Dec 18, 2019

Over the last two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the popularity of financial sanctions as an instrument of US foreign policy to address security threats ranging from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation and terrorism to human rights violations and transnational crime. Washington’s policymakers have prized these tools for their ability to rapidly apply pressure against foreign targets with few perceived repercussions against American business interests. The problem, however, is that Washington is ignoring a growing tension between financial sanctions designed to support economic statecraft (with non-financial goals) and those designed to protect the international financial system. Confusing the two sends mixed signals to adversaries as well as allies and undermines US credibility and commitment to upholding international banking rules and norms. If Washington cannot reconcile these competing processes, it is unlikely that future administrations will enjoy the same foreign policy levers, leaving the United States at a significant disadvantage.

Jan 8, 2020

The smoke is still clearing from the drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani, and from the Iranian retaliation against U.S. bases in Iraq, and any conclusions have to be tentative ones. But the history of U.S.-Iran conflict points to a narrow, and possibly dangerous, set of choices ahead.

Mar 12, 2020

The Managing the Atom (MTA) project at the Harvard Kennedy School is seeking a full-time Research Associate to support research projects directed by Professor Matthew Bunn on a range of nuclear policy topics including strategic stability and the future of nuclear arms control, reducing the risks of nuclear theft and terrorism worldwide, stemming the spread of nuclear weapons, and addressing key constraints on and risks of nuclear energy. Reporting to the MTA co-principal investigator Prof. Matthew Bunn, the Research Associate will play a major role in researching and writing papers and reports in these areas. 

Mar 27, 2020

Fueled by aggressive rhetoric from both capitals, Indian and Chinese ground forces engaged in a standoff between June and August 2017. The Doklam crisis, as it became known, stimulated introspection among officials and experts in both states about the future of their relationship. Politically, both strategic communities largely concluded that the peaceful resolution of border disputes is now less likely, forecasting more rivalry than cooperation. Militarily, Indian discussions on the strength of its military position against China in their disputed ground frontier areas have converged on the view that China holds the conventional and nuclear edge over India in this domain.

Based on our analysis of data on the location and capabilities of Indian and Chinese strategic forces and related military units, we conclude that this assessment of the balance of forces may be mistaken and a poor guide for Indian security and procurement policies. We recommend that instead of investing in new nuclear weapons platforms that our analysis suggests are not likely to be required to deter China, New Delhi should improve the survivability of its existing forces and fill the gap in global arms control leadership with an initiative on restraint and transparency.

Apr 16, 2020

Life right now feels very odd. And it will feel odd for months—and even years—to come.

May 8, 2020

Sue Biniaz, former lead climate negotiator for the United States, shared her thoughts on the postponement of COP-26, and on the possible re-engagement of the U.S. in the international effort to address 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.

Mar 20, 2020

Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, former National Security Council advisor, and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, discusses the oil market plunge, and the Russia-Saudi relationship. Hosted by Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney.

Apr 1, 2020

Today’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.

May 6, 2020

Argentina's creditors are being asked to accept a proposal that would reduce their revenue stream but make it sustainable. A responsible resolution will set a positive precedent, not only for Argentina, but for the international financial system as a whole.

Apr 16, 2020

Life right now feels very odd. And it will feel odd for months—and even years—to come.

May 8, 2020

Sue Biniaz, former lead climate negotiator for the United States, shared her thoughts on the postponement of COP-26, and on the possible re-engagement of the U.S. in the international effort to address 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.

Guallar, Javier and Cornet, Anna Centros de documentación de diarios en el siglo XXI. Panorama después del tsunami. BiD, 2020, n. 44. [Journal article (Unpaginated)]

Saurin-Parra, Julia . El aspecto social de la biblioteca pública y la inclusión social de las minorías., 2019 In: El libro y la lectura en recintos penitenciarios. Gráfica Nacional, pp. 73-81. [Book chapter]

Sequeiros, Paula and Silveira, Fabrício José Nascimento da and Rivera Donoso, Miguel and Armingol Jaime, Karla and Díaz Rubio, Sara and Sáez Alarcón, Daniela and Muñoz Muño, Alexia and Saurin Parra, Julia and Cosgrove, Kimberly and Parra, Pablo and Barbosa, Andreza Gonçalves and Piñeiros, Gabriela . El libro y la lectura en los recintos penitenciarios de la región de Valparaíso., 2019 Universidad de Playa Ancha. [Book]

Nazarovets, Serhii Controversial practice of rewarding for publications in national journals., 2020 [Preprint]

Sequeiros, Paula . Cosas de mujeres: lectura y penitenciaría., 2019 In: Las prácticas de lectura en los recintos penitenciarios de la región de Valparaíso. Universidad de Playa Ancha, pp. 91-101. [Book chapter]

Gómez-Hernández, José-Antonio . Leer, escribir y aprender con Internet. La función educativa de las bibliotecas y las tecnologías participativas de la web social., 2008 In: Infodiversidad. La biblioteca como centro multicultural. Universidad de Guadalajara, pp. 55-74. [Book chapter]

Nenko, Yuliia and Кybalna, Nelia and Snisarenko, Yana The COVID-19 Distance Learning: Insight from Ukrainian students. Revista Brasileira de Educação do Campo, 2020, vol. 5, pp. 1-19. [Journal article (Paginated)]

Campillo-Meseguer, María-José and Galiano-Martínez, Antonio and Gómez-Hernández, José-Antonio and Hidalgo-Pérez, Antonio and López Aniorte, María-del-Carmen and Martínez-Navarro, Emilio and Molina-Molina, José and Mayor-Balsas, José-Manuel and Ros-Media, José Luis and Oliva-Palazón, Elena and Reverte-Martínez, Francisco-Manuel and Baeza-Hernández, María-José . Educar para la transparencia y una ciudadanía informada: diseño, aplicación y evaluación del programa IRIS para alumnado de Bachillerato de la Región de Murcia (España)., 2020 In: Competencias en Información y Políticas para Educación Superior: Estudios Hispano-Brasileños, volumen 1. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, pp. 123-138. [Book chapter]

Casero-Ripollés, Andreu Impact of Covid-19 on the media system. Communicative and democratic consequences of news consumption during the outbreak // Impacto del Covid-19 en el sistema de medios. Consecuencias comunicativas y democráticas del consumo de noticias durante el brote. El profesional de la información, 2020, vol. 29, n. 2. [Journal article (Unpaginated)]

Torres-Salinas, Daniel Ritmo de crecimiento diario de la producción científica sobre Covid-19. Análisis en bases de datos y repositorios en acceso abierto. El profesional de la información, 2020, vol. 29, n. 2. [Journal article (Unpaginated)]

Lázaro-Rodríguez, Pedro and Herrera-Viedma, Enrique Noticias sobre Covid-19 y 2019-nCoV en medios de comunicación de España: el papel de los medios digitales en tiempos de confinamiento // News on Covid-19 and 2019-nCoV in Spanish media: The role of digital media in times of confinement. El profesional de la información, 2020, vol. 29, n. 3. [Journal article (Unpaginated)]

Mar 20, 2020

Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, former National Security Council advisor, and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, discusses the oil market plunge, and the Russia-Saudi relationship. Hosted by Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney.

Apr 1, 2020

Today’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.

May 6, 2020

Argentina's creditors are being asked to accept a proposal that would reduce their revenue stream but make it sustainable. A responsible resolution will set a positive precedent, not only for Argentina, but for the international financial system as a whole.

Feb 3, 2020

The study of existential risk — the risk of human extinction or the collapse of human civilization — has only recently emerged as an integrated field of research, and yet an overwhelming volume of relevant research has already been published. To provide an evidence base for policy and risk analysis, this research should be systematically reviewed. In a systematic review, one of many time-consuming tasks is to read the titles and abstracts of research publications, to see if they meet the inclusion criteria. The authors show how this task can be shared between multiple people (using crowdsourcing) and partially automated (using machine learning), as methods of handling an overwhelming volume of research.

Feb 10, 2020

Civil society has played a very important role in nuclear security over the years, and its role could be strengthened in the future. Some nuclear organizations react against the very idea of civil society involvement, thinking of only one societal role—protesting. In fact, however, civil society has played quite a number of critical roles in nuclear security over the years, including highlighting the dangers of nuclear terrorism; providing research and ideas; nudging governments to act; tracking progress and holding governments and operators accountable; educating the public and other stakeholders; promoting dialogue and partnerships; helping with nuclear security implementation; funding initial steps; and more. Funding organizations (both government and non-government) should consider ways to support civil society work and expertise focused on nuclear security in additional countries. Rather than simply protesting and opposing, civil society organizations can help build more effective nuclear security practices around the world.

Feb 23, 2020

With 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.  

Mar 19, 2020

This paper examines a recent, rapid, and ongoing transition of India's lighting market to light emitting diode (LED) technology, from a negligible market share to LEDs becoming the dominant lighting products within five years, despite the country's otherwise limited visibility in the global solid-state lighting industry.

Mar 24, 2020

Patricia (Pat) McLaughlin, our beloved colleague and friend at the Center since 2001, passed away in February after a brief illness. Hired as Faculty Assistant to John Holdren, Co-Director of the Center’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program (STPP) nearly 20 years ago, she continued to work with STPP and with John until her illness.

Mar 27, 2020

On a cool day late last September, half a dozen Chinese engineers walked into a conference room in the heart of Geneva's UN district with a radical idea. They had one hour to persuade delegates from more than 40 countries of their vision: an alternative form of the internet, to replace the technological architecture that has underpinned the web for half a century. 

Whereas today's internet is owned by everyone and no one, they were in the process of building something very different - a new infrastructure that could put power back in the hands of nation states, instead of individuals.

Mar 19, 2020

This paper examines a recent, rapid, and ongoing transition of India's lighting market to light emitting diode (LED) technology, from a negligible market share to LEDs becoming the dominant lighting products within five years, despite the country's otherwise limited visibility in the global solid-state lighting industry.

Mar 20, 2020

Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, former National Security Council advisor, and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, discusses the oil market plunge, and the Russia-Saudi relationship. Hosted by Lisa Abramowicz and Paul Sweeney.

Apr 10, 2020

This policy brief emphasizes that the European Green Deal's effectiveness in a post Covid-19 world will require the involvement of strategic partners, especially the US. In the context of a potential US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the consequential vacuum, it will be even more important to engage the US in implementing the GD. In light of divergence between the US and the EU during past climate negotiations (e.g. Kyoto, Copenhagen, and Paris), we suggest a gradual approach to US engagement with GD initiatives and objectives.

Mar 27, 2020

The spread of the coronavirus is scary everywhere. But in Syria, which has faced war for more than nine years, humanitarian aid and health care is already stretched razor-thin.

Apr 1, 2020

Today’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.

Apr 4, 2020

LCPS solicited the opinion of key experts to answer one question: “Will the financial crisis, exacerbated further by COVID-19, strengthen or loosen the power of Lebanon’s governing political parties?”