Summer 2017 Belfer Center Newsletter

The ancient Greek historian Thucydides said long ago that it was the rise of Athens and the fear this instilled in Sparta that led to the Peloponnesian War. Belfer Center Director Graham Allison calls this potential for conflict “Thucydides’s Trap” and warns that in today’s world, the rising China and ruling United States must work to escape falling into that trap and into war. We feature Allison’s studies and upcoming book on Thucydides’s Trap and U.S.-China relations in the Summer 2017 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter.

Also in this issue, we raise an editorial toast to Graham Allison who has directed the Center for 22 years and will hand the director reins in July to Ash Carter and Eric Rosenbach. We highlight a sampling of Graham’s – and the Center’s – accomplishments during his tenure and include tributes from Albert Carnesale, Jieun Baek, Robert Belfer, Ash Carter, Sam Nunn, and Samantha Power.

We are pleased, also, to announce Samantha Power’s return to the Kennedy School and Belfer Center, where she will head a new International Peace and Security Project. Among other new or returning arrivals at the Center: Former Senior Fellow Rolf Mowatt-Larssen who has succeeded Kevin Ryan as head of the Intelligence and Defense Projects and the new Project on Saudi and GCC Security, and former NATO Ambassador Doug Lute, who has joined the Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project as a Senior Fellow.

Our Spotlight in this issue is on Calestous Juma, director of our Science, Technology, and Globalization Project and a world-renowned expert in technology and innovation.

Also we highlight former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was invited to Harvard for an interview about her diplomatic experiences by the American Secretaries of State Project, a joint initiative of Harvard’s Kennedy School, Business School, and Law School.

See below for these articles and more.

U.S.-Asia Relationships

• Are the U.S. and China Destined for War? Graham Allison on Thucydides’s Trap

• Opportunities, Challenges for U.S.-China-Korea Cooperation

• Conference Focuses on U.S., Japan, and the Rise of China

Security and Global Affairs

• Experts Launch Dialogue on U.S. – Pakistan Relations

• International Council Debates Critical Global Issues

Tributes and Transitions

• Graham Allison: Making the Belfer Center “The Best There Is”

• Nye Lauded for Cybersecurity Leadership

Science, Technology and Innovation

• Spotlight on Calestous Juma: A Lifelong Champion for “Inclusive Innovation”

• Developing S&T Research in the Gulf States

New and Returning Faces at the Belfer Center

• Samantha Power Returns: Will Head New International Peace and Security Project

• Mowatt-Larssen Succeeds Ryan: Will Lead Intelligence/Defense and Saudi/Gulf Projects

• Ambassador Doug Lute Named Senior Fellow

Diplomacy and Negotiations

• Interviewing Hillary at Harvard: Secretary Clinton Discusses Challenges in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe During Harvard Visit

Featured Fellows and Students

• Nadia Marzouki: Deconstructing Islamophobia by Emphasizing Individuality

• Ben Buchanan: From Strategy Games to Cyber Security

• Students Receive Career and Research Advice at Center’s First Speed-Networking Event

Additional Features

• Belfer in Brief: In Memory of Thomas Schelling and Elizabeth S. Rogers

• Newsmakers: Sam Nunn, Laura Holgate, Ernest Moniz, David Sanger, Paula Dobriansky

• New Website Supports Center’s Mission with Advanced Features

• From the Director

• Hot Off the Presses

• International Security Journal Highlights

Summer 2017 Newsletter

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