14 Items

Global Learning: Fredrik Logevall (left), then Cornell University vice provost, with Pratim Roy, director of India's Keystone Center, after signing an agreement to establish a shared research center in Tamil Nadu.

(Cornell University)

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Spotlight: Fredrik Logevall

| Fall/Winter 2015-2016

Fredrik Logevall is the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs and professor of history at Harvard Kennedy School, based at the Belfer Center. An expert on the history of international affairs, he was until recently a professor of history at Cornell University. He is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam (Random House, 2012). In 2014, Logevall served as president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Journal Article - Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Journal of Nuclear Materials Management

Securing China’s Nuclear Power Plants

| Winter, 2014.

Since September 11, 2001, China has substantially advanced its physical protection system, with a switch in focus from the traditional "guns, gates, guards" approach to an effective mixed approach, combining personnel with modern techniques. Then-Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit that, "In the future, China will further take nuclear security measures, make sure the security of its own nuclear materials and facilities, improve the overall nuclear security." This paper examines the specific and detailed physical protection approaches that are currently applied to China's nuclear power plants, and recommends further steps to improve China's existing nuclear security system.

Report - Managing the Atom Project, Belfer Center

Advancing Nuclear Security: Evaluating Progress and Setting New Goals

In the lead-up to the nuclear security summit, Advancing Nuclear Security: Evaluating Progress and Setting New Goals outlines what was accomplished in a four-year effort launched in 2009 to secure nuclear material around the globe—and what remains to be done. The effort made significant progress, but some weapons-usable nuclear materials still remain “dangerously vulnerable." The authors highlight the continuing danger of nuclear and radiological terrorism and call for urgent action.

Armed guards and police protecting a spent fuel convoy while at a stopping point.

Ministry of Public Security (Ch)

Report - Managing the Atom Project, Belfer Center

Securing China's Nuclear Future

| March 14, 2014

China’s approach to strengthening the security of its nuclear weapons, materials, and facilities plays an important role in facilitating strong global action on nuclear security. This report provides a better understanding of Chinese perceptions of the threat of nuclear terrorism and attitudes toward the nuclear security challenge; describes the current status of nuclear security practices in China and of planned improvements in rules and organization, management, and technologies; and recommends steps for further improvements.

Journal Article - Science & Global Security

Securing China’s Weapon-Usable Nuclear Materials

| Feb 18, 2014

This article describes the status of China’s military and civilian nuclear programs, fissile material production and associated nuclear facilities, and the Chinese nuclear experts and officials’ perspectives on the nuclear terrorism threat. It gives details of China’s nuclear security practices, attitudes, and regulations, as well as identifying areas of concern. The article recommends ways to strengthen China’s nuclear material protection, control, and accounting systems and suggests opportunities for increased international cooperation.

Journal Article - Yale Journal of International Affairs

Theory and Policy in International Relations: Some Personal Reflections

| September 2012

"It has been nearly thirty years since I received my PhD. At that time, I was convinced that systematic scholarly research could uncover and verify timeless truths about international politics and foreign policy, and that once those discoveries had been made, a grateful policy community would quickly absorb them and adopt the right prescriptions. With the passage of time, I've gained both a greater respect for the limits of what social science can accomplish and a greater appreciation for the imperviousness of the policy community to reasoned discourse, especially in the United States. Even if scholars were able to produce more convincing analyses—itself a debatable proposition—overcoming the entrenched interests that shape what policy makers choose to do is not easy."

Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State and former Harvard University professor, delivers his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Second Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing, China, June 25, 2011.

AP Photo

Magazine Article - Transformations of the Public Sphere

International Affairs and the Public Sphere

| July 21, 2011

"...[T]he academic study of international affairs will be impoverished if the relevant academic disciplines continue to turn inward, to focus on narrow issues that are primarily of interest only to other scholars, and to become even less interested in communicating to policymakers, the broader public, or the bulk of our students (the vast majority of whom do not want to be social scientists themselves). Accordingly, our goal should be to encourage a diverse, engaged community of scholars that is still committed to a free exchange of ideas and to high standards of both rigor and relevance."

President Barack Obama talks with members of the national security team at the conclusion of one in a series of meetings discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the White House Situation Room,  May 1, 2011.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The Boston Globe

An Eye-opening Study of the Boys Club That Still Runs US Foreign Policy

| July 20, 2011

Whatever the reason for this discrepancy, Zenko has opened a needed dialogue. We had elevated a few high-profile women in our minds to believe that the gender barriers had been broken. But Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice do not make an establishment....And Zenko made it clear that the arenas where future Susan Rices are cultivated — think tanks and academia — are still weighted in favor of the boys. In addition, it is those think tanks and universities where media finds their "talking heads" and other commentators.

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Promoting Safe, Secure, and Peaceful Growth of Nuclear Energy: Next Steps for Russia and the United States

| October 2010

The Managing the Atom (MTA) Project and the Russian Research Center’s "Kurchatov Institute" collaboratively authored a report entitled Promoting Safe, Secure, and Peaceful Growth of Nuclear Energy: Next Steps for Russia and the United States. This report is intended to provide recommendations for enabling large-scale growth of nuclear energy while achieving even higher standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation than are in place today.

Journal Article - Innovations

Enabling a Nuclear Revival—and Managing Its Risks

| Fall 2009

Matthew Bunn and Martin B. Malin examine the conditions needed for nuclear energy to grow on a scale large enough for it to be a significant part of the world’s response to climate change. They consider the safety, security, nonproliferation, and waste management risks associated with such growth and recommend approaches to managing these risks. Bunn and Malin argue that although technological solutions may contribute to nuclear expansion in the coming decades, in the near term, creating the conditions for large-scale nuclear energy growth will require major international institutional innovation.