academic and careers Examining Xinjiang: Past, present, and future By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 23:07:50 +0000 In recent months, media reports have described in detail the systematic nature of Chinese government directives to clamp down on ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang. China’s actions in Xinjiang have generated international criticism from dozens of countries. The Chinese government has defended its policy, saying that it is necessary for ensuring social stability. What are the… Full Article
academic and careers Understanding China’s ‘preventive repression’ in Xinjiang By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 04 Mar 2020 15:02:57 +0000 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) crackdown on Uighur and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has attracted intense scrutiny and polarized the international community. At least 1 million people, maybe as many as 1.5 million, have been detained in a large network of recently constructed camps, where they undergo forced reeducation and political indoctrination.… Full Article
academic and careers Dealing with demand for China’s global surveillance exports By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 18:09:37 +0000 Executive summary Countries and cities worldwide now employ public security and surveillance technology platforms from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The drivers of this trend are complex, stemming from expansion of China’s geopolitical interests, increasing market power of its technology companies, and conditions in recipient states that make Chinese technology an attractive choice despite… Full Article
academic and careers Webinar: Global China — Assessing China’s technological reach in the world By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 20:33:59 +0000 China’s ambition to “catch up with and surpass” the West in advanced technologies, as well as concerns about how Beijing may deploy or exploit such technologies, have become significant drivers of geopolitical competition. While the United States has maintained a technological edge for decades, China has made major investments and implemented policies that have bolstered… Full Article
academic and careers Ukraine: Facing Critical Challenges By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:00:00 -0400 Event Information September 28, 201210:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDTFalk AuditoriumBrookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC 20036 Register for the EventUkraine faces critical challenges on a range of questions: shaping foreign and national security policies appropriate for a medium-sized country located between Europe and Russia; developing a strategy and policies to promote energy security and contribute to sustainable economic growth; and designing educational and cultural policies suitable for advancing the country’s European aspirations and its own national identity. The Ukraine 2020 Policy Dialogue—an initiative of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation supported by the Democracy Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv—convened four U.S.-Ukrainian task forces earlier this year to discuss these questions and develop policy recommendations for the Ukrainian and U.S. governments. On September 28, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) hosted a discussion of the recommendations developed by the Policy Dialogue. Panelists included four co-chairs of the Dialogue’s working groups: Edward Chow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; William Miller of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Robert Nurick of the Atlantic Council; and Brookings Senior Fellow Steven Pifer. Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Angela Stent moderated the discussion. Copies of the Policy Dialogue recommendations were available. Audio Ukraine: Facing Critical Challenges Transcript Uncorrected Transcript (.pdf) Event Materials ukraine_2020_recommendations20120928_ukraine Full Article
academic and careers The U.S.-Russia Relationship: What's Next? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:00:00 -0400 Event Information August 28, 20132:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDTFalk AuditoriumBrookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC 20036 On August 7, the White House announced cancellation of the planned Moscow summit in early September between Presidents Obama and Putin, saying there were no prospects for significant progress on key issues at the meeting. The White House also said cooperation with Russia remains a priority, and on August 9 Secretaries Kerry and Hagel met with their Russian counterparts, Ministers Lavrov and Shoigu. While President Obama intends to travel to St Petersburg for the G20 summit on September 6 and 7, there has been no word on whether there will be a bilateral meeting with President Putin on the margins of the summit. Clearly, U.S.-Russian relations have entered troubled times. On August 28, the Center on the United States and Europe hosted a panel discussion to address these developments and future prospects for the bilateral relationship between Washington and Moscow. Brookings Senior Fellows Clifford Gaddy, Steven Pifer and Angela Stent will take part. Brookings Visiting Fellow Jeremy Shapiro moderated. Following opening comments, the panelists took questions from the audience. Watch full video from the event at C-SPAN.org » Video What the U.S. Does in Syria Will Be Costly for RussiaRussia Reluctant to Intervene in SyriaRussia Fears Increased Instability in the Middle East Audio The U.S.-Russia Relationship: What's Next? Transcript Transcript (.pdf) Event Materials 20130828_US_Russia_transcript Full Article
academic and careers Impact of U.S.-Russia Relations on the G20, Syria and Arms Control By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 00:00:00 -0400 In August, the White House announced the cancellation of the Moscow summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, while still saying that U.S. relations with Russia remain a priority. By all accounts, the Snowden case appears to have further complicated already strained U.S.-Russia relations. With President Obama headed to St. Petersburg, Russia for the G20 summit on September 6 and 7, the likelihood of an Obama-Putin bilateral meeting remains unanswered and unlikely. With an eye toward a possible bilateral meeting in St. Petersburg, Brookings experts Steven Pifer, Clifford Gaddy and Angela Stent address these developments and future prospects for the U.S.-Russia cooperation on issues like Syria and arms control. Steven Pifer: “I think people now see the reset as a failure. I actually think the reset succeeded, because the goal was not to get us to Nirvana with Russia, but to lift us out of the hole that we found ourselves in in 2008.” Clifford Gaddy: “Steve has said that the relations are not as bad, are at their worst since, you know, the fall of communism. I would probably say they probably are as bad.” Angela Stent: “It's not clear what the U.S.-Russian agenda is going forward. The things we would like to accomplish — more arms control, an agreement on missile defense, even, you know, more U.S. investment in Russia — the Russians don't seem to be interesting in responding. We do need to work together — and we will, still, on post-2014 Afghanistan, on Iran — but it's really unclear what an agenda would be going forward.” Downloads Download the transcript Authors Steven PiferClifford G. GaddyAngela Stent Image Source: © Grigory Dukor / Reuters Full Article
academic and careers The Future of Russia: Observations from the Tenth Annual Valdai Conference By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 10:27:00 -0400 The tenth anniversary meeting of the “Valdai International Discussion Club” –a forum that brings together foreign Russia experts with top Russian officials, politicians, journalists and academics—conveyed two strong messages from the Kremlin: Russia is fully back on the world stage seeking a leadership role; and Russia offers the world an alternative value system to that of the West, which has lost its moral compass. No one made these points more vigorously than Vladimir Putin himself, who has dined with the group for the past decade. He was in top form, exuding self-confidence and decisiveness. Yet the forum itself, though Kremlin-sponsored, also had discordant voices, including several vocal critics of the way Putin’s Russia is run. The meeting this year took place in a picturesque resort on Lake Valdai, 250 miles from Moscow. It was the largest ever, with more than 200 participants. The official theme was “Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World” and focused on how Russia should define its national identity. In some ways, every Valdai meeting—and I have attended all ten—has had as its underlying theme the “whither Russia question”, even at the session in Siberia when we were discussing whether Russia was indeed an energy superpower. But this year the question of Russia’s uniqueness and its place in the world was the main focus. Sergei Karaganov, one of the meeting’s co-organizers, was hardly upbeat. He began the forum on a cautionary note, saying that Russia had wasted the last twenty years and that the only idea that still unites Russians is their victory in World War Two. Unlike in previous years, both the liberal and moderate nationalist political opposition was represented. Two of the most notable interventions were by Yevgeny Roizman, the controversial newly-elected major of Yekaterinburg and Ksenia Sobchak, daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the liberal mayor of St. Petersburg who gave Putin his post-Soviet political start in the early 1990s. Roizman gave a spirited defense of the importance of ending politics as usual in the corrupt provinces. Sobchak made an impassioned plea for her generation of urban, educated 30 –somethings. Her message: we reject the traditional Russian political patronage model, we don’t want a president who addresses us as a father talks to his children, we want to be treated as independent adults responsible for the decisions they make and we don’t want to rely on the state. And, she added, we didn’t grow up in the USSR, we have no nostalgia for the Soviet Union, we don’t care about Russia being a great power and we reject anti-Americanism. Indeed, we like the West. One of the eternal questions about Russia’s identity—whether Russia is European, Asian or Eurasian—was addressed in a day-long session at the Iversky monastery, founded in 1653 and elegantly restored in recent years. In a panel highlighting Russia’s role as a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional state whose inhabitants have for centuries included Orthodox Christians, Jews, Moslems and Buddhists, Metropolitan Hilarion delivered a strong message. Russian Orthodox Christians, he said, are the true harbingers of traditional Christian values, while Western Protestants have embraced liberal values on issues such as abortion, homosexual rights and gay marriage that undermine Christian morality. These views were reflected in President Putin’s prepared speech, when he reiterated that Russia supports traditional Christian morality and opposes same-sex marriage. Moreover, both Putin and the Russian clergy emphasized that Orthodox Christians and Moslems share a commitment to traditional morality, highlighting their common bonds – and differentiating them on common grounds from the West. One of Putin’s main foreign policy projects for his third term is his proposed Eurasian Union, a topic that provoked some lively discussion. Russian speakers argued that the Kremlin had “left the imperial paradigm behind”, and that this union would be an organization of equals akin to the European Union. Moldovan and Ukrainian speakers, by contrast, discussed the growing economic and political pressure that Russia is putting on them to reject the EU in the run-up to the Vilnius summit in November. Brussels is poised to offer Ukraine and Moldova Association Agreements that Russia claims would adversely impact both countries’ continuing economic ties to Moscow. Without Ukraine, the Eurasian Union will not fulfill the Kremlin’s ambition to create a grouping of post-Soviet states as a counterbalance to the European Union. Russia’s growing global role in the wake of its Syria initiative was the main focus of discussions with the top officials who came to Valdai—Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Ivanov. They were clearly buoyed by the fact that Russia had taken the initiative in organizing the agreement to rid Syria of its chemical weapons, and stressed that, they favor a strong, secular Syria. The Opposition, they claimed, was up to 75% controlled by Al Qaeda. There seemed to be agreement that not all of the chemical weapons would be found and destroyed, but that enough could be destroyed to accomplish Russian and American goals. And they repeated Russia’s claim that chemical weapons were used only by the Opposition and not by Assad’s own forces. Shoigu addressed the question of military reform by quoting Russia’s pre-revolutionary Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin who said “Give us money and time, and you won’t recognize our armed forces.” He expressed concern about the situation in Afghanistan after NATO’s withdrawal next year, and questioned who would form the next generation of leaders in Kabul. He reiterated that U.S. missile defense programs were ultimately aimed at Russia, not Iran or North Korea, but also suggested developing joint U.S-Russian ABM systems. NATO, he said, is a threat to Russia. What else was NATO enlargement, if not directed against Russia? His message to the group-no more new entrants to NATO. In previous years, President Putin has met with foreign participants only in a private setting, but for this tenth anniversary the format of the Putin meeting changed. He sat on the stage with four discussants—former German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe, former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and President of the U.S-based Center for the National Interest Dimitri Simes. They addressed foreign and Russian participants and the four-hour meeting was televised. Putin gave a vigorous defense of Russia as the standard-bearer of traditional Christian morality, arguing that the United States and Europe had rejected the Christian roots that form the basis of Western civilization. Criticizing “excessive political correctness” he declared that the European multicultural project had failed. He also warned that attempts by un-named powers to revive the model of a unipolar world had also failed. Stressing Russia’s right to have a seat at the table on all decisions of major international importance, he invoked the times when Russia had made an important contribution to world peace—the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Yalta Conference in 1945. He warned that when Russia was excluded—for instance from the 1919 Treaty of Versailles—this led to war. His message on Syria was clear—Russia took the initiative and had helped the United States by proposing an agreement to rid Syria of its chemical weapons stockpiles. And it expects to continue to be respected as an indispensable global player. For anyone who has followed the Kremlin’s fraught relationship with the Opposition since the December 2011 Bolotnaya demonstrations protesting the results of the Duma elections, Putin’s interactions with representatives of the Opposition appeared to represent a shift in policy. He answered their questions about the need for political reform and more individual freedom by suggesting that these issues will be examined in the future—without committing himself to any particular course of action. The fact that these exchanges were televised live gave the impression that the Kremlin feels confident enough that the Opposition represents no real threat that it can engage in a dialogue with its more mainstream representatives. After all, there were no extreme nationalists or hard-core socialists there. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who won 27% of the vote in the recent Moscow mayoral elections, was also absent, having apparently turned down an invitation to participate. Putin was evasive about his future plans. When asked if he would run for office again in 2018, he did not rule it out. He noted approvingly that Angela Merkel was about to win a third term, as he had last year. He certainly gave the impression of being fully engaged, with ambitious—albeit undefined-- plans for Russia. The Russian economy may be experiencing low growth rates, but the main Valdai message was that Putin’s Russia is eager to engage the world, offering an alternative to a troubled West that has rejected major tenets of its own civilizational heritage. Authors Angela Stent Image Source: © POOL New / Reuters Full Article
academic and careers U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 14:00:00 -0500 Event Information February 18, 20142:00 PM - 3:30 PM ESTFalk AuditoriumBrookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20036 Register for the EventRussia remains a priority for the United States because of its nuclear weapons arsenal, its strategic location bordering Europe and Asia and its ability to support—or thwart—American interests on issues such as the Syrian conflict. Recent U.S. presidents have attempted repeatedly to forge a strong and productive partnership with Russia only to be held hostage to the deep mistrust born of the Cold War. Why has it been so difficult to move the relationship forward and is there any prospect for change in the future? In her new book, The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century (Princeton University Press, 2014), Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow and Georgetown University Professor Angela Stent calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries. On February 18, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) at Brookings hosted a discussion featuring Stent that explored U.S.-Russian relations since the Soviet collapse and the challenges ahead. CUSE Director Fiona Hill, co-author of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (Brookings Press, 2013), and Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for The New York Times and author of Days of Fire (Doubleday, 2013), also joined the panel. Brookings President Strobe Talbott, who previously served as U.S. deputy secretary of State and U.S. ambassador-at-large for the former Soviet Union, provided introductory remarks. Audio U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century Transcript Uncorrected Transcript (.pdf) Event Materials 20140218_us_russia_relations Full Article
academic and careers Investigating the Khashoggi murder: Insights from UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 26 Jun 2019 22:08:12 +0000 Perhaps the most shocking episode of repression in Saudi Arabia’s recent history is the brutal and bizarre murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for the Washington Post, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Two weeks ago, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard,… Full Article
academic and careers Peace with justice: The Colombian experience with transitional justice By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 08 Jul 2019 13:49:55 +0000 Executive summaryTo wind down a 50-year war, the Colombian state and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército Popular (FARC-EP) agreed in November 2016 to stop the fighting and start addressing the underlying causes of the conflict—rural poverty, marginalization, insecurity, and lawlessness. Central to their pact is an ambitious effort to address the conflict’s nearly 8… Full Article
academic and careers Colombia’s search for peace and justice By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 23 Aug 2019 10:00:05 +0000 In June 2016, the government of Colombia signed a historic peace agreement with the armed rebel group known as FARC-EP to end a conflict that over five decades had taken the lives of at least 260,000 Colombians and displaced over 7 million. Three years later, the peace accord—a complex effort to not only stop the… Full Article
academic and careers Trans-Atlantic Scorecard – October 2019 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 23 Oct 2019 14:38:07 +0000 Welcome to the fifth edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the present state of U.S. relations… Full Article
academic and careers 2020 trends to watch: Policy issues to watch in 2020 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 14:30:24 +0000 2019 was marked by massive protest movements in a number of different countries, impeachment, continued Brexit talks and upheaval in global trade, and much more. Already, 2020 is shaping up to be no less eventful as the U.S. gears up for presidential elections in November. Brookings experts are looking ahead to the issues they expect… Full Article
academic and careers Economic sanctions: Assessing their use and implications for U.S. foreign policy By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 07 Feb 2020 18:45:07 +0000 On January 27, Foreign Policy at Brookings hosted a panel discussion on economic sanctions and their implications for advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives. Moderated by Robert Bosch Senior Visiting Fellow Jim Goldgeier, the panel included experts with a combined background on the use of sanctions in the Middle East, Latin America, and North Korea: Brookings… Full Article
academic and careers The rule of law is under duress everywhere By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 15:17:31 +0000 Anyone paying attention to major events of the day in the United States and around the world would know that the basic social fabric is fraying from a toxic mix of ills — inequality, dislocation, polarization, environmental distress, scarce resources, and more. Signs abound that after decades of uneven but steady human progress, we are… Full Article
academic and careers Trans-Atlantic Scorecard – April 2020 By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 15:12:26 +0000 Welcome to the seventh edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the present state of U.S. relations… Full Article
academic and careers Will Sharing Cyberthreat Information Help Defend the United States? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: On Tuesday January 13th, 2015, the White House published several legislative proposals concerning cybersecurity. The purpose of one of the initiatives is to “codify mechanisms for enabling cybersecurity information sharing between private and government entities, as well as among private entities, to better protect information systems and more effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents.” How should… Full Article
academic and careers Target Malware Kingpins By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Traditionally, defense in cyberspace has been based on the “Risk equation,” a loosely calculated product of Vulnerability, Asset value and Threat. Vulnerability means the degree to which computing infrastructure is exposed to intruders. Asset value represents the importance of information to an organization and its constituents. Threat is a subjective assessment of the danger posed… Full Article
academic and careers Sharing Threat Intelligence: Necessary but Not Sufficient? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Chairman Johnson, ranking member Carper, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Strategist at FireEye. I am also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and I am pursuing a PhD in war studies from King’s College London. I began my security career as… Full Article
academic and careers What are the prospects for the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Last week we learned that the federal government plans to create a Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC). There is some confusion about the purpose of this agency, especially as it relates to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). While I am not a… Full Article Uncategorized
academic and careers If you can’t keep hackers out, find and remove them faster By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: In the wake of recent intrusions into government systems, it is difficult to identify anyone who believes defenders have the advantage in cyberspace. Digital adversaries seem to achieve their objectives at will, spending months inside target networks before someone, usually a third party, discovers the breach. Following the announcement, managers and stakeholders commit to improving… Full Article Uncategorized
academic and careers New cybersecurity mantra: “If you can’t protect it, don’t collect it” By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: In early August I attended my 11th Black Hat USA conference in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. Black Hat is the somewhat more corporate sibling of the annual DEF CON hacker convention, which follows Black Hat. Since my first visit to both conferences in 2002, I’ve kept tabs on the themes expressed by computer security practitioners.… Full Article Uncategorized
academic and careers To hack, or not to hack? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Has President Barack Obama secured relief from Chinese hacking? That is the question on the minds of many following the announcement by the American leader and his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, on September 25, 2015. On balance, the agreement is a step in the right direction. At best, I would expect it to result… Full Article Uncategorized
academic and careers Outside perspectives on the Department of Defense cyber strategy By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Strategist at FireEye. I am also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and I am pursuing a PhD in war studies from King’s College London. I began my security career as… Full Article
academic and careers Does America want China arresting hackers? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: On October 9, Ellen Nakashima and Adam Goldman of The Washington Post reported very significant news. “The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the U.S. government … It is not clear if the hackers arrested were with the Chinese military, but they were accused of carrying out state-sponsored… Full Article Uncategorized
academic and careers Cyber Grand Challenge contrasts today’s cybersecurity risks By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 14 Sep 2016 12:08:50 +0000 Cade Metz’s article for Wired titled “Hackers Don’t Have to Be Human Anymore. This Bot Battle Proves It” described a curious event that took place in Las Vegas on August 4, 2016. The first Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cyber Grand Challenge witnessed seven teams compete for cyber security supremacy. Unlike traditional hacking contests,… Full Article
academic and careers Brookings rebuts New York Times By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 29 Aug 2016 19:19:25 +0000 An article published by The New York Times today, reported by Eric Lipton and Brooke Williams, portrays a picture of the Brookings Institution in a way that fundamentally misrepresents our mission and distorts how we operate, particularly in our relationship with corporate funders. Mr. Lipton and Ms. Williams make a sweeping allegation that, in return […] Full Article
academic and careers The World Bank Group’s Mission to End Extreme Poverty: A conversation with President Jim Yong Kim By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 13:32:59 +0000 Ahead of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund annual meetings being held in Washington, DC from October 7 to 9, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim set out his vision for ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. He spoke about the links between growth, poverty and inequality, the changing face of […] Full Article
academic and careers Reykjavik and arms control in U.S.-Soviet/Russian relations By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 23 Sep 2016 20:01:40 +0000 Watch the archived video on CSPAN.org » Thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland for a summit devoted to arms control. While a potential agreement—possibly including elimination of all U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons—collapsed over differences regarding ballistic missile defense, the meeting set in motion moves that produced significant reductions in nuclear […] Full Article
academic and careers Choices: Inside the making of India’s foreign policy By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 14:57:20 +0000 The foreign policy and national security choices of a country are often critical and have a strong impact on global perceptions of the country and also on its ties with other nations and international organizations. In his new book, “Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy” (Brookings Institution Press, 2016), Shivshankar Menon, distinguished fellow […] Full Article
academic and careers The Soviet Mind By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 With a revised foreword by Brookings President Strobe Talbott and a new introduction by Berlin’s editor, Henry Hardy George Kennan, the architect of US policy toward the Soviet Union, called Isaiah Berlin “the patron saint among the commentators on the Russian scene.” In The Soviet Mind, Berlin proves himself fully worthy of that accolade. Although […] Full Article
academic and careers The American presidential election and implications for U.S.-R.O.K. relations By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 13 Oct 2016 18:25:31 +0000 My thanks for the hosts and organizers of this conference. Many of you have heard other American speakers talk about our election this morning—Vice President Cheney, Wendy Sherman, and David Rubenstein. As we open our afternoon session, let me offer some historical perspective. American presidential campaigns are, in a sense, like the Olympics: they happen […] Full Article
academic and careers An accident of geography: Compassion, innovation, and the fight against poverty—A conversation with Richard C. Blum By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 03 Oct 2016 13:30:19 +0000 Over the past 20 years, the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has decreased by over 60 percent, a remarkable achievement. Yet further progress requires expanded development finance and more innovative solutions for raising shared prosperity and ending extreme poverty. In his new book, “An Accident of Geography: Compassion, Innovation and the […] Full Article
academic and careers The decline of the West, and how to stop it By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 20 Oct 2016 13:00:10 +0000 Full Article
academic and careers Covering politics in a “post-truth” America By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 06 Dec 2016 16:21:15 +0000 The American media were much criticized for their coverage (or lack thereof) of the candidates and issues during the 2016 presidential election cycle. But Susan Glasser, editor of Politico throughout the 2016 campaign, has a controversial opinion: that political journalism has never been better. Instead, she’s worried about something else. Although digital news organizations are […] Full Article
academic and careers India-Pakistan: The Next Critical Steps By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 In his first major address on the Administration’s on-going efforts to end nuclear proliferation in South Asia, Deputy Secretary Talbott will give an on-the-record report on the status of the negotiations with India and Pakistan as well as outline U.S. government goals for the next critical steps. Full Article
academic and careers A homage to my Brookings colleague and former professor Hal Sonnenfeldt By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:13:14 +0000 Hal Sonnenfeldt was a tough, direct, exceedingly knowledgeable professor whose classes students wanted to attend. But in 1961, it wasn’t easy to get into his Soviet foreign policy class at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Students were first expected to take his earlier course on the domestic Soviet Union, which I… Full Article
academic and careers Remembering Helmut Sonnenfeldt, a major figure in US foreign policy By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 06 Nov 2019 20:34:55 +0000 Helmut Sonnenfeldt was a consequential figure in 20th century American foreign policy. A career State Department Soviet affairs specialist and major architect of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union, he served alongside Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during a highly uncertain period. Born in Berlin, he fled from Nazi Germany in 1938, spent six years… Full Article
academic and careers A tribute to Sadako Ogata By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 13 Dec 2019 15:00:58 +0000 We remember with appreciation, admiration, and special warmth Sadako Ogata, who was a Brookings distinguished fellow from 2012 until her death this year. She had a long and remarkable career as president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency from 2003-12 and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to 2000. As high… Full Article
academic and careers A systematic review of systems dynamics and agent-based obesity models: Evaluating obesity as part of the global syndemic By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 19 Jul 2019 13:02:35 +0000 Full Article
academic and careers Modeling community efforts to reduce childhood obesity By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 26 Aug 2019 13:00:42 +0000 Why childhood obesity matters According to the latest data, childhood obesity affects nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States, a number which has more than tripled since the early 1970s. Children who have obesity are at a higher risk of many immediate health risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, type… Full Article
academic and careers Simulating the effects of tobacco retail restriction policies By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 03 Sep 2019 13:00:00 +0000 Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans each year and incurring over $300 billion per year in costs for direct medical care and lost productivity. In addition, of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. in 2016, 35% were menthol cigarettes, which… Full Article
academic and careers Predicting the impact of college subsidy programs on college enrollment By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 21 Oct 2019 18:17:33 +0000 There is currently a great deal of interest in the potential of college subsidy programs to increase equitable access to higher education and to reduce the financial burden on college attendees. While colleges may be subsidized in a variety of ways, such as through grants to institutions, in our latest Brookings report, we focus on college subsidy programs that directly… Full Article
academic and careers Development of a computational modeling laboratory for examining tobacco control policies: Tobacco Town By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 30 Dec 2019 16:03:48 +0000 Full Article
academic and careers The Advantages of an Assertive China: Responding to Beijing’s Abrasive Diplomacy By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Over the past two years, in a departure from the policy of reassurance it adopted in the late 1990s, China has managed to damage relations with most of its neighbors and with the United States. Mistrust of Beijing throughout the region and in Washington is palpable. Observers claim that China has become more assertive, revising… Full Article
academic and careers Obama in China: Preserving the Rebalance By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: This November, after focusing on foreign policy concerns around the globe and congressional midterm elections at home, President Barack Obama will travel to Beijing to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in hopes of preserving and enhancing one of his key foreign policy achievements—the rebalance to Asia. Obama’s trip to China will be his first… Full Article
academic and careers The China challenge: Shaping the choices of a rising power By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Many see China as a rival superpower to the United States and imagine the country’s rise to be a threat to U.S. leadership in Asia and beyond. In his new book, "The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power" (W.W. Norton 2015), Nonresident Senior Fellow Thomas J. Christensen argues against this zero-sum vision.… Full Article
academic and careers A modern tragedy? COVID-19 and US-China relations By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 20:29:42 +0000 Executive Summary This policy brief invokes the standards of ancient Greek drama to analyze the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential tragedy in U.S.-China relations and a potential tragedy for the world. The nature of the two countries’ political realities in 2020 have led to initial mismanagement of the crisis on both sides of the Pacific.… Full Article
academic and careers Want empowered cities? Start by understanding city power By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:12:19 +0000 In this brave new world, expectations for city leadership are rising by the day. Home to the majority of U.S. residents who did not vote for Donald Trump, cities are a natural center of resistance to the new administration’s agenda. Already leading on policies to raise the minimum wage and combat climate change, cities are… Full Article
