Middle East & North Africa

133 Items

Tel Aviv Coastline seen from Jaffa

Wikimedia Commons/ Kallerna

Journal Article - Elsevier Inc.

The ecological tradeoffs of desalination in land-constrained countries seeking to mitigate climate change

| Feb. 18, 2022

The global demand for desalinated water is increasing at a remarkable rate. In a future with increasing demand for water and low-carbon electricity, an interesting ecological dilemma emerges. In a decarbonized world, providing desalinated water for domestic use and aquatic ecological restoration could increasingly come at the expense of open space lost to renewables such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines. In this article we examine the environmental tradeoffs of providing freshwater from desalination under a solar photovoltaic-based decarbonization strategy, using Israel as an example.

The oil tanker Stena Impero in an Iranian port

(Tasnim News Agency/via AP)

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

Oil Probably Won’t Cause a War with Iran, but It Certainly Adds Fuel to the Blaze

    Author:
  • Jeff D. Colgan
| July 20, 2019

The relationship between oil and war is complicated—and much of the time, oil disputes are resolved peacefully. The more dangerous disputes are those where tensions over oil exacerbate other factors on the road to war.

During a festive ceremony at Nevatim Air Force Base in southern Israel, on Monday, December 12, 2016, Israel received its first two fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, code-named by the Israeli Air Force as "Adir," (The Mighty One).

Creative Commons

Analysis & Opinions

Colossal, but Wise?

| Jan. 04, 2017

"The question is not whether the IDF needs the F35, it does....The Air Force is Israel's strategic arm and must be equipped with weapons systems at the very forefront of technology. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us that we question how many aircraft truly are needed, when, and what the possible alternative uses of the budgetary resources are."

Earth at night, 2012. People around the world depend upon electric lighting. Generating electricity using increased amounts of non-fossil fuels is critical to slowing climate change.

USA.gov

Journal Article - Ecological Economics

Using Inclusive Wealth for Policy Evaluation: Application to Electricity Infrastructure Planning in Oil-Exporting Countries

| 2017

Decision-makers often seek to design policies that support sustainable development. Prospective evaluations of how effectively such policies are likely to meet sustainability goals have nonetheless remained relatively challenging. Evaluating policies against sustainability goals can be facilitated through the inclusive wealth framework, which characterizes development in terms of the value to society of its underlying capital assets, and defines development to be potentially sustainable if that value does not decline over time.

Jens Stoltenberg speaks to students at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Bennett Craig

Speech

The Three Ages of NATO: An Evolving Alliance

| Sep. 23, 2016

Jens Stoltenberg,NATO Secretary General, discussed the future of the NATO alliance during this speech, given at the Harvard Kennedy School on September 23, 2016. He described the alliance as a responsive organization, capable of adapting to changes in the international security landscape but committed to the continuity of its founding values. In particular, he emphasized the necessity of maintaining a policy of absolute solidarity among member states, especially  in light of the exacerbating civil war in Syria and Russia’s aggressive stance toward countries to the East of NATO member state borders.

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Analysis & Opinions - The Oregonian

The Islamic State has made a big mistake

| July 7, 2016

In the global revulsion at the recent terror attacks in four Muslim countries, the United States and its allies have a new opportunity to build a unified command against the Islamic State and other extremists. FDP Senior Fellow David Ignatius examines the diplomatic relationships needed to create an effective counterterrorism strategy.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia

Wikimedia Commons

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

A 30-Year-Old Saudi Prince Could Jump-Start The Kingdom - Or Drive It Off A Cliff

| June 28, 2016

The tensions unsettling the Saudi royal family became clear in September, when Joseph Westphal, the U.S. ambassador to Riyadh, flew to Jiddah to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, nominally the heir to the throne. But when he arrived, he was told that the deputy crown prince, a brash 30-year-old named Mohammed bin Salman, wanted to see him urgently. Senior Fellow, David Ignatius, discusses Mohammed bin Salman opportunity to transform Saudi Arabia.

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

U.S. and Israel on Security Cooperation

    Author:
  • Matthew Sparks
| Spring 2016

It is an undeniable fact that the Middle East is undergoing one of the worst periods of crisis in recent history. Civil war, regime collapse, mass emigration, and terrorism are but a few of the numerous problems facing the region. Moreover, the United States’ alliance with Israel has experienced its most turbulent period since the Suez Crisis of 1956 due to profound policy disagreements on the Iran nuclear agreement. Despite this strain, both American and Israeli officials emphasize that the need for close secu­rity cooperation between the two nations is more important than ever.