South Asia

Dr. Ian Bremmer, expert in political risk and founder of the Eurasia Group, gave a seminar sponsored by the the Future of Diplomacy Project on Thursday, November 9 at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled “Managing Risk in an Unstable World."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Washington last week, making his fourth trip to the United States since taking office just two years ago. India and South Asia Program Fellow, Ronak Desai examines the strategic approach to India's relations with the United States.

Many energy consumers, and even analysts and policymakers, confront and frame energy and climate risks in a moral vacuum, rarely incorporating broader social justice concerns. Here, to remedy this gap, we investigate how concepts from justice and ethics can inform energy decision-making by reframing five energy problems — nuclear waste, involuntary resettlement, energy pollution, energy poverty and climate change — as pressing justice concerns.

"George W. Bush's presidency really was that bad — and the fact that Obama has largely followed the same course is less a measure of Bush's wisdom than a reminder of the depth of the hole he dug his country into, as well as the institutionalized groupthink that dominates the U.S. foreign-policy establishment."

...[I]n Afghanistan, the American vision is that of a "bottom up" approach in a negotiation with the overwhelmingly Pashtun Taliban, not a "top down" one. In other words, coaxing away low-level Taliban fighters and their commanders ("reintegration"), rather than changing the government setup at Kabul by letting Taliban leaders become members of the government ("reconciliation"). Though reintegration may have some initial success, spurred on by money and jobs, it is unlikely to be permanent, given the Afghans' long history of changing sides. But also because those fighting against the US-backed government appeal to much more than money. They have successfully mobilized nationalist and islamist sentiment among the Pashtuns, which is hard for a perceived-corrupt government to combat through financial incentives.

"Keeping nuclear weapons and the difficult-to-manufacture materials needed to make them out of terrorist hands is critical to U.S. and world security — and to the future of nuclear energy as well. In the aftermath of a terrorist nuclear attack, there would be no chance of convincing governments, utilities, and publics to build nuclear reactors on the scale required for nuclear energy to make any significant contribution to coping with climate change."

The Winter 2009-10 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. In this issue, Belfer Center scholars analyze the war in Afghanistan and potential impacts of options available to President Obama at this fork in the road. Center experts also offer commentary on how to prevent or live with a nuclear-armed Iran. The newsletter highlights U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a Harvard Kennedy School alum now a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, and Paula Dobriansky, former undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs and current senior fellow with the Belfer Center.

The Winter 2009-10 newsletter also features: the launch of a new Belfer Center initiative - Agricultural Innovation in Africa – headed by Calestous Juma; a discussion of biofuels as a possible solution for the developing world with Henry Lee; and a look at "Realistic Costs of Carbon Capture" by Mohammed Al-Juaied and Adam Whitmore. In addition, this issue welcomes Melissa Hathaway and discusses her work with the Belfer Center's cyber security initiative. The newsletter also pays tribute to Ernest May, world-renowned historian of international relations and foreign policy and a long-time Belfer Center colleague and member of the Center's board of directors.

Notable quotes from opeds and testimonies.

The Belfer Center's Xenia Dormandy and Hassan Abbas participated in a working group on the state of Pakistan convened by the Center for American Progress. The resulting report proposes strategies for enhanced security, democratization, and economic growth.