em Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson Outlines Ways Organizations are Changing in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Climate Change in New Edition of "Environmental Insights" By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 8, 2020 Apr 8, 2020Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of "Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program," a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. Listen to the interview here. Full Article
em Global Problem, Local Solutions By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020The Arctic Initiative is pairing policy and science scholars with local experts to find practical climate solutions. Full Article
em Getting Smart on Pandemics: Intelligence in the Wake of COVID-19 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 17, 2020 Apr 17, 2020This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward. Full Article
em The Global Pandemic Has Spawned New Forms of Activism — and They're Flourishing By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 20, 2020 Apr 20, 2020The authors have identified nearly 100 distinct methods of nonviolent action that include physical, virtual and hybrid actions. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em Global Problem, Local Solutions By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020The Arctic Initiative is pairing policy and science scholars with local experts to find practical climate solutions. Full Article
em This Virus Is Tough, but History Provides Perspective: The 1968 Pandemic and the Vietnam War By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 24, 2020 Apr 24, 2020Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Full Article
em Leaving all to younger hands: Why the history of the women’s suffragist movement matters By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 11:30:00 +0000 The campaign to win passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote stands as one of the most significant and wide-ranging moments of political mobilization in all of American history. Among other outcomes, it produced the largest one-time increase in voters ever. As important as the goal of suffrage was, the struggle… Full Article
em Hong Kong, a Democratic Voice in China By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 2, 2020 Feb 2, 2020Hong Kong is unique. While the writer Han Suyin’s description—“a borrowed place, on borrowed time” —seemed redundant upon the return of the territory to China on July 1, 1997, the former British colony appears to be perpetually exposed to uncertainty over its future. Despite long months of sociopolitical crisis and violence, Hong Kong has once again shown that it has lost none of its personality. Amidst the climate of upheaval and faced with a Chinese regime determined to obstruct any hopes of democracy, the people of Hong Kong have managed to attract international and media attention, marking them out from any other Chinese territory—including those that enjoy special status: Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Macao, and even Xinjiang, where nearly a million people from the minority Uyghur ethnic group are confined to “re-education” camps. No other Chinese region has been able to attract such attention. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em Webber remains angry with Red Bull decision By en.espnf1.com Published On :: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:09:56 GMT Mark Webber was clearly still far from happy with his team at the end of a weekend which will end with major concerns over the relationship between him and Sebastian Vettel Full Article
em Michael Schumacher bemoans Silverstone result By en.espnf1.com Published On :: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:59:36 GMT Michael Schumacher confessed himself unhappy with his British Grand Prix after he finished ninth while team-mate Nico Rosberg drove to the podium Full Article
em The Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technology in Nuclear Security By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 10, 2020 Feb 10, 2020Nuclear security is never finished. Nuclear security measures for protecting all nuclear weapons, weapons-usable nuclear materials, and facilities whose sabotage could cause disastrous consequences should protect against the full range of plausible threats. It is an ongoing endeavor that requires constant assessment of physical protection operations and reevaluation of potential threats. One of the most challenging areas of nuclear security is how to account for the impact–positive and negative—of non-nuclear emerging technologies. The amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (amended CPPNM) states it should be reviewed in light of the prevailing situation, and a key part of the prevailing situation is technological evolution. Therefore, the upcoming review conference in 2021, as well as any future review conferences, should examine the security threats and benefits posed by emerging technologies. Full Article
em Arms Control Agreement With Russia Should Cover More Than Nuclear Weapons By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 23, 2020 Feb 23, 2020With the Russia investigation and impeachment behind him, President Trump finally may feel empowered to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pursue an arms control deal. Full Article
em Budapest Memorandum at 25: Between Past and Future By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 17, 2020 Mar 17, 2020On December 5, 1994, leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation met in Budapest, Hungary, to pledge security assurances to Ukraine in connection with its accession to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapons state. The signature of the so-called Budapest Memorandum concluded arduous negotiations that resulted in Ukraine’s agreement to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which the country inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, and transfer all nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement. The signatories of the memorandum pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force. Russia breached these commitments with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and aggression in eastern Ukraine, bringing the meaning and value of security assurance pledged in the Memorandum under renewed scrutiny. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the memorandum’s signature, the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, with the support of the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian Relations and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, hosted a conference to revisit the history of the Budapest Memorandum, consider the repercussions of its violation for international security and the broader nonproliferation regime, and draw lessons for the future. The conference brought together academics, practitioners, and experts who have contributed to developing U.S. policy toward post-Soviet nuclear disarmament, participated in the negotiations of the Budapest Memorandum, and dealt with the repercussions of its breach in 2014. The conference highlighted five key lessons learned from the experience of Ukraine’s disarmament, highlighted at the conference. Full Article
em The Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technology in Nuclear Security By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 10, 2020 Feb 10, 2020Nuclear security is never finished. Nuclear security measures for protecting all nuclear weapons, weapons-usable nuclear materials, and facilities whose sabotage could cause disastrous consequences should protect against the full range of plausible threats. It is an ongoing endeavor that requires constant assessment of physical protection operations and reevaluation of potential threats. One of the most challenging areas of nuclear security is how to account for the impact–positive and negative—of non-nuclear emerging technologies. The amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (amended CPPNM) states it should be reviewed in light of the prevailing situation, and a key part of the prevailing situation is technological evolution. Therefore, the upcoming review conference in 2021, as well as any future review conferences, should examine the security threats and benefits posed by emerging technologies. Full Article
em Arms Control Agreement With Russia Should Cover More Than Nuclear Weapons By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 23, 2020 Feb 23, 2020With the Russia investigation and impeachment behind him, President Trump finally may feel empowered to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pursue an arms control deal. Full Article
em Budapest Memorandum at 25: Between Past and Future By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 17, 2020 Mar 17, 2020On December 5, 1994, leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation met in Budapest, Hungary, to pledge security assurances to Ukraine in connection with its accession to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapons state. The signature of the so-called Budapest Memorandum concluded arduous negotiations that resulted in Ukraine’s agreement to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which the country inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, and transfer all nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement. The signatories of the memorandum pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force. Russia breached these commitments with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and aggression in eastern Ukraine, bringing the meaning and value of security assurance pledged in the Memorandum under renewed scrutiny. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the memorandum’s signature, the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, with the support of the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian Relations and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, hosted a conference to revisit the history of the Budapest Memorandum, consider the repercussions of its violation for international security and the broader nonproliferation regime, and draw lessons for the future. The conference brought together academics, practitioners, and experts who have contributed to developing U.S. policy toward post-Soviet nuclear disarmament, participated in the negotiations of the Budapest Memorandum, and dealt with the repercussions of its breach in 2014. The conference highlighted five key lessons learned from the experience of Ukraine’s disarmament, highlighted at the conference. Full Article
em Getting Smart on Pandemics: Intelligence in the Wake of COVID-19 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 17, 2020 Apr 17, 2020This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward. Full Article
em The Global Pandemic Has Spawned New Forms of Activism — and They're Flourishing By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 20, 2020 Apr 20, 2020The authors have identified nearly 100 distinct methods of nonviolent action that include physical, virtual and hybrid actions. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em Global Problem, Local Solutions By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020The Arctic Initiative is pairing policy and science scholars with local experts to find practical climate solutions. Full Article
em This Virus Is Tough, but History Provides Perspective: The 1968 Pandemic and the Vietnam War By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 24, 2020 Apr 24, 2020Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Full Article
em Getting Smart on Pandemics: Intelligence in the Wake of COVID-19 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 17, 2020 Apr 17, 2020This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em This Virus Is Tough, but History Provides Perspective: The 1968 Pandemic and the Vietnam War By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 24, 2020 Apr 24, 2020Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Full Article
em Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson Outlines Ways Organizations are Changing in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Climate Change in New Edition of "Environmental Insights" By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 8, 2020 Apr 8, 2020Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of "Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program," a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. Listen to the interview here. Full Article
em Hong Kong, a Democratic Voice in China By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 2, 2020 Feb 2, 2020Hong Kong is unique. While the writer Han Suyin’s description—“a borrowed place, on borrowed time” —seemed redundant upon the return of the territory to China on July 1, 1997, the former British colony appears to be perpetually exposed to uncertainty over its future. Despite long months of sociopolitical crisis and violence, Hong Kong has once again shown that it has lost none of its personality. Amidst the climate of upheaval and faced with a Chinese regime determined to obstruct any hopes of democracy, the people of Hong Kong have managed to attract international and media attention, marking them out from any other Chinese territory—including those that enjoy special status: Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Macao, and even Xinjiang, where nearly a million people from the minority Uyghur ethnic group are confined to “re-education” camps. No other Chinese region has been able to attract such attention. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em Factoring Pandemic Risks into Financial Modelling By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Apr 1, 2020 Apr 1, 2020Today’s economic crisis leaves us with an unsettling and perplexing regret. Why weren’t financial portfolios already adjusted for risks that stem from health events such as pandemics? After all, financial portfolios are adjusted for liquidity risks, market risks, credit risks, and even operational and political risks. Full Article
em Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson Outlines Ways Organizations are Changing in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Climate Change in New Edition of "Environmental Insights" By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Apr 8, 2020 Apr 8, 2020Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of "Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program," a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. Listen to the interview here. Full Article
em Global Problem, Local Solutions By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020The Arctic Initiative is pairing policy and science scholars with local experts to find practical climate solutions. Full Article
em Making sense of the monthly jobs report during the COVID-19 pandemic By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 18:43:02 +0000 The monthly jobs report—the unemployment rate from one survey and the change in employer payrolls from another survey—is one of the most closely watched economic indicators, particularly at a time of an economic crisis like today. Here’s a look at how these data are collected and how to interpret them during the COVID-19 pandemic. What… Full Article
em Factoring Pandemic Risks into Financial Modelling By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 1, 2020 Apr 1, 2020Today’s economic crisis leaves us with an unsettling and perplexing regret. Why weren’t financial portfolios already adjusted for risks that stem from health events such as pandemics? After all, financial portfolios are adjusted for liquidity risks, market risks, credit risks, and even operational and political risks. Full Article
em Oil Markets Provide a Glimpse of the Post-Pandemic Future By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 7, 2020 Apr 7, 2020Henry Kissinger warns that many existing domestic and international institutions that have helped govern the past decades will not survive the Covid-19 crisis. He is surely correct. Full Article
em Selective Wilsonianism: Material Interests and the West's Support for Democracy By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 9, 2020 Apr 9, 2020Analysis of the West's differing responses to Ukrainian and Armenian mass movements reveal that, contrary to the popular Wilsonian narrative, the West assists democratic movements only when that assistance coincides with its material interests. Full Article
em The Global Pandemic Has Spawned New Forms of Activism — and They're Flourishing By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 20, 2020 Apr 20, 2020The authors have identified nearly 100 distinct methods of nonviolent action that include physical, virtual and hybrid actions. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em In a Global Emergency, Women are Showing How to Lead By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Zoe Marks argues that to the extent that female heads of state are performing better than men against the coronavirus crisis, it's likely because women are expected to be — and have learned to be — more democratic leaders, more collaborative and more compassionate communicators. Full Article
em Global Problem, Local Solutions By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020The Arctic Initiative is pairing policy and science scholars with local experts to find practical climate solutions. Full Article
em From Islamists to Muslim Democrats: The case of Tunisia’s Ennahda By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 20 Jan 2020 17:03:19 +0000 Full Article
em The Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technology in Nuclear Security By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 10, 2020 Feb 10, 2020Nuclear security is never finished. Nuclear security measures for protecting all nuclear weapons, weapons-usable nuclear materials, and facilities whose sabotage could cause disastrous consequences should protect against the full range of plausible threats. It is an ongoing endeavor that requires constant assessment of physical protection operations and reevaluation of potential threats. One of the most challenging areas of nuclear security is how to account for the impact–positive and negative—of non-nuclear emerging technologies. The amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (amended CPPNM) states it should be reviewed in light of the prevailing situation, and a key part of the prevailing situation is technological evolution. Therefore, the upcoming review conference in 2021, as well as any future review conferences, should examine the security threats and benefits posed by emerging technologies. Full Article
em Arms Control Agreement With Russia Should Cover More Than Nuclear Weapons By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 23, 2020 Feb 23, 2020With the Russia investigation and impeachment behind him, President Trump finally may feel empowered to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pursue an arms control deal. Full Article
em Budapest Memorandum at 25: Between Past and Future By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 17, 2020 Mar 17, 2020On December 5, 1994, leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation met in Budapest, Hungary, to pledge security assurances to Ukraine in connection with its accession to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapons state. The signature of the so-called Budapest Memorandum concluded arduous negotiations that resulted in Ukraine’s agreement to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which the country inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, and transfer all nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement. The signatories of the memorandum pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force. Russia breached these commitments with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and aggression in eastern Ukraine, bringing the meaning and value of security assurance pledged in the Memorandum under renewed scrutiny. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the memorandum’s signature, the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, with the support of the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian Relations and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, hosted a conference to revisit the history of the Budapest Memorandum, consider the repercussions of its violation for international security and the broader nonproliferation regime, and draw lessons for the future. The conference brought together academics, practitioners, and experts who have contributed to developing U.S. policy toward post-Soviet nuclear disarmament, participated in the negotiations of the Budapest Memorandum, and dealt with the repercussions of its breach in 2014. The conference highlighted five key lessons learned from the experience of Ukraine’s disarmament, highlighted at the conference. Full Article
em Getting Smart on Pandemics: Intelligence in the Wake of COVID-19 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 17, 2020 Apr 17, 2020This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward. Full Article
em There's No Such Thing as Good Liberal Hegemony By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 21, 2020 Apr 21, 2020Stephen Walt argues that as democracies falter, it's worth considering whether the United States made the right call in attempting to create a liberal world order. Full Article
em This Virus Is Tough, but History Provides Perspective: The 1968 Pandemic and the Vietnam War By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 24, 2020 Apr 24, 2020Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Full Article
em The Elusive Myth of Democratic Egyptian Elections By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:04:00 -0500 INTRODUCTION Later this month, Egyptians will go to the polls, or attempt to, in order to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections. The elections will unlikely be a democratic affair in the Western sense. In fact, opposition candidates, voters, citizen groups—essentially everyone other than government representatives—are fully expecting the elections to be a violent and rigged episode. For easy reference, one can look to the June elections for the Shura Council, or upper house of Parliament, in which the governing National Democratic Party (NDP) managed to land 80 out of a possible 84 seats. Those elections were marked by violence and allegations of rampant violations.Elections in Egypt are not generally democratic, they do not necessarily reflect the will of the people, and they will invariably usher in a house in which the NDP has an unshakeable majority. More so, the elected body has very little control over the government and none over the president, who, thanks to some creative constitutional amendments in 2007, can dissolve the Parliament at will. Election results are apparently so preordained that many have questioned the wisdom of participating at all. Opposition groups, among them the National Alliance for Change (NAC), led by former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head and current political reformer Mohamed ElBaradei, have been calling for a boycott. ElBaradei told reporters at a Ramadan Iftar meeting on September 7 that voting “would go against the national will.” Many political analysts and some members of the opposition have echoed the belief that participation in the elections only gives credence to a fundamentally flawed system and perpetuates the state myth of a democratic nation. The above argument certainly has its merits, but it misses the point. Elections in Egypt are not about who wins seats—that is usually a foregone conclusion. They are about the “how and the what,” in the sense that they are oases of political activity, demand, and dissension in an otherwise arid climate. In that way, every election fought represents losses and gains for the respective participants in ways that invariably influence the following elections. Also, the ballot boxes can yield surprising results—as in the case of the 2005 elections when the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) gained a jawdropping 88 of 454 seats in the elections for the lower house. This outcome certainly would not have come about if the Brotherhood had not participated. To be sure, there are also significant, detrimental changes that happen as a direct consequence of the elections, among them constitutional amendments designed to hobble the opposition’s ability to field candidates and campaign. Still, for opposition parties and movements, boycotting the elections is the equivalent of throwing away the only political participation they have. It would mean relinquishing any visibility or influence and it would mean admitting to their supporters that they are essentially mere window dressings in the democratic façade. Arguably, this is a reason why these elections have only ever been boycotted once, in 1990. The Egyptian political arena is one where contestants scrabble for the smallest patch of ground. The high moral ground simply does not figure into it. Downloads Download Full Report - English Authors Mirette F. Mabrouk Full Article
em A U.S.-Egyptian Relationship for a Democratic Era By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:01:00 -0400 INTRODUCTION A year after President Hosni Mubarak’s fall, U.S.-Egypt relations are at an all-time low. Not, as many expected, because of the rise of Islamist parties, but because America’s longtime allies in the Egyptian military have whipped up anti-American sentiment at a feverish pace. It may have started as a political ploy, a way to build support on the street and highlight the army’s nationalist credentials, but the generals soon lost control. In January, the Egyptian government announced that sixteen Americans—including the son of a top U.S. official— would be put on trial, facing up to five years in prison. Their apparent crime was working for American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)—the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and Freedom House—that offered support, funding, and election monitoring for Egypt’s uneven transition.On March 1, the Egyptian government lifted the travel ban on seven Americans who were still in Egypt, allowing them to leave the country. A major diplomatic breach was avoided, giving the impression that the crisis had been resolved. This appears to be the interpretation of the Obama administration, which waived congressional conditions on military aid, citing the importance of maintaining a “strategic partnership” with Egypt.2 However, the charges against the Americans remain, and there is no sign that the American NGOs in question will be able to reopen anytime soon. More importantly, the vast majority of affected NGOs—which are Egyptian rather than American—still find themselves on trial and under attack. The NGO episode, however worrying it is on its own, reflects something larger and more troubling: the slow descent from the national unity of the revolution to a fog of paranoia, distrust, and conspiracy theorizing. Who is with the revolution, and who isn’t? The roots of the problem lie in the uncertainly inherent in Egypt’s muddled transition. Unlike in Tunisia, where the Higher Committee for the Achievement of Revolutionary Objectives (HCARO)—accepted as legitimate by all of the country’s main political forces—was responsible for managing the transition, Egypt has featured various competing actors claiming their own distinct sources of power. The struggle for legitimacy between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament, and the protest movement has created a fragmented political scene. Everyone wants to lead the transition, but no one wants to take full responsibility for the results. Downloads Download the full paper Authors Shadi Hamid Image Source: © Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters Full Article
em The End of Sykes-Picot? Reflections on the Prospects of the Arab State System By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 14:50:00 -0500 During much of the past three years, the Syrian civil war has been the most prominent item on the Middle Eastern political agenda and has dominated the political-diplomatic discourse in the region and among policy makers, analysts and pundits interested in its affairs. Preoccupation with the Syrian crisis has derived from the sense, apparent since its early phases, that it was much more than a domestic issue. It has, indeed, become a conflict by-proxy between Iran and its regional rivals and the arena of American-Russian competition. It has also had a spillover effect on several neighboring countries and has been a bellwether for the state of the Arab Spring. As the conflict festered it also prompted a broader discussion and debate over the future of the Arab State system. The collapse of Syria, the ongoing fighting in Iraq, and the general instability in the Middle East has led some observers to question whether the very geography of the region will be changed. Robin Wright, a journalist and scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, argues that “the map of the modern Middle East, a political and economic pivot in the international order, is in tatters.” Wright also warns that competing groups and ideologies are pulling the region apart: “A different map would be a strategic game changer for just about everybody, potentially reconfiguring alliances, security challenges, trade and energy flows for much of the world, too.” Similarly, Parag Khanna, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, argues, “Nowhere is a rethinking of “the state” more necessary than in the Middle East.” He contends that “The Arab world will not be resurrected to its old glory until its map is redrawn to resemble a collection of autonomous national oases linked by Silk Roads of commerce.” Lt. Colonel Joel Rayburn, writing from the Hoover Institution, points out that the alternative may not be new states but rather simply collapse. “If watching the fall or near-fall of half a dozen regimes in the Arab Spring has taught us anything, it should be that the Arab states that appeared serenely stable to outsiders for the past half century were more brittle than we have understood,” warning darkly, “This conflict could very well touch us all, perhaps becoming an engine of jihad that spews forth attackers bent on bombing western embassies and cities or disrupting Persian Gulf oil markets long before the fire burns out.” This discussion touches on a key question: Will the collapse of one or several other Arab states produce a new order in the region? The regional order has been threatened before, but today’s challenge is unique. Syria is what has prompted the latest reevaluation of the Skyes-Picot borders, but many of the problems predated the Syrian civil war. Ambitious monarchs in the 1930s and 1940s challenged the order after the colonial period. The doctrine of Pan-Arab Nationalism and Gamal Abd al-Nasir’s messianic leadership in the 1950s and by Saddam Hussein in 1990 again posed a threat. Now it is now challenged not by a powerful state or a sweeping ideology but by the weakness of several Arab states that seem to be on the verge of implosion or disintegration. This paper assesses the situation in Syria, with an emphasis on what might lead to its de facto partition or lasting collapse. It then examines Syria’s neighbors and their prospects for stability. The paper concludes by exploring how the United States, Israel and Iran might affect this tenuous balance. Downloads The End of Sykes-Picot?: Reflections on the Prospects of the Arab State System Authors Itamar Rabinovich Image Source: © Muzaffar Salman / Reuters Full Article