May 8th, 2008

McFaul optimistic about Russia's new president

Interviewed for Voice of America's Ukrainian frequency, CDDRL Director Michael McFaul expresses optimism about the political potential and intentions of Russia's new president, Dmitri Medvedev.

• » Voice of America (Ukrainian frequency)

May 7th, 2008

Tom Friedman features Diamond, his new book in NYT column

"There are two important recessions going on in the world today," writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times May 7. One is the economic recession, and the other is what FSI senior fellow Larry Diamond terms the "democratic recession." Friedman extensively discusses Diamond and the concept of democratic recession as laid out in his new book, The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World. Read more »

May 2nd, 2008

National Academies Press releases book on democracy assistance, Weinstein co-author

The National Research Council at the National Academies has released a new, book-length report from its Committee on the Evaluation of USAID Democracy Assistance Programs. CDDRL/CISAC faculty member Jeremy Weinstein was a member of the committee and co-author of the report, "Improving Democracy Assistance: Building Knowledge Through Evaluations and Research," which is available for PDF download and will be published in hard copy Dec. 2008.
Read more »

Does the president really matter on greenery?

David Victor takes on that question in his latest column for Newsweek.com, arguing that the president's powers are much more constrained than is widely thought in the rest of the world. Presidents matter, but don't expect the next president alone to turn around America's foreign environmental policy. Read more »

May 1st, 2008

Video blog: Cohen, Loury square off on Obama's former pastor

Program on Global Justice Director Joshua Cohen and Brown University professor Glenn Loury analyze the controversy unfolding between Barack Obama and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. The 52-minute "diavlog" on Bloggingheads is tabbed by topic and uses split-screen streaming videos to feature two people in remote locations. Read more »

Benjamin Self chosen as Center's Takahashi Fellow in Japanese Studies

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center has selected Benjamin Self as the Takahashi Fellow in Japanese Studies. Read more »

April 30th, 2008

FSI to co-sponsor conference on same-sex culture, politics in China

On May 16-17 FSI will be co-sponsoring a conference, with the Department of History and the Center for East Asian Studies, on "Same-Sex Desire and Union in China: Interdisciplinary and Historical Perspectives." Read more »

CISAC's Siegfried Hecker testifies before Senate Appropriations Committee

Dr. Hecker testified April 30, 2008, about the importance of expanding the cooperative threat reduction programs to counter the growing proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons capability.
Read more »

April 29th, 2008

McFaul Journal of Democracy article cited in Lebanese Daily Star

Daily Star journalist Rami G. Khouri discusses "Morocco's Elections: The Limits of Limited Reforms," a January 2008 Journal of Democracy article that CDDRL Director Michael McFaul wrote with Tamara Wittes of the Brookings Institution. McFaul and Wittes argue that Arab instability often reflects a lack of democracy, says Khouri, and that the parliamentary elections in Morocco last September offered important insights into what might happen when Arabs are given a chance to engage in democratic politics.

• » Morocco's Elections: The Limits of Limited Reforms
• » Daily Star: Arabs face dysfunctional democracy
• » Aljazeera Magazine: Two causes of Arab political incoherence

Scott Sagan elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

CISAC's Co-Director Scott Sagan, professor of political science, is one of 190 new fellows and 22 foreign honorary members elected this year to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers. Sagan and Harvard's Steve Miller jointly direct a new initiative sponsored by the Academy to identify ways to manage the global spread of nuclear energy without a concurrent increase in nuclear weapons proliferation or nuclear terrorism.

• » Stanford Report: Seven university scholars elected fellows of eminent learned society

April 28th, 2008

Korean NGO Activities And Perspectives For a Better World

The Second Annual POSCO NGO Fellowship Conference (part of the POSCO TJ Park NGO Fellowship Program 2008-2009) is to be held on May 1 at University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

• » Civil Society in North America: Lessons learned

Pavel Podvig receives Szilard Award

The American Physical Society has honored CISAC's Podvig for helping a establish in Moscow "a center for scientific study of arms control, for landmark analyses, and for courage in supporting open discussion of international security in Russia." Read more »

April 25th, 2008

Michael Korver speaks on venture capital in Japan

Venture capitalist, attorney, and educator Michael Korver opened SPRIE's spring seminar series on new post-bubble patterns of entrepreneurship in Japan. Korver, a managing partner in Japan's Global Venture Capital, spoke on how he has seen venture capital evolve there in light of his own firm's experiences. Audio transcript available presentation available
Read more »

April 24th, 2008

Shin: Party is over

Gi-Wook Shin, Shortenstein APARC director, urges President Lee to start strengthening U.S.-South Korea alliance, particularly, with cooperation on ratification of FTA and North Korea policy.

• » New Beginnings: Post-Election Prospects for U.S.-ROK Relations
• » Chosun.com (article in Korean)

CISAC's Hecker analyzes challenges to denuclearizing North Korea

After visiting the Yongbyon nuclear complex in February, CISAC's Co-Director Siegfried Hecker, the former head of Los Alamos National Lab, judges that North Korean officials are working in "good faith" to disable the facilities. But he warns that complete denuclearization presents formidable obstacles. Read more »

Appointment of the Inaugural Koret Fellow in Korean Studies Program

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center is pleased to announce that General (ret.) Byung Kwan Kim will join the Center for the 2008-2009 academic year as the first recipient of the Koret Fellowship in the Center's Korean Studies Program. Read more »

April 23rd, 2008

Naylor discusses rising food prices on NPR, KQED Forum

Rosamond Naylor, director of the Program on Food Security and the Environment, discusses the global food crisis on NPR's Morning Edition and KQED Forum. She also was interviewed by ABC7, while program director Marshall Burke talked to NBC11.

• » NPR: Rising demand for meat takes toll environment
• » KQED Forum: Food prices and biofuels

April 22nd, 2008

Moscow Times discusses, quotes McFaul as Obama Russian strategist

The Russian newspaper quotes CDDRL director Michael McFaul as "Obama's top Russia strategist," quoting McFaul on Obama's tendency to engage--rather than isolate--in foreign policy. Read more »

April 20th, 2008

Substantial part of carbon offset market doesn't mean reduction, Wara and Victor say

PESD scholars Michael Wara and David Victor suggest that a substantial fraction of the $12b market for international carbon offsets does not represent real reductions and that the market is unlikely to provide reliable cost-control for a domestic carbon market. Instead, they suggest that a broader array of strategies will be needed to make a real dent in developing world emissions and that more explicit cost control mechanisms be considered for a U.S. cap-and- trade market for greenhouse gases.

• » A Realistic Policy on International Carbon Offsets

April 18th, 2008

Straub appointed associate director of Korean Studies Program

David Straub, currently a Pantech Fellow at Shorenstein APARC, has been appointed associate director of the Korean Studies Program. "David has been a tremendous asset to us with his expertise and experiences on U.S.-ROK relations," said Shorenstein APARC Director Gi-Wook Shin. "As he takes on his new role with us, he will provide important leadership to the Korean Studies Program that has been expanding fast." Read more »

Newsweek: Victor looks at problems with Mexico's national oil company, effect on oil markets

What to do about Mexico's oil company, Pemex, may seem like a parochial issue of interest only to Mexicans and a few oil industry executives. But the matter should be of concern to anybody who is wondering when oil will come down off its near-record highs. Read more »

April 17th, 2008

PESD releases case study of Pemex, Mexico's national oil company

PESD has just released an 87-page case study of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico's national oil company. In "The Void of Governance: An Assessment of Pemex's Performance and Strategy," researcher Ognen Stojanovski examines how the state-owned company functions and details some of the profound challenges faced by reformers.
Read more »

Hicham Benabdallah writes about Arab democracy in age of terrorism

For the last 20 years authoritarian regimes have refashioned themselves in order to stay in power, writes CDDRL visiting scholar Hicham Benabdallah in Le Monde Diplomatique. As the middle class under these regimes becomes increasingly disengaged from local politics, many social groups see the hope for their future outside the national context. Read more »

Germany vetoes NATO membership for Ukraine, Georgia; Putin the big winner, McFaul tells National Journal

"Putin looks like the big winner this week," CDDRL Director Michael McFaul wrote in an e-mail to the National Journal from Kiev. "As one of my Ukrainian friends said, Russia de facto is already a NATO member as they have the power to veto members, while Ukraine has no such similar powers." Read more »

April 16th, 2008

Armacost: U.S., South Korea must move past years of missteps

Shorenstein APARC Distinguished Fellow Michael Armacost discusses U.S.-South Korea ties and points out challenges ahead. "From free trade to North Korea's nuclear threat," writes Armacost in the Christian Science Monitor, "both sides must move past years of missteps." Read more »