News + Media

	Analysis + Opinion January 1, 2013 Japan's shifting strategic discourse Richard J. SamuelsSigur Center for Asian Studies After decades of accepting U.S. supremacy in Asia as the foundation of its foreign and security policies, finding the right distance between the U.S. and China is the most important strategic choice facing Japan today. “Getting it just right” with these two powers will require both military and economic readjustments. But it will not be easy.
	Analysis + Opinion December 11, 2012 Use of chemical weapons could be Syria’s ‘bloody crescendo’ Jim WalshWBUR: Cognoscenti After two years of civil war and more than 40,000 deaths, fears are growing in the West that Syria will unleash chemical weapons in a last-ditch act of desperation.
	Analysis + Opinion December 1, 2012 What’s killing Brazil’s police? Graham Denyer WillisNew York Times São Paulo, Latin America’s largest city, continues to descend into a violent blood feud between the police and an organized crime group, the First Command of the Capital, known by its Portuguese initials P.C.C.
	News Release November 14, 2012 Yukio Okamoto joins CIS Yukio Okamoto, a former Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan, has been named a 2012-13 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow. "Yukio Okamoto brings to MIT an unparalleled set of experiences on the world stage. The Center is delighted to have him with us to continue his research and writing, and to work with students and faculty through the next academic year," said Richard Samuels, director of the Center for International Studies and Ford International Professor of Political Science.
	In the News November 2, 2012 How civil wars evolve Fotini ChristiaMIT News MIT political scientist’s book shows how even the bloodiest conflicts feature pragmatic alliances — not just ancient sectarian divisions.
	précis November 1, 2012 précis Interview: Philip Khoury, associate provost Philip Khoury, associate provost, discusses with précis foreign policy in the Middle East, MIT's relationship to the policymaking community, and how an engineering school benefits the humanities and social science community.
	précis November 1, 2012 Alliance formation in civil wars By Fotini Christia Fotini Christia, assistant professor of political science, argues that "alliance formation [in civil wars] is tactical and motivated by a concern with victory and the maximization of wartime returns..." précis features an excerpt from her recent book.
	précis November 1, 2012 Publicity-driven accountability in China By Greg Distelhorst Can strong authorities be made accountable to weak constituencies? If so, how? Greg Distelhorst, a PhD candidate in political science, shows how media liberalization improves government accountability even in a strong, authoritarian state like China.
	précis November 1, 2012 Briefings The Starr Forum "Attack of the Drones" was held on Nov 13; Priyanka Borpujari, an independent journalist based in Mumbai, India, was selected as the 2012-13 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow; Yukio Okamoto, a former special advisor to the prime minister of Japan, has been named a 2012-13 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow.
	précis November 1, 2012 Activities The first book from the Center's US-Iran project was published in May—Becoming Enemies: US-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979-1988; Ordinary people show remarkable capacities for coping with and resisting violent actors in some of the world's most dangerous cities, a new study from the Center shows; The Center launched its first Artist in Residence Program with Kiana Hayeri; DUSP hosted a commemoration of Alice Amsden in the new Media Lab building; The International Security Studies Best Book Award Selection Committee announced the selection of Joshua Rovner, Fixing the Facts: National Security and the Politics of Intelligence (Cornell University Press, 2011) as the recipient of this year's prize; Roger Petersen's book Western Intervention in the Balkans won the ENMISA Distinguished Book Award.