Africa

22 Items

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Presentation - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The African Story at a Time of Global Crisis | Martin Kimani, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN

| Apr. 27, 2022

On April 26, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, in partnership with the HKS Africa Caucus, hosted His Excellency Dr. Martin Kimani, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to share his perspective on current global crises.  Ambassador Kimani made headlines earlier this year for his public rebuke of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a speech at the UN Security Council, demonstrating the powerful role Africa can play in global affairs, in a new era of great power competition.

Video - Harvard Kennedy School

Why Civil Resistance Works

| Sep. 08, 2021

We are living in an age of mass political participation, and civil resistance has emerged as a mainstay of the many social movements active around the world. On this episode of "Behind the Book", we speak with Erica Chenoweth, Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, about their new book, Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, which provides a robust introduction to the theory and practice of civil resistance.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns gives remarks.

BTI Project / YouTube

Analysis & Opinions

How to Dismantle Democracy: Authoritarian Trends from A(merica) to Z(ambia)

| June 25, 2020

Authoritarian modes of governing have steadily increased over the past 10 years. A number of autocracies have intensified their repressive tactics, while several democracies – many of which were once classified as consolidated – have tampered with fundamental rights and the rule of law. Despite a few developments to the contrary, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 highlights the ongoing decline of democracy around the globe.

The presentation of BTI results focused on the resembling patterns of dismantling democracy in (highly) defective democracies such as Hungary, Moldova, the Philippines, Serbia or Zambia and regimes in which this process has been so pronounced that they are now categorized as autocracies in the BTI, such as Bangladesh, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Turkey or Uganda. It looked at the typical sequence to an authoritarian deconstruction of democratic institutions from within, from the purposeful undermining of oversight institutions, attacking the media and civil society to manipulating the electoral system, in order to examine the resonance of these trends in the United States. The goal of the discussion is to identify the features and underlying causes of this erosion, and to suggest promising counter-strategies.

Panel discussion at Halifax International Security Forum 2018

Halifax International Security Forum

Analysis & Opinions

Future Tense - Our World in Ten

| Nov. 19, 2018

This year’s Halifax International Security Forum paid respect to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, but in its final plenary session, Future Tense: Our World in Ten, the attention shifted to the future. How will the issues discussed throughout this year’s Forum play out over the next decade? Will democratic states be able to defend their values and institutions from growing threats like great power politics and cyber-warfare? This diverse set of panelists spoke confidently and optimistically about the resilience of democracies to withstand this challenge.

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

Kendall Hoyt on Office Hours

| Apr. 02, 2018

Kendall Hoyt, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Dartmouth Medical School and former fellow with the Belfer Center’s International Security Program, talks with Aroop Mukharji (@aroopmukharji) about improving response time to outbreaks, a brief history of anti-vaxxers, and how she got into biodefense.

Left-to-right: Nicholas Burns, Christine Lagarde, and Lawrence Summers laugh.

Martha Stewart

Speech - Future of Diplomacy Project

A Time to Repair the Roof

| Oct. 05, 2017

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, delivered her annual state of the global economy speech in the JFK, Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School followed by a discussion with Nicholas Burns, Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations and Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University. In her address, Madame Lagarde quoted President John F. Kennedy stating that “the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” Mme. Lagarde adapted this statement to the economy, expressing that while our economy is currently experiencing an upswing, now is the time for reform. We must be proactive, not reactive. Additionally, Mme. Lagarde spoke about the importance of fighting corruption and climate change, empowering women, and addressing inequality. 

Madame Lagarde's speech was the inaugural event of the new Economic Diplomacy Initiative (EDI) - a joint program of the Future of Diplomacy Project and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. EDI is co-chaired by Professors Burns and Summers, and aims to provide Harvard students with a sound understanding of the critical importance of economic diplomacy in a globalized world; specifically, the negotiation of agreements between multiple countries and multiple stakeholders.  

Book - Oxford University Press

Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies

| July 2016

This book explores the sources and dynamics of social opposition to innovation. It:

  • Explains the roots of resistance to new technologies - and why such resistance is not always futile
  • Draws on nearly 600 years of economic history to show how the balance of winners and losers shapes technological controversies
  • Outlines policy strategies for inclusive innovation to reduce the risks and maximize the benefits of new technologies

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Analysis & Opinions

Inside the Middle East: "International Monetary Institutions and Reform in Tunisia" with Minister Hedi Larbi

| December 23, 2015

Excerpt from an October 16 installment of the “Inside the Middle East" Q&A Series, with Minister Hedi Larbi, Former Minister of Economic Infrastructure and Sustainable Development and Middle East Initiative Fall 2015 Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, on the role of International Monetary Institutions such as the World Bank and IMF in encouraging and implementing economic reforms during the political transition in Tunisia.