February 29th, 2012

Stanford’s Straub, Hecker explain North Korea’s plan to halt nuclear program

In an agreement with Washington, Pyongyang will allow nuclear inspectors into North Korea and also receive much-needed nutritional assistance to the impoverished country. David Straub and Siegfried Hecker discuss Pyongyang’s moratorium on nuclear testing. Read more »

February 28th, 2012

A brighter future through food security

Leaders from Stanford University's Center on Food Security and the Environment discuss the Center's global and multifaceted approach to addressing issues of global hunger, poverty, climate change and environmental degradation in this five-minute overview video. Read more »

February 24th, 2012

CDDRL scholar cautions against third term for Senegalese president

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, CDDRL postdoctoral scholar Landry Signé discusses Senegal's backsliding democracy and the threat that President Abdoulaye Wade's third presidential bid poses to a country that was once West Africa's most stable. Read more »

February 21st, 2012

Expensive and unpleasant, but hepatitis C treatment is worth it, study shows

Research led by by Stanford Health Policy's Jeremy Goldhaber-Fiebert shows treatments for hepatitis C are cost-effective for patients with advanced disease. Their results are based on a computer model of hepatitis C.

• » AARP: Inside E Street Silent Epidemic: Hepatitis C More than 3 million Americans, most of them boomers, carry the potentially deadly virus (Video)

Read more »

Addressing the supply and demand side of the sex trafficking industry

Jean Enriquez, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women - Asia Pacific presented her views on sex trafficking at the sixth installment of the Sanela Diana Jenkins International Speakers Series. Read more »

February 17th, 2012

Shin Reflects on colonial era change in Korea

Japanese rule in Korea was harsh but the country witnessed significant social and economic transformation. In the process, Koreans were not simply victims or passive bystanders but active participants in the formation of colonial modernity, said Gi-Wook Shin during his keynote presentation at a conference held Feb. 16 and 17 at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Read more »

Food security, climate change and climate variability focus of Stanford-led symposium at AAAS

FSE director Roz Naylor leads symposium on the compound effects of climate change and climate variability on food security at the annual meeting of the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Read more »

IPS alum receives Oscar for Pakistan documentary

Ford Dorsey Program in International Policy Studies (IPS) 2003 alum Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won an Academy Award in the Best Documentary, Short Subject Category for her film "Saving Face." The award was given as part of the 84th annual academy awards. The film is about the work of Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon who traveled to Pakistan to perform reconstructive surgery on women who have been victims of acid throwing. Sharmeen is the first Pakistani to be nominated for and win an Oscar.

• » Asia Society interview with Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy

February 16th, 2012

Q&A: Fingar shares insight on Chinese vice president's U.S. visit

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping recently visited the United States to meet with top officials and tour various cities. China experts followed the trip closely because Xi is anticipated to become China’s next president. Thomas Fingar spoke with the Shanghai Oriental Morning Post about the visit, and about the Obama administration's Asia policy. Read more »

National oil companies can cause pain at pump, research shows

State-owned oil companies dominate the world's oil supplies, and politicians often cannot resist getting involved. When they do, the result is often excessive pollution, poor company performance and volatile oil prices. PESD's Mark Thurber makes the case in a new book.

• » Thurber's research featured in Stanford Report
• » Oil and Governance: State-owned Enterprises and the World Energy Supply

Owens appointed to national task force

The CHP/PCOR director has been appointed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group that develops national guidelines for preventive services. Read more »

Stanford Knight journalism fellows share technology ideas

During the Feb. 16 Liberation Technology Seminar, five teams from Stanford University’s John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship program shared their ideas on using technology to push the boundaries of journalism. Read more »

February 15th, 2012

Racing into the future with KleenSpeed Technologies

On Feb. 14, KleenSpeed Technologies welcomed members of the Corporate Affiliates Visiting Fellows Program to see firsthand the electric vehicle technologies being developed at its Mountain View, CA headquarters. Read more »

Human trafficking is a growing crisis, activists say

Anne Gallagher, director of the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project and Rosi Orozco, Mexican Congressional Representative and Anti-trafficking leader present their views at the fourth installment of the Sanela Diana Jenkins international speakers series. Read more »

February 14th, 2012

Thurber talks about what “clean coal” means in Asia

In his National Bureau of Asian Research interview, Mark Thurber outlines the key issues that define Asia’s rising energy demand, the emerging global market for coal, new technologies for this age-old energy source, and how stakeholders can come together to help shape the region's future energy mix. Read more »

February 13th, 2012

Understanding the complexities of China's global interactions

Since opening its doors to the world in 1978, China has pursued a sometimes erratic but reasonably steady course leading to increasing global economic and political interaction. Thomas Fingar is leading a new multiphase Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center initiative to explore the nuances and complexity of China’s foreign relations and domestic issues. The project kicks off with a Mar. 19-20 workshop at the new Stanford China Center at Peking University. Read more »

Rising Japan scholars examine the future of U.S.-Japan relations

The decades-old U.S.-Japan alliance remains a stabilizing force in the Asia-Pacific region, but it continues to evolve with changes in both countries and in the region. In January, Kenji Kushida and Phillip Lipscy joined other rising Japan studies scholars for discussions about issues confronting the relationship. Read more »

Menchik discusses the roots of religious intolerance in Indonesia

The origins of intolerance toward Indonesia's Muslim-minority sect Ahmadiyah go back to the early twentieth century, says Jeremy Menchik. In a Jakarta Post op-ed, he unearths the connections between the Indonesian government and anti-Ahmadiyah sentiment, and makes suggestions for how the country can prevent future violence.

• » Jakarta Post: The origins of intolerance toward Ahmadiyah

February 10th, 2012

Shin suggests balance, few changes as Lee's term ends

With less than a year before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's term ends, Gi-Wook Shin says that Lee should maintain his current North Korea policy, and keep balanced relations with growing trade partner China and long-time ally the United States. Shin spoke recently with the Korea Times about Lee's final months in office.

• » Korea Times: What President Lee shouldn't do

February 9th, 2012

Negotiating Assad's final exit

In an article for The New Republic's online symposium 'What Should the United States Do About Syria,' Larry Diamond argues that multilateral engagement is the best approach to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Read more »

Kathleen Reen discusses Internet security and safe computing

Kathleen Reen, vice president for Asia and New Media programs at Internews, delivered the Feb. 9 Liberation Technology Seminar on the topic of "Strategies and Support for a Global Open Internet." Read more »

February 8th, 2012

ARD scholar Elias Muhanna nominated for Next Century Foundation award

Program on Arab Reform and Democracy scholar Elias Muhanna, the blogger behind qifanabki.com, has been nominated for a special award for an outstanding contribution to new media by the Next Century Foundation. Read more »

February 6th, 2012

Q&A: Stanford’s Cuéllar and US diplomat on human rights and the Internet

U.S. Ambassador Eileen Donahoe recently brought fellow diplomats to Stanford to meet with scholars, human rights activists, and Silicon Valley leaders to address questions engendered by a free and open Internet. She joins CISAC’s Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar for a discussion about the potential and challenges facing the online frontier. Read more »

Will human rights dominate the international stage by 2022?

In a piece for Global Brief magazine, Helen Stacy makes predictions about the state of international human rights norms and criminal prosecutions in the year 2022. Read more »

February 4th, 2012

Are the days of web surfing over?

In an opinion piece for The New York Times on Feb. 4, Evgeny Morozov declares the days of cyberspace exploration over, snuffed out by the world of social media and search engine optimization. Read more »

February 3rd, 2012

Wolak speaks on California's power and carbon markets

PESD director Frank A. Wolak presented at Platt's 7th annual California Power Market Forum on the impacts of the recent implementation of convergence (or virtual) bidding in the California wholesale electricity market. Frank also chaired a panel discussion on the progress of the implementation of California's AB 32 law, which seeks to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Read more »

February 2nd, 2012

Indonesian campaign poster symbolism and political identity

Riding around on the back of a motorcycle in 2009, Jeremy Menchik snapped photos of hundreds of Indonesian campaign posters. That number has now grown to over 5000 images, which Menchik and Colm Fox have painstakingly coded and analyzed. The initial results of their research reveal similarities between the United States and Indonesia, and shed light on the transitional democracies of the Arab Spring. Read more »

Make Parliament bigger, says popular blogger Elias Muhanna

Arab Reform and Democracy scholar Elias Muhanna spoke with The Daily Star, a Beirut-based newspaper, about the idea of introducing a bicameral legislature to Lebanon. Muhanna commented on what this would mean for the political system at large and how far it would go in repairing the deep governance issues that have divided the Lebanese polity for decades. Read more »

February 1st, 2012

Stanford democracy experts examine Asia, Middle East

CDDRL scholars Larry Diamond, Francis Fukuyama, and Ahmed Benchemsi published articles in the January issue of the Journal of Democracy examining the state of democratic development in two pivotal regions – Asia and the Middle East. Read more »

New Asia Pacific Observatory represents unique regional partnership

The Asia Pacific Observatory of Health Systems and Policies is a new regional initiative to promote evidence-based health policymaking in the Asia-Pacific region. The Observatory represents a unique partnership of governments, development agencies, and the research community working together. Read more »

The Europe Center announces publication of new Nelly Sachs biography

The richly illustrated Nelly Sachs: Flight and Metamorphosis marks the first time that the biography of Nelly Sachs has been made available in English. Read more »