BCSIA Annual Report, 1978-1979: Overview

BCSIA: 1978-1979 ANNUAL REPORT
1. Overview

OVERVIEW

The sixth annual report of the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA) covers the period from July 1, 1978, to June 30, 1979.

On July 1, 1978, the former Program for Science and International Affairs (PSIA) joined the John F. Kennedy School of Government and under its new name— the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA)--became the first research center of the School. The creation of this permanent Center was made possible by a $4 million grant from the Ford Foundation. Supplemented by funds raised for the Harvard Program in Public Policy and Management, the grant provides an endowment sufficient to ensure the continuation of the Center. The Center is housed in the Kennedy School of Government''s new building at 79 Boylston Street.

The Center has continued the Program''s objective of advancing understanding and resolution of major problems of international security through research, publication, training, and teaching. The major focus is on arms control and disarmament and the part these can play in reducing the dependence on force in world politics. This involves a concern with the theoretical bases underlying the role of force in international conflicts, with the motivation for and the long-term consequences of the spread of weapons to other countries, and with the evaluation of more immediate policy problems and the choices available for their resolution. The means by which nuclear weapons capability can be constrained and reduced in a way that diminishes the likelihood of war receives particular emphasis.

Related areas of research include the benefits and risks attendant to the growing use of nuclear materials in power generation, the international competition for energy resources and the likelihood of conflict stemming from this competition, and the impact of national science policies on international efforts to deal with global problems.

The research conducted is integrative in character and draws upon the natural, social, and behavioral sciences.

During 1978-79, the Center was administered by Professor Paul Doty, Director; Professor Albert Carnesale, Associate Director; Professor Michael Nacht, Assistant Director; and Dr. Dorothy Zinberg, Director of Seminars and Special Projects. Advice and direction were provided by an Advisory Committee of eleven senior authorities in the field.

Nineteen scholars and professionals were in residence full or part time, and five graduate students were provided with guidance in writing theses, as well as with office space, administrative support, and other resources.

Three working groups were conducted this year: Energy and Security, Domestic Politics and Security Policy, and Strategic Arms Control. These working groups provide a vehicle for collaborative work and exchange of information and views by members of the research staff with similar interests. The aim of each group is to produce either a book or one or more related journal articles.

Among the subjects dealt with in works published during the past year by members of the research staff were nuclear power and proliferation, the arms control impact of cruise missiles, SALT II, the Middle East conflict, Soviet military doctrine, and Indian and South African security policies. Articles on these subjects appeared in Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, International Security, Arms Control Today, Jerusalem Quarterly, America, Scientific American, Technology Review, and in several edited volumes. European Security: Prospects for the 1980''s, a volume published this year by D.C. Heath, is the product of a CSIA working group.

International Security, the quarterly journal sponsored and edited by the Center and published by the MIT Press, completed its third year of operation in the Spring of 1979. It continued its goal of providing timely and imaginative analyses through contributions that reflect diverse points of view and varied professional experiences. The articles either represent new research findings or confront and interpret current policy problems.

Three series of seminars were continued from previous years: the Harvard Arms Control Seminar, the CSIA Visitors Seminar, and the CSIA Research Seminar.The course "Technology, War, and Peace" was taught this year by Professors Carnesale and Nacht; Center members participated as teaching fellows.

The Course was cosponsored by the Harvard University Office of General Education and the Kennedy School of Government and received one of the highest ratings in the Course Evaluation Guide published by Harvard''s Committee on Undergraduate Education. Of the fifty-eight students enrolled, ten were graduate students for whom a special section was formed. Subjects covered included current and future problems created by the development of nuclear weapons and the range of possibilities that exist for controlling them, the history of the atomic bomb, the role of science and technology in both promoting and undermining stability, and the relationship of peaceful nuclear energy to nuclear weapons proliferation.

In cooperation with the Aspen Institute and the Scientists'' Institute for Publication Information, the Center sponsored a workshop entitled "Scientific Credibility after the Three Mile Island Accident" on June 12, 1979. Twenty persons participated in this workshop.

Table of Contents:

OverviewOrganization and Personnel

Research and PublicationsSeminars Other Program Activities Related Professional Activities Former Members of the Research Staff