Blog Post
Amidst the partisanship and posturing of our presidential electoral seasons, the Belfer Center has displayed distinctive bipartisan colors. As an observer asked recently: where else but BCSIA could one find senior members of the Center as designated foreign policy advisors to both candidates? Governor Bush''s team of eight "Vulcans" includes Belfer Lecturer Bob Blackwill and Research Scholar Bob Zoellick; Vice President Gore''s designated foreign policy advisors include Ash Carter and myself.
The concept of a serious research center that is able to span the relevant political spectrum and take seriously each other''s views is not only our aspiration, but in this case is a fact.
BCSIA''s attempt to stretch beyond partisanship to find common ground for coherent American foreign policy is also reflected in the report of the Commission on America''s National Interests. With the Nixon Center and RAND, the Belfer Center took the lead in preparing an updated report on America''s vital interests. Distinguished Commission members include Senators Bob Graham, John McCain, and Pat Roberts, and other foreign policy experts on both sides of the aisle such as Sam Nunn, Condoleeza Rice, and Brent Scowcroft.
In our continuing effort to catalyze as well as analyze progress in the former Soviet Union, BCSIA recently held our fourth annual U.S.-Russian Investment Symposium here in Boston. Some 600 leaders from business and government, half Russian and half American, participated in lively discussions about Russia''s economy, from the Internet to oil and gas. Participants included the architect of Putin''s economic program, Minister German Gref, Yukos Oil CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, IMF Deputy Director Stanley Fischer, and international financier George Soros.
The disaster of the sunken Russian nuclear submarine, the Kursk, and the more fundamental failures it reveals have pushed BCSIA researchers to think urgently about new, imaginative policies to contain "loose nukes." A recent day-long brainstorming sessions with CNN founder Ted Turner and former Senator Sam Nunn generated a provocative range of proposals to reduce the nuclear dangers.
Hundreds of members of the wider BCSIA community have taken advantage of our programs and distinguished visitors. We look forward to your more active role in the life of BCSIA.
-Graham T. Allison