MIDDLE EAST GOVERNANCE AND POLICY
Winter 2005/06
"Allies, Airpower, and Modern Warfare: The Afghan Model in Afghanistan and Iraq"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 3, volume 30
By Stephen Biddle, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1985–1987; Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
An in-depth analysis should first be made of the indigenous forces the United States might choose to work with as well as their skill level and motivation. When the latter proves comparable to that of the enemy, then the Afghan model is potentially powerful. When an ally's skill level and motivation is below that of its enemy, however, the model will have little to no effect on transforming defense policy.
July 22, 2005
Diplomacy Is Back at the State Department!
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
December 11, 2005
Iraqis Will Learn to Deal
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Barbara Bodine, Former Senior Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
March, 2002
The Middle East Military Balance 2001-2002
Book
By Shlomo Brom and Yiftah Shapir
The explosion of violence between Israelis and Palestinians that began in late 2000 is a tragic number of the potential for armed conflict in the Middle East. Although many developments in the 1990s appeared to have reduced the likelihood of war in the region, stability between Israel and its Arab neighbors remains tenuous. Security in the Persian Gulf also remains uncertain, as Iran and Iraq have continued their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Understanding the dynamics of security in the Middle East requires detailed information on the military capabilities of the region's countries.
Associated Press
June 5, 2013
"US is Syria’s only hope"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
Given the recent surge of assistance being given to the Assad regime by Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia, Professor Burns sees this as a call to action for US intervention, which, he argues, may be Syria's only hope at this point.
(UN Photo)
December 20, 2012
"Peacemakers 2012"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
"As the holidays approach, 2012 hasn't provided much hope for the seasonal wish of 'Peace on Earth,' Not when the headlines reveal the savagery of the Syrian and Congolese civil wars, Hamas-Israel rocket barrages, insurrection in Mali, fighting in Afghanistan, violence in Egypt, and the heartbreaking nightmare of the death of innocent young children in Newtown, Conn," writes Nicholas Burns, director of the Belfer Center's Future of Diplomacy Project. "But, if we look at this year more closely, it is possible to find people, thousands of them, who may not have the power of a state at their disposal but are pushing the cause of peace step by difficult step in every corner of the world."
AP
November 8, 2012
"Three crises that can't wait"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
President Obama must now pivot quickly to address three urgent foreign policy issues that may go a long way to determine the success of his second-term agenda: the U.S. economy; withdraw from Afghanistan, and an increasingly unstable Middle East.
November 25, 2011
"Arab Awakening, Act II"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School
In his Nov. 25 Boston Globe column, “Arab Awakening, Act 2”, Nicholas Burns warns that, nearly one year since the start of reform and revolution across the Arab world, the region may turn more turbulent and violent in the months ahead.
(AP Photo)
July 12, 2011
"NATO on the brink"
Op-Ed, The Hill
By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School, William Cohen and George Robertson
Then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates traveled to Brussels in June, where he warned European allies of the “dwindling … patience in the U.S. Congress” with NATO and declared that if allies did not get serious about meeting their NATO responsibilities they could soon find that American leaders “may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.”
AP Photo
June 5, 2012
"Democracy Promotion after the 'Jasmine Revolution': A Dispatch from Tunis"
Op-Ed, Jadaliyya
By Sarah Bush, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2011–2012
"Michael Miller, a political scientist at Australia National University, has convincing new research that shows that economic growth in democracies is a key factor that determines if other countries in the world democratize. In other words, Tunisia's economy matters not only for its democratic future, but also for the future of other countries, in the Middle East and beyond."
