUBAI AND THE GULF STATES
Spring 2011
Belfer Center Newsletter Spring 2011
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Spring 2011 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This issue highlights the Belfer Center’s continuing efforts to build bridges between the United States and Russia to prevent nuclear catastrophe – an effort that began in the 1950s. This issue also features three new books by Center faculty that sharpen global debate on critical issues: God’s Century, by Monica Duffy Toft, The New Harvest by Calestous Juma, and The Future of Power, by Joseph S. Nye.
Photo courtesy of Middle East Initiative
Spring 2011
"Middle East Initiative Celebrates 10-Year Partnership with Kuwait Foundation"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative (MEI) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its partnership with the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) in Kuwait in December.
AP Photo
March 7, 2011
"In Mideast, the Kings are All Right"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"This is not to say that the survival of the monarchs represents anything close to the triumph of democracy sought by Arab youthful protestors. But jobs, food, education, and a voice to build a pathway towards a less-shameful future are the real demands, and monarchies, especially ones that seem to be more responsive to constitutional reforms and the sharing of power, may provide a path there."
www.thegulfonline.com
March, 2011
When too much is never enough
In the News
By Justin Dargin, Former Associate, The Dubai Initiative
Dubai Initiative Fellow Justin Dargin speaks to The Gulf business news magazine in a special report about the gas predicaments among the Gulf countries.
January 25, 2011
Masdar: One step back, two forward for solar in UAE?
In the News
By Justin Dargin, Former Associate, The Dubai Initiative
The UAE has been considered a hot bed for solar energy projects and potentially solar panel manufacturing thanks to domestic and international efforts led by Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, an international renewable energy initiative and specialist in silicon-based thin-film PV module projects. But in a sudden turn of events, Masdar’s decision to postpone its construction of a solar panel factory, have revealed a new set of objectives for domestic projects and heavy subsidization models.
January, 2011
Economic Growth with Unlimited Supplies of Foreign Labor
Working Paper
By Tarek Coury, Former Associate 9/2008-12/2011, The Dubai Initiative
Dubai Initiative Associate Tarek Coury and Associate Dean of the Dubai School of Government Mohamed Lahouel develop a modified version of the standard Solow and Ramsey growth models suited for countries with high proportions of foreign workers: firms hire foreign workers who are assumed to send a proportion of their wages as remittances. The paper shows that as the (foreign) supply of labor becomes more elastic, per capita income growth along the transitional dynamics converges to zero, the effect of TFP growth on per capita growth gradually disappears and growth in overall output converges to an AK-style model of growth.
AP Photo
Winter 2010/11
"The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters: Islam and the Globalization of Jihad"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 3, volume 35
By Thomas Hegghammer, Former Associate, Initiative on Religion in International Affairs/International Security Program, 2009–2010; Former Research Fellow, Initiative on Religion in International Affairs/International Security Program, 2008–2009
Why has transnational war volunteering increased so dramatically in the Muslim world since 1980? Standard explanations, which emphasize U.S.-Saudi support for the 1980s Afghan mujahideen, the growth of Islamism, or the spread of Wahhabism are insufficient. The increase in transnational war volunteering is better explained as the product of a pan-Islamic identity movement that grew strong in the 1970s Arab world from elite competition among exiled Islamists in international Islamic organizations and Muslim regimes.
November 9, 2010
Future of Diplomacy Project announces new resident and non-resident fellows
Press Release
By Cathryn Clüver, Executive Director, The Future of Diplomacy Project
The Future of Diplomacy Project, the newest research initiative to be launched by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, announces its resident and non-resident research fellows for Fall 2010. "Our research fellows bring a blend of practical and academic expertise in diplomacy to the Harvard community, which is instrumental to the critical examination of international conflict resolution mechanisms today," said Future of Diplomacy Project Director Nicholas Burns.
November 4, 2010
A Carbon Solution for the Gulf's Energy Deficit
Journal Article, Petroleum Economist
By Justin Dargin, Former Associate, The Dubai Initiative
By introducing a carbon-management strategy, GCC countries could reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and conserve their oil and gas resource for future generations.
October 19, 2010
Carbon trading only way forward for GCC region, says expert
In the News
By Justin Dargin, Former Associate, The Dubai Initiative
Dubai Initiative Fellow Justin Dargin featured in an article concerning the signficance of carbon trading as an energy policy for the GCC.
