Hot Off the Presses

Israeli National Security: A New Strategy for an Era of Change 

By Charles D. Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program

Oxford University Press (March 2018)

In Israeli National Security, Chuck Freilich presents an alternative analysis of the military, diplomatic, demographic, and societal challenges Israel faces today, to propose a comprehensive and long-term Israeli national security strategy. The heart of the new strategy places greater emphasis on restraint, defense, and diplomacy as means of addressing the challenge Israel faces, along with the military capacity to deter and, if necessary, defeat Israel's adversaries, while also maintaining the resolve of its society. By bringing Israel's most critical debates about the Palestinians, demography, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, U.S. relations, and nuclear strategy into sharp focus, the strategy Freilich proposes addresses the primary challenges Israel must address in order to chart its national course.

"A must read, an exhaustive and ground-breaking study of Israel's national security. Building on an extensive analysis of the threats Israel faces today, and its capabilities for dealing with them, Freilich proposes a comprehensive new national security strategy. It will inform public and expert debate for many years to come."

-Dan Meridor, Former Cabinet Minister, Israel

Coercion: The Power to Hurt in International Politics

Edited by Kelly M. Greenhill, Research Fellow, International Security Program and Peter Krause, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program

Oxford University Press (January 2018)

Scholars have analyzed the causes, dynamics, and effects of coercion for decades, but previous works have principally focused on a single state employing conventional military means to pressure another state to alter its behavior. In contrast, this volume captures fresh developments, both theoretical and policy-relevant. The chapters in this volume focus on tools (terrorism, sanctions, drones, cyber warfare, intelligence, and forced migration), actors (insurgents, social movements, and NGOs) and mechanisms (trilateral coercion, diplomatic and economic isolation, foreign-imposed regime change, coercion of nuclear proliferators, and two-level games) that have become more prominent in recent years, but which have yet to be extensively or systematically addressed in either academic or policy literatures.

"This volume takes a fresh but focused look at coercion in our time. Together the chapters constitute a creative and economical (re-)introduction to an enduring tool of international, and sometimes domestic, politics."

-Barry Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science, MIT

Cyber Mercenaries: The State, Hackers, and Power

By Tim Maurer, Master in Public Policy, 2011

Cambridge University Press (Jan. 2018)

Cyber Mercenaries explores the secretive relationships between states and hackers. As cyberspace has emerged as the new frontier for geopolitics, states have become entrepreneurial in their sponsorship, deployment, and exploitation of hackers as proxies to project power. Such modern-day mercenaries and privateers can impose significant harm undermining global security, stability, and human rights. These state-hacker relationships therefore raise important questions about the control, authority, and use of offensive cyber capabilities. While different countries pursue different models for their proxy relationships, they face the common challenge of balancing the benefits of these relationships with their costs and the potential risks of exploration.

"Cyber Mercenaries offers the first systematic scholarly treatment of how and why governments use proxies to do their bidding in cyberspace."

-Ron Deibert, Director, Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from Freemasons to Facebook

By Niall Ferguson, Board Member, Belfer Center

Penguin Press (January 2018)

From the cults of ancient Rome to the dynasties of the Renaissance, from the founding fathers to Facebook, The Square and the Tower tells the story of the rise, fall, and rise of networks, and shows how network theory - concepts such as clustering, degrees of separation, weak ties, contagions, and phase transitions - can transform our understanding of both the past and the present.

"Captivating and compelling... Ferguson manages both to tell a good story and provide important insight into the specific qualities that power successful networks."

-Ludwig Siegele, Technology Editor, The Economist

Forthcoming

Kissinger the Negotiator: Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level

By James K. Sebenius, R. Nicholas Burns, and Robert H Mnookin

Harper Collins (May 2018)

For more Belfer Center Books, see: belfercenter.org/books

Compiled by Susan Lynch, ISP/STPP