International Relations and Security

A New U.S. Defense Strategy for the 21st Century BY GREGORY WHITTEN AND ERUM JILANI THE UNITED STATES HAS EMBARKED on a new defense strategy: the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. Moving forward, the United States will play a deeper and more enduring role in promoting security and prosperity in the region. The rebalance to […]

Abstract Under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), citizens from Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands—also known as COFA migrants—are granted broad migration rights in exchange for providing the United States the use of and access to strategic military defense positioning in the Pacific. For many years, these […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, discusses the challenges to providing humanitarian assistance in Syria, the action (and inaction) of the UN Security Council in the crisis, and the politicization of aid. You can watch the interview, conducted by Jennifer Quigley-Jones, […]

Chad’s withdrawal from the international mission opens door for regional terrorist groups. As sectarian violence in the Central African Republic continues to spiral out of control, militant jihadist groups such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have taken notice. They have issued condemnations on several occasions, blaming France for […]

Srdja Popovic was a founder of the Serbian nonviolent resistance group Otpor! that led the successful campaign to unseat Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000. Popovic later served a term as a member of the Serbian National Assembly 2000-2003. In 2003, Popovic and other ex-Otpor! activists started the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Soli Özel, Professor of International Relations, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, discusses Turkey’s politics, domestic concerns, and upcoming elections.  You can watch the interview, conducted by Delphine O, editor of the Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Dr. Khalil Al-Anani, Adjunct Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, discusses the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, democratization in the Middle East and the hope for political stability in Egypt. You can watch the interview, conducted by Nada Zohdy, senior editor […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, discusses changes in the global energy market, security in the Gulf countries, and the advancement of science and technology efforts in Kuwait.  You can watch the interview, conducted by Sarath Ganji, senior […]

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Maria Fantappie, Iraq analyst at the International Crisis Group, discusses the current situation in Iraq, ongoing sectarian conflict in the country, and prospects for Iraq’s future. You can watch the interview, conducted by Jennifer Rowland, senior editor at the Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and […]

BY MATTHEW VIGEANT For the first time in two years, Iraq is back on many Americans’ radars. The media has flashed alerts about Al Qaeda taking over cities in Anbar Province, and death tolls being at their highest since 2008. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration and Congress blame each other for the violence as they debate […]

This post is the first in a series of posts summarizing events that took place at the 2013 Harvard Arab Weekend, the largest pan-Arab conference in North America. For more information about this event, please visit http://harvardarabweekend.org/ On November 9, three practitioners and academics came together at the Harvard Arab Weekend to discuss Syria’s daunting […]

On Sunday, November 23, the Obama administration announced that they had reached a preliminary deal with Iran over that country’s nuclear program. The tentative deal is being hailed in the media as a sign of rapprochement between the two historical enemies, but Banai warned during his talk that the rift runs deeper than many observers […]