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Belfer Center Director Meghan O'Sullivan looks to the future.

Friends and Colleagues,

As the 2022-23 academic year nears an end, the Belfer Center community is reflecting on our efforts to develop ideas on policy solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems at the intersection of science and international affairs, and we’re looking to the future as we prepare for our leadership transition. In July, we will welcome a new Director, Meghan O’Sullivan, to whom I will hand the reins of the Center.

It has been an honor to lead the Center for the past six years alongside the highly talented faculty, staff, students, and others who make up the Belfer Center family. I plan to devote my time to teaching and running a project that will develop US security strategy for key areas of emerging technology.

In this newsletter, read about our recent guest, South Korean President Yoon, whose historic visit to Harvard was co-planned by our Korea Project. Learn how Center experts assess the war in Ukraine and Putin’s nuclear threats, what our research shows about the future of the energy transition and the significance of climate change governance, and how to navigate deepfakes and make technology, such as AI, work for and not against the public good. Also watch a Q&A with Meghan O’Sullivan and hear her thoughts about the Belfer Center’s impact. There’s much more. Click here to see the full newsletter.

Eric Rosenbach, Co-Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Daniel Schrag and Henry Lee discuss the policies China could enact in the near-term to ease its transition to a low-carbon economy, the subject of their book Foundations for a Low-Carbon Energy System in China (Cambridge University Press, 2021). 

Marking one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Belfer Center this week hosted Ukraine’s Foreign Minister for a discussion of the war and its significance for Ukraine and the world. In this special feature, we include video from Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s conversation with the Center’s Eric Rosenbach and Paula Dobriansky. We also include a report card on the war from Graham Allison and Kate Davidson, a policy brief from the Sexual Violence in Conflict project, interviews that highlight perspectives from the people of Ukraine and Russia, and new insights and perspectives from a range of experts on how the war is impacting global order as well as regions and people around the globe.

The aim of the report is to focus specifically on the critical role of private sector investment in Ukraine’s economic reconstruction, and how the private sector, both within Ukraine and internationally, can enable Ukraine to win the peace. It provides a short overview of the economic challenges facing Ukraine, including governance, the sectors that will be critical to Ukraine's reconstruction, the roles and responsibilities for the G7, EU, IFIs, and DFIs, and then recommendations for how Ukraine and its partners can best attract private sector investment.

Stephen Walt provides A realist POV on the war in Ukraine, competition with China, COVID, and more in the second part of an interview with Foreign Policy Editor-in-Chief Ravi Agrawal.

A conversation hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center featuring Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky and Dr. Melvyn Leffler for a discussion on the role that U.S. President Ronald Reagan played in the peaceful end of the Cold War. 

House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mike McCaul (R-TX) and Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky spoke about how the U.S. can better compete against China and Russia on technology and supply chains. Other topics included making changes to improve the defense industrial base, protecting critical supply chain infrastructure, and preparedness for major events like a pandemic.

The Learning Agenda is an unprecedented effort by the Department to institutionalize evidence-based learning and implement the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (“Evidence Act”). The Evidence Act requires federal agencies to develop a “learning agenda” – a systematic plan to answer a set of policy-relevant questions critical to achieving the agency’s strategic objectives. It will guide the Department’s efforts over the next four years across eight questions to increase the impact of U.S. foreign policy and bolster the Secretary of State’s modernization efforts.

This event featured a keynote address followed by a panel of foreign policy and evidence-building experts for a thoughtful discussion on addressing Learning Agenda Questions 1 and 2: How can the State Department improve the effectiveness of its diplomatic interventions to better advance foreign policy objectives? How can the Department improve the effectiveness and sustainability of its foreign assistance efforts?

Professor John P. Holdren made these remarks at the US-UK Scientific Forum on "Bringing Nature into Decision Making," a joint convening organized by the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences, in London, UK, on June 17, 2022.