"The nature of modern identity, however, is to be changeable. Some individuals may persuade themselves that their identity is based on their biology and is outside their control. But citizens of modern societies have multiple identities, ones that are shaped by social interactions. People have identities defined by their race, gender, workplace, education, affinities, and nation. And although the logic of identity politics is to divide societies into small, self-regarding groups, it is also possible to create identities that are broader and more integrative. One does not have to deny the lived experiences of individuals to recognize that they can also share values and aspirations with much broader circles of citizens. Lived experience, in other words, can become just plain experience—something that connects individuals to people unlike themselves, rather than setting them apart. So although no democracy is immune from identity politics in the modern world, all of them can steer it back to broader forms of mutual respect," writes CDDRL Mosbacher Director Francis Fukuyama. Read here. 

There are a billion guns in the world today. Those firearms took the lives of about 251,000 people in 195 countries in 2016, according to new research. 

That’s a lot of guns and fatalities, mostly by homicide, suicide and accidents with firearms.

About 35 percent of those gun deaths were by Americans committing suicide.

In the most comprehensive investigation of its kind, the findings, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), show 64 percent of firearm-related deaths were homicides, 27 percent were suicides and 9 percent were unintentional deaths.

And in all but one year of the 27-year study period — 1994 due to the Rwandan genocide — firearm deaths were more common along sidewalks than on the battlefields.

“This constitutes a major public health problem for humanity,” said Stanford Health Policy’s David Studdert, a professor of medicine and professor of law.

In an accompanying editorial alongside the research by a consortium of public health experts, the Global Burden of Disease 2016 Injury Collaborators, Studdert and his co-authors write:

“Injuries and deaths from firearms are increasingly part of modern consciousness, particularly in some countries. In the United States, gun-related massacres at schools, places of worship, workplaces, night clubs, and recreational venues have seared images of innocent victims in the minds of the populace. In the United States and elsewhere, acts of terrorism committed with firearms and other lethal means have changed the way people live, work, travel, and play.”

But Studdert and his co-authors — firearms and public health experts Frederick P. Rivara at the University of Washington and Garden J. Wintemute at the University of California, Davis — argue that the deaths from these headline-generating mass shootings and terrorist attacks are only a fraction of the public health burden of firearm-related murders and suicides.

“Mass shootings and terrorism perpetrated with guns are the most visible forms of firearm violence,” Studdert told SHP. “But most firearm deaths are private tragedies. They are homicides and suicides that occur behind closed doors, leaving families and communities devastated.”

The global burden of firearm mortality is highly concentrated, according to the research. In 2016, six countries in the Americas — Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela and Guatemala — accounted for slightlymore than 50 percent of all deaths.

An estimated 32 percent of the deaths occurred in just two countries, Brazil and the United States, with Brazil accounting for one-fourth of all firearm homicides and the United States 35 percent of all firearm suicides.

“For individuals living in the United States, where the national policy debate has focused largely on interpersonal violence, the study provides a reminder of the importance of firearm suicide. In 2016, there were 2 firearm suicides for every firearm homicide, a margin that has widened over the past decade as suicide rates have increased and homicide rates have been relatively flat. Older white non-Hispanic men are at greatest risk of firearm suicide. Research and prevention efforts in the United States should proceed from a more inclusive definition of firearm violence.”

The authors believe more robust methods for estimating the number and distribution of firearms — as well as a better understanding of access — are critically important in determining which policies and prevention strategies are most effective and how best to implement them.

Studdert and his fellow researchers said research on firearm violence and public health has been impeded by the Dickey Amendment, the 1996 bill that mandated “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control  at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”

“In the absence of this funding, several private foundations have stepped in to fill the void," they wrote. "However, real progress in addressing the vast public health problem that the Global Burden of Injury Collaborators document will depend on sustained action from governments in both research and policy.”

"Samuel Huntington was not right about everything. Rather, his greatness lay in his ability to conceptualize big ideas in a wide variety of fields," writes Francis Fukuyama in this comparative article. Read here.

Colin H. Kahl will serve as co-director of the social sciences for Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).

Kahl, a top international security expert and veteran White House advisor, is the Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) for International Studies. He begins his new position on September 1, following Amy Zegart, the previous co-director for the social sciences. Rodney Ewing is the CISAC co-director for science and engineering.

Prior to Stanford, Kahl was an associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. From 2014 to 2017, he was deputy assistant to the U.S. president and national security advisor to the vice president. In that position, he served as a senior advisor to President Obama and Vice President Biden on all matters related to U.S. foreign policy and national security affairs, and represented the Office of the Vice President as a standing member of the National Security Council Deputies’ Committee.

Kahl’s research is focused on American grand strategy and a range of contemporary international security challenges, particularly digital and nuclear security, which are core CISAC research areas.  He also leads the Middle East Initiative at FSI. The Initiative seeks to improve understanding of how developments in the Middle East impact people in the region and security around the globe.

In the Winter Quarter, Kahl will teach a course, “Decision Making and U.S. Foreign Policy,” in the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy program; he will also co-teach CISAC’s introductory class, “International Security in a Changing World.”

“For more than three decades, CISAC has been one of the nation’s premier centers for interdisciplinary research on international affairs,” Kahl said. “The Center has a long tradition of bringing together social scientists and hard scientists to conduct cutting edge, policy-relevant research on some of the most pressing security challenges we face,” Kahl said. “I look forward to working with Rod Ewing and my other CISAC colleagues to continue and expand upon this tradition of excellence.”

“Colin Kahl, who has both academic and extensive policy experience through his work in government and think tanks, will be a terrific co-director and asset to CISAC,” said Ewing.

“We are thrilled that Colin will be leading CISAC with Rod Ewing. Colin’s extensive experience in both theory and policy will enhance CISAC’s work in all areas,” said FSI Director and Senior Fellow Michael McFaul.

Kahl received his B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan (1993) and his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University (2000).

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Colin H. Kahl, Center for International Security and Cooperation: ckahl@stanford.edu
Katy Gabel, Center for International Security and Cooperation: (650) 725-6488, kgabel@stanford.edu