News & Announcements

When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, who listens? Presidents, prime ministers, chief executives, and all who care about global strategy.

Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill, two leading strategic thinkers, asked Lee Kuan Yew the toughest questions that matter most to thoughtful Americans weighing the challenges of the next quarter century. The result is their new book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World – published today by MIT Press.

David Sanger, senior fellow at the Belfer Center and adjunct lecturer in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, was interviewed on NPR’s “On Point” about his new book on President Obama’s foreign policy efforts, including a cybercampaign against Iran’s nuclear program. Sanger’s book, Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power, was published this week.

The Future of Diplomacy Project, the newest research initiative to be launched by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, announces its resident and non-resident research fellows for Fall 2010. "Our research fellows bring a blend of practical and academic expertise in diplomacy to the Harvard community, which is instrumental to the critical examination of international conflict resolution mechanisms today," said Future of Diplomacy Project Director Nicholas Burns.

Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistani government official and senior advisor to Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, recently spoke to Simon Shercliff, First Secretary Foreign Security and Policy for the British Embassy, about the future of Pakistan. Their conversation touched on a range of topics, including the militants' recent attacks on the Pakistani military, Pakistan's relationship with India, Pakistan-UK relations, and U.S. aid to Pakistan.

Bhutto leaves three children, the oldest 19, and a husband. She also leaves Pakistan's one truly national party without a leader, a party that throughout its history has only been led by Bhuttos. Typical to Pakistani politics, Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party is personality driven. It is not clear yet whether there is one person who stands above the others in the party who can pick up the pieces, draw in the popular support and lead the party into elections in 10 days. Her children are too young yet to pick up the baton.

The electoral season is in full swing in Pakistan , and politicians are scrambling to rally support for their candidacy. Driving around Lahore , one sees a multitude of political party candidate signs and banners littering the major roadways. From rickshaw drivers to shop owners, everyone seems to have an opinion.

The question is suddenly urgent: Could the inconceivable happen? President Bush has previously warned the world that Osama bin Laden is seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Now, bin Laden himself claims to have chemical and nuclear weapons -- and "the right to use them." We cannot know for certain whether he is bluffing, but Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has confirmed that documents detailing how to make nuclear weapons have been found in an al Qaeda safe house in Kabul. And we can certainly expect that as the noose tightens aroundthe terrorist''s neck, he and his associates will become increasingly desperate.

President Bush has warned the world that Osama bin Laden is ''seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction.'' To meet this threat, the United States and Russia should take the lead in establishing an Alliance Against Megaterrorism. What should have been a crowning achievement of this week's summit was sadly a missed opportunity.

Mutual retaliation in the "spy wars" that broke out last month fueled what was already shaping up to become a new rhetorical Cold War.

Hyperbole about Russia as a new "threat" and "active proliferator," in the words of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, has puzzled some Russians and alarmed others. The critique of the United States by Sergei Ivanov - then the Russian national security adviser and now defense minister - at a gathering of security graybeards in Munich in February shocked American participants, including Mr. Rumsfeld. Competition in accentuating the negative about each other's actions and intentions revives an image of Russia and America as primary adversaries in international affairs.