GOVERNANCE
December 13, 2012
"As it Grows, Al Jazeera Risks Losing Touch"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"...[A]s the Arab Spring continues past a single season, Al Jazeera's very success is revealing some of its vulnerabilities. Its power has others wanting in on the action. As the movement towards democratic reform becomes more pervasive, the network's ownership by a conservative monarchy has become its Achilles' heel. The emir of Qatar recently placed a member of the royal family as director-general of news on Al Jazeera, a reminder to its staff of who pays the bills. In a region where conspiracy theories are rampant, the network's ownership makes it a target for reformers who feel it's mainly catering to the existing power structure."
December 10, 2012
"Abbas and Netanyahu in Wonderland"
Op-Ed, The Jerusalem Post
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"...[D]id Israel have to respond to the UN decision by reviving long moribund settlement plans in Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, that it will probably not implement any way and whose sole practical import is to infuriate the entire world, including the US and Europe? Were there no other options, or have we too become more interested in form than substance? Do we truly wish to cut off funding to the PA and undermine the security cooperation which has significantly contributed to the near total absence of terrorism from the West Bank in recent years?"
December 6, 2012
"McGovern, Kerry Tackle the Cold War"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Enter John Kerry, whose status as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee made him a possible broker of compromise. While promoters of the Magnitsky bill refused to backtrack on their principles, opponents argued that Russian and US relations are too consequential to be defined by the death of a single lawyer. With these dueling priorities, months passed. But the legislative process can be cunning and capable. The Magnitsky bill was linked to something that would make the Russians happy: normalized trade status."
AP Photo
December 2012–January 2013
"Striking Iran: The Debate in Israel"
Journal Article, Survival, issue 6, volume 54
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"Although the unusual public nature and stridency of the debate struck many around the world, it is still hard for those abroad to understand how great the effect on the Israeli public has been. The Iranian nuclear programme had been the one consensual issue in an otherwise politically frenetic and deeply divided country and was dealt with, so the public believed, in a manner appropriate to the severity of the threat."
December 2012
"The Roles and Influence of the North Korean Military"
Book Chapter
By Terence Roehrig, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
The armed forces have always played a vital role for states as their guarantor of national security. In addition, the military has often been a political actor with varying degrees of power and influence over budgets, foreign and defense policy, or a full-blown military dictatorship. Some are also significant players in the state economy. This chapter provides an assessment of the North Korean military's role and influence in all three areas — security, politics, and economics — as the country undergoes its second leadership transition to its young leader, Kim Jong-un.
December 2012
North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society
Book
By Kyung-Ae Park and Scott Snyder
Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors' expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea's political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns.
December 3, 2012
"Not Even an Itsy-Bitsy Step"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
"Israel demonstrated once more, implicitly, that it does not favor a two-state solution. It also demonstrated once more that it has no strategic vision as to how to end its 45-year-old occupation of the Palestinian territories. And while it calls on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table 'without preconditions,' while it continues to build settlements in these territories...."
November 27, 2012
"Japan's Nationalism is a Sign of Weakness"
Op-Ed, Financial Times (London)
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Japanese public opinion is shifting to the right and in a more nationalistic direction. Not only has Mr Abe recently visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial second world war memorial, but politicians to his right have formed new parties and staked out nationalistic positions. Shintaro Ishihara, the former Tokyo mayor who helped spur the dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, speaks of Japan acquiring nuclear weapons."
November 27, 2012
"How Tribalism Stunts African Democracy"
Op-Ed, BBC News
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"...[I]t is becoming clear that issues such as infrastructure — energy, transportation, irrigation, and telecommunication — and youth employment are emerging as common themes in African politics irrespective of ideological differences. The predominance of such issues will select for pragmatic leadership over ideology. It is therefore not a surprise that African countries are increasingly electing engineers as presidents."
November 23, 2012
"Renew the Mideast Peace Process? Not Now"
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"The United States too cannot afford a further blow to its regional status. One aspect of American power is the perception that it can force the sides to reach agreement — and succeed in brokering a deal. Another aborted attempt would merely reinforce the Arab image of the U.S. as a weak, declining power, making it that much harder for the U.S. to play an effective role when the time is right."
