International Relations

Few figures provoke as much passionate debate as Henry Kissinger. Equally revered and reviled, his work as an academic, national security advisor, diplomat, and strategic thinker indelibly shaped America’s role in the 20th century. Kissinger’s counsel knew few boundaries. His advice was sought by every president from Kennedy to Obama. Yet the man and his ideas remain the object of profound disagreement.

In March, Belfer Center Executive Director for Research Gary Samore and International Council member Jahangir Hajiyev took part in the Caspian Corridor Conference in London.

Ambassador Tommy Koh, recipient of the 2014 Great Negotiator Award, discussed “Multiparty Deals: The Law of the Sea, the Rio Earth Summit, and the Future of Large Conference Negotiations” during an event in April honoring him for his many successful efforts in large-scale diplomacy. Koh, of Singapore, is the eleventh recipient of the Award, awarded jointly in 2014 by Harvard’s Program on Negotiation (PON) and the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School.

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Belfer Center joined together in March to host the China Public Policy Forum on the current and future state of U.S.-China relations.

Thanks to an endowment by the family of Roy M. Goodman, former New York state senator and CEO of the United Nations Development Corporation, Harvard Kennedy School has a new professorship focused on the role of diplomacy in international relations. The Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professorship of Diplomacy and International Relations will be held by a prominent member of the faculty or an international leader with demonstrated academic scholarship or exceptional professional experience.

A survey of recent books by Belfer Center affiliates.

During the 2012 Presidential race, many took it for granted that foreign policy concerns were low on the list of issues important to the American people.  However, a poll conducted by the Belfer Center, in conjunction with the Mellman Group, Hill Research Consultants, and Senior Fellow Mike Murphy, found that in Ohio and Florida, national security and foreign policy are still critical to voters.

A year after the sparks of revolution began in the Arab World, the Middle East Initiative (MEI) focused its spring events on the implications of the region’s tumultuous transition.

“Debating the pros and cons of government policy, applying scientific methods to pressing national challenges and teaching the next generation...that’s ultimately what gets me out of bed in the morning” says Michael Beckley, a research fellow with the Belfer Center’s International Security Program. According to Beckley, who expects to receive his Ph.D. from Columbia University later this year, “It is clear to me that public policy, both domestic and foreign, has a tremendous effect on people’s lives and that individuals armed with information, can and should work to improve those policies.”

Since the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) emerged 50 years ago to counter the dominant power blocs of the Northern Hemisphere, a new global order has taken shape. In her June 2011 discussion paper, “Diplomacy and Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Navigating the Non-Aligned Movement,” Belfer Center fellow Yvonne Yew argues that developing countries now stand at a pivotal moment for nuclear engagement.