China's drive to catch up "animates a great deal of the military planning" in the U.S. policy establishment, writes Sheena Chestnut, a former CISAC honors student, in her contribution with Alastair Iain Johnston to The People’s Republic of China at 60: An International Assessment. But there is "no consensus on how one would know whether China is rising relative to the dominant state in the system, the United States."
CISAC's Tom Isaacs participated in a discussion on nuclear energy in America for the World Affairs Council Northern California.
Event Description:
The 8.9 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 set in motion one of the largest nuclear disasters in almost three decades. It also renewed the debate over the future of nuclear energy in the US and abroad. With 104 nuclear power plants across the country, generating about 20 percent of America's energy, there is no doubt that we are currently dependent on nuclear energy, yet the debate over this highly contentious technology is far from resolved. The three panelists will discuss what this disaster means for the future of US energy. How will the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant shape future energy policies and public opinion, and are there existing renewable technologies capable of fulfilling the world’s energy needs? Will nuclear energy be the fuel of the 21st century, or a relic of the past?
Listen to the talk by clicking the link below.
V. John White
Executive Director
Speaker
Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies
Per F. Peterson
Chair
Speaker
Department of Nuclear Engineering, UC Berkeley
Tom is Co-Principal Investigator for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Developing Spent Fuel Strategies (DSFS) project coordinating international cooperation on issues at the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle with emphasis on spent fuel management and disposal in Pacific Rim countries. Participants include senior nuclear officials from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Canada, and the United States.
Tom advises national nuclear waste programs on facility siting, communications, stakeholder engagement, and public trust and confidence. He has worked with the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) for 15 years.
Tom was recently named as the Chair of the recently formed Experts Team to support Southern California Edison at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Previously Tom was a Consulting Professor at CISAC, lead advisor to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, Member of the National Academy of Sciences Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, Director of Planning at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and long time senior executive at the Department of Energy where he led the siting of Yucca Mountain as the nation’s candidate site for a geologic repository.
He has degrees in Engineering, Applied Physics, and Chemical Engineering from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Since news of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake broke, the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.
“We are still trying to absorb the magnitude and meaning of an earthquake that dwarfed anything seen in Japan—a country that is known for seismic activity—for probably more than a millennium,” said Daniel C. Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), while moderating an April 26 seminar co-sponsored by the School of Earth Sciences and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).
It is too soon to know the full domestic and global impact of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake and its ensuing tsunami and nuclear accident. Japan is grappling to aid victims, to resolve the danger at the Fukushima nuclear complex, and to move forward with rebuilding amidst political debates and disrupted systems. The global supply chain suffered setbacks of unknown scale, and the disaster-readiness of the world’s other earthquake-prone coastal areas have come under scrutiny. Since news of the earthquake broke, Shorenstein APARC, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.
During a March 21 CISAC event about the nuclear crisis, Shorenstein APARC director emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto predicted that Japan would weather the blow to its economy and emerge with a “new sense of national mission.” The next week, Michio Harada, Deputy Counsel General at San Francisco’s Consulate General of Japan, joined a Shorenstein APARC discussion before an overflowing audience of concerned students and interested public on the future of Japan’s energy, economy, and politics. Participants agreed that the disaster could have long-term government and policy impacts and that resolving the nuclear situation was the most immediate concern. Despite the challenges, they predicted that Japan would ultimately recover.
The Nuclear Crisis in Japan Seminar (video) March 21, 2011
During an April 22–23 conference organized by the center’s Stanford Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (STAJE), a panel of Japan scholars discussed the implications of the disaster for business and research trends. Takeo Hoshi of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) suggested that the post-disaster redistribution of human capital could potentially accelerate Japan's long-term growth. UCSD scholar and STAJE Academic Advisory Group member Ulrike Schaede offered a detailed analysis of the sometimes hidden but vital place of Japanese firms in the global supply chain and the impact of the earthquake on that role.
Masahiko Aoki, an FSI senior fellow affiliated with Shorenstein APARC, presented at the April 26 seminar moderated by Sneider, the second in a two-day series about the domestic and global impacts of the earthquake. He offered insights into social, economic, and institutional aspects of the March events, noting the element of human error involved in the Fukushima accident. Aoki suggested that the situation presented an opportunity for significant institutional reform in Japan, including a reorganization of the country’s nuclear energy system.
Great Tohoku, Japan DisasterSymposium (video) April 26, 2011
Above all, Shorenstein APARC believes that Japan will recover, and its connection to its friends, colleagues, and affiliates there remains an important center priority. In addition to frequent telephone and e-mail communication, the center will reconnect in person with a large number of its Japan affiliates in September during the annual Stanford Kyoto Trans-Asian Dialogue (DISCONTINUED).
“Ambassador from Silicon Valley negotiates the storm in Japan” (text no longer available) March 20, 2011 San Jose Mercury News article with commentary by Daniel C. Sneider
Nippon Steel's facility damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is seen at a port in Kamaishi. Such damage has impacted the entire global supply chain. | REUTERS/Toru Hanai
China eyes natural resource deposits in the South China Sea to meet its significant energy needs, creating friction between itself, the countries in the region, and the United States, which could be called upon to mediate. Southeast Asia Forum director Donald K. Emmerson and former Shorenstein Fellow John Ciorciari consider the economic and diplomatic aspects of China’s sovereignty claims in a recent flare-up of this ongoing dispute.
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A row of wind turbines in the Philippines faces the South China Sea -- a striking contrast to the race for underwater natural resources. | Paolo Dala
Roz Naylor will be lecturing on climate variability, rice production, and food policy in Indonesia as part of Brown University's conference on Climate Change and its Impacts. This conference will focus on changes in the supply of and demand for water in the 21st century, due both to changes in regional climate and to human population growth and development patterns. Major themes will include predicted changes in regional hydrologic cycles; resilience of existing social, economic, civil, ecological, and agricultural systems to likely changes; the potential of global and local institutions to increase the resilience of these systems; and what can be learned from one region to inform effective design of policies and water management structures in other regions.
The conference is part of a larger institutional effort under the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes (BIARI). Throughout the Institute, participants will focus on developing interdisciplinary research through communication and joint development of projects.
Senior Fellow, Emerita, Stanford Woods Institute and Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies,
William Wrigely Professor, Emerita, Department of Environmental Social Sciences
Roz_low_res_9_11_cropped.jpg
PhD
Rosamond (Roz) Naylor is the William Wrigley Professor, Emerita, of Global Environmental Policy in the Doerr School of Sustainability; and founding Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment (FSE) at Stanford University. Her research focuses on policies and practices to improve global food security and protect the environment on land and at sea. She has been involved in numerous field-level research projects around the world with her students and has published widely on issues related to global food systems, food policy, and aquaculture. She is the co-chair of The Blue Food Assessment, an international initiative aimed at providing a comprehensive scientific evaluation of the sustainability, nutrition, equity, and justice dimensions of aquatic foods cultured and captured in freshwater and marine environments within the global food system. She is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), a Pew Marine Fellow, and a Leopold Leadership Fellow. She is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Aspen Global Change Institute and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Oceana. At Stanford, she teaches courses on The World Food Economy, Human Society and Environmental Change, and Food and Security.
Puangthong Pawakapan is an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She spent the 2010-11 academic year with SEAF as a Shorenstein APARC-Asia Foundation scholar working on the controversy and conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over their common border in and near the temple of Preah Vihear. The result of her research and writing is a draft monograph provisionally entitled "From Cooperation to Disintegration: State and Uncivil Society in Thailand and the Temple of Preah Vihear." Congratulations to Prof. Pawakapan, and best wishes for success in seeking its publication.
The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is pleased to announce that undergraduate senior honors student Yihana von Ritter was awarded The Firestone Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Research for her outstanding thesis examining HIV/AIDS policy in Papua New Guinea. Von Ritter was presented with the award at a ceremony held on June 11 during commencement weekend at Stanford University.
Larry Diamond with Yihana von Ritter (Firestone awardee)
Von Ritter, a political science major, spent the summer of 2010 on the Papua New Guinea island of Karkar, where she performed extensive field research. She interviewed over 40 government officials, medical personnel, religious and civic leaders, youth, and HIV positive individuals. Her thesis entitled "Between Hope and Despair: An Assessment of HIV/AIDS Policy in Papua New Guinea," underscored the fact that while only 1% of Papua New Guinea's adult population is AIDS-infected, a public health crisis is looming if preventative policies are not swiftly adopted.
According to her thesis co-advisor Professor Emeritus David Abernethy, Von Ritter's thesis received the Firestone Medal--awarded to the top ten percent of honors theses in social science, science, and engineering--for its remarkable combination of social science analysis and informed policy advocacy.
"Von Ritter provides policy-relevant recommendations in her thesis to enhance interagency communication and encourage active government leadership (in Papua New Guinea)," said Abernethy. Von Ritter also worked closely with Francis Fukuyama, FSI senior fellow and CDDRL faculty member, who provided guidance and support during the thesis writing process.
Purun Cheong and Kamil Dada were both recipients of the CDDRL Undergraduate Honors Program "Best Thesis Award" for their outstanding research and policy-relevant scholarship. Cheong, an international relations major, critically evaluated the failed United Nations state-building efforts in East Timor in his thesis, "When the Blind lead: The United Nations in East Timor-Lessons in State Building."
After spending a summer conducting research in Pakistan, Dada, a political science major, wrote "Understanding International Democracy Assistance: A Case Study of Pakistan," a sobering account of democracy assistance to Pakistan. Cheong and Dada were both advised by CDDRL director Larry Diamond.
CDDRL congratulates the 2011 graduating class of CDDRL Undergraduate Honors
Students:
Purun Cheong
International Relations
"When the Blind Lead: The United Nations in East Timor- Lessons in State Building"
Kamil Dada
Political Science
"Understanding International Democracy Assistance: A Case study of Pakistan"
Sarah Guerrero
International Relations
"Automation Nation: Electronic Elections, Electoral Governance and Democratic Consolidation in the Philippines"
Ayesha Lalji
International Relations
"Unleashing the Cheetah Generation: How Mobile Banking Enables Access to Capital for the Poor in Developing Countries"
Lauren Swartz
International Relations
"Agribusiness as a Means of Economic Development: Case Studies of Chile and Mexico"
Ann Thompson
History
"The Other Side of the Coin: The US Military and Afghan Women in Contemporary Counterinsurgurgency Operations"
Yihana von Ritter
Political Science
"Between Hope and Despair: An Assessment of HIV/AIDS Policy in Papua New Guinea"
On Monday, June 13, 2011, as part of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's colloquium series, Richard Morse from the Program on Energy on Sustainable Development led the talk on “Addressing the ‘Coal Renaissance’ in a Post-Kyoto World.”
Morse discussed the outlook for global carbon policy, how international coal markets are evolving, and what strategies and technologies might realistically be used to reduce emissions from coal. This Included discussions on the latest developments in Europe, China, and the US in carbon policy, and an analysis of international coal markets highlighting key issues for the future of Chinese energy consumption.
The Southeast Asia Forum looks forward to the August publication of The Institutional Imperative: The Politics of Equitable Development in Southeast Asia by former Shorenstein Fellow Erik Kuhonta (2003–04). In his new book, Kuhonta argues that the realization of equitable development hinges heavily on strong institutions and on moderate policy and ideology. Allen Hicken of the University of Michigan praised The Institutional Imperative, saying: "This boldly comparative book will be widely read, widely assigned, and widely debated in the field. There are few comparable works out there.”
Larry Diamond with Yihana von Ritter (Firestone awardee)
