Fellowship
Sustaining American Space Leadership: The Destination Debate Isn’t Enough
By Cody Knipfer |
With the start of his administration now underway, President Donald Trump’s space policy priorities remain largely undefined. Amid uncertainty about his goals for NASA, many in the space community are concerned about what the new president will set as the United States’ policy and programmatic focus in space over the next four years. Will he…
Peacebuilding in Colombia Requires Sustainable Development
By Glenn Ojeda Vega |
After years of arduous negotiation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and months of negotiation with his political opposition, President Juan Manuel Santos finally secured Congressional approval for the implementation of a peace accord with the country’s largest rebel group. If there is to be any hope for lasting peace in Colombia, key…
The United States Needs a New Regional Security Organization for the Asia-Pacific
By Robert C. Thomas |
Threats of tension and conflict in the Asia-Pacific will be a source of important security challenges facing the incoming Trump administration. Stability in the region is crucial to long-term American economic and physical security. However, the Asia-Pacific is simmering with territorial disputes, international rivalries, and political challenges that handicap cooperative responses to shared threats from…
How China is Quietly Containing India with Arms Sales
By Ian Armstrong |
Few factors are as pertinent to contemporary military strategy and diplomacy as the growing power of emerging nations, the most notable of which being China and India. It is difficult to forecast world affairs in 2017 without first considering how Beijing and New Delhi will respond—not only towards other countries, but also with regard to…
Obama Moves Too Fast on Cuba
By Anna Blue |
In his last press conference of 2016, President Barack Obama reflected on his policy toward Cuba. “Through diplomacy,” he stated, “We opened a new chapter with the people of Cuba.” Indeed, the 2014 prisoner swap and the 2015 decision to re-open an embassy in Havana were milestones in a relationship that has been fraught with…
Clearing the Way: A Path Forward Under a New US International Development Reality
By Emily Foecke |
Evaluating the future of US international development policy under each new presidential administration is a crucial exercise in charting a thoughtful, realistic path forward. Regardless of intent, President-elect Donald Trump has exhibited limited interest in the US government’s role in advancing better outcomes for anyone beyond the borders of the United States. There is, at…
Saudi Arabia: Open for Business? A few changes the Kingdom could make to improve economic growth and attract investment
By Brett Sudetic |
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars investing in big, fancy projects in an attempt to diversify its economy and create more sustainable growth for future generations. The Red Sea Project, King Abdullah Economic City, “Knowledge City”, and King Abdullah Financial District are among those developments. Some of these projects, while bold and creative, are…
Fissile Materials Must Be Controlled
By John Ashley |
On September 14, 2017, the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) hosted a panel with Japanese officials regarding the 47 metric tons of plutonium the Japanese government has stockpiled in the country. One of the panelists, a former US nuclear weapons designer, explained how, contrary to claims by the Japanese nuclear industry, this “civilian” plutonium (Pu-240)…
Deterrence Can Protect Our Critical Infrastructure from Cyberattack
By Cody Knipfer |
A sophisticated computer virus swept through Ukraine in June, wreaking havoc on systems serving the private sector and shutting down critical civil infrastructure – locking several government ministries out of their files, forcing the closure of a metro system and an airport, affecting banks and ATMs, and blacking-out power stations – before spreading across the…
Why are European Countries Investing in Iran?
By Brett Sudetic |
Post-sanctions, Iran may prove to be an emerging market for European Investors. On July 3, France’s biggest oil and gas company, Total, signed a multibillion-dollar deal to expand the development of Iran’s South Pars gas field, one of the largest in the world. This agreement is the first major oil and gas deal between a…
No One in the Wings: The Missing Successor to U.S. Leadership
By Will Moreland |
In the wake of the G20 summit in Hamburg, the United States has continued to step back from its global leadership role of the past 70 years. The Trump administration’s America First policy has raised serious doubts as to the future of a liberal international order that depends on U.S. power. Unlike past predictions, today’s…
The Mental Health Crisis in Syria: A Major Gap in Humanitarian Medical Response
By Emily Foecke Munden |
The civil war in Syria has led to a significant increase in the number of Syrians battling mental disorders. These include anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and developmental problems. Humanitarian medical providers in Syria have had to scale up mental health care on an ad-hoc basis to cope with the large number of…