News + Media

	News@E40 November 18, 2008 Experts' call to improve U.S. relations with Iran A group of scholars and former diplomats has issued a "Joint Experts' Statement on Iran" calling for a change of U.S. direction to emphasize diplomacy. The statement was written with the help of several scholars with Center connections, including research associate Jim Walsh, executive director John Tirman, and research affiliates Sanam Anderlini (one of the group's organizers), Ali Banuazizi, and Juan Cole. Geoffrey Forden, of MIT's Program in Science, Technology and Society, is another participant. The effort, co-chaired by Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and James Dobbins, calls on the new administration to "open the door to direct, unconditional and comprehensive negotiations at the senior diplomatic level where personal contacts can be developed, intentions tested, and possibilities explored on both sides." The experts' statement, which calls for a step-by-step approach to improve bilateral relations in the interest of U.S. security, is stirring widespread interest following a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday, November 18. Full Statement (PDF)
	News@E40 November 17, 2008 Conflict resolution in Jerusalem The Center's Jerusalem Seminar Series presents its final talk on Thursday, Nov. 20, with Susan Collin Marks as guest lecturer. Marks is the executive vice president of Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution and management organization. A South African, she served as a peacemaker and peace-builder under the auspices of the National Peace Accord during South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. She lived for two years in Jerusalem co-directing Search for Common Ground's Middle East Program. Her talk, Building Peace from the Ground Up: Conflict Resolution and Civil Society in Jerusalem, commences at 4:30p, in MIT Bldg. 3-133.
	News@E40 November 13, 2008 Starr Forum: Obama and science policy The Center's Starr Forum is hosting an advice session to the Obama administration on science and the future of America. Leading the discussion will be Marc Kastner, Donner Professor of Physics and Dean of Science at MIT. Eugene Skolnikoff, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at MIT and a former director of CIS, will chair the discussion. The event will be at the Broad Institute auditorium on Wednesday, November 19, at 6p. More information »
	News@E40 November 7, 2008 Graduate funding opportunities Graduate funding opportunities with application deadlines approaching include the CIS Summer Study Grant and the National Security Education Program's Boren Fellowships. The Center's Summer Study Grant provides funds for doctoral students in international affairs on a broad range of issues. NSEP's Boren fellowships enable U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Information about a variety of fellowships and other funding opportunities are available here.
	News@E40 November 7, 2008 Fellowship for undergraduates Monday, January 5, 2009, is the application deadline for the CIS-administered research fellows program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Applicants must be graduating seniors or have graduated within the past year, and must not have started graduate school. Successful applicants are matched with a senior associate—academics, former government officials, lawyers and journalists from around the world—to work on a variety of international affairs issues. Fellowships begin August 1, 2009. More information »
	Audit November 1, 2008 Recovering the liberal foreign policy tradition Nick Bromell, University of Massachusetts, and John Tirman, MIT Over the course of the seemingly endless 2008 electoral campaign, Barack Obama chose not to formulate a coherent and distinctive foreign policy. Aside from calling for a redeployment of military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan and expressing a greater willingness to open talks with countries like Iran, he never explained to voters exactly how he would manage foreign affairs differently from John McCain or, for that matter, from George W. Bush.
	Audit November 1, 2008 State-building and US foreign policy Jeremy Allouche, University of Oxford Since the early 1990s, state-building has become an important objective of American foreign policy. This can be explained by the fact that failed states have been perceived since the end of the Cold War as a major security concern. Under the Clinton administration, failed states were qualified as major threats to global security.
	News@E40 October 28, 2008 Bustani Seminar: 'Who Speaks for Islam?' On Tuesday, November 4, the Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar brings to MIT, Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. Her talk, "Who Speaks for Islam," is based on her new book, Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. The talk commences at 4:30p in MIT Bldg E51-095.
	News@E40 October 28, 2008 Jerusalem talks conclude with built & civil society The Center's fall 2008 Jerusalem Seminar Series concludes with the following talks: "Architecture and the Built Environment," by Nili Portugali, The Technion, on Thursday, October 30, 4p, MIT Blg 4, Rm 237; and "Civil Society and Conflict Resolution," by Susan Collin Marks, Search for Common Ground, on Thursday, November 20, 4:30p, MIT Bldg 3, Rm 133. The series explores the history, economy, physical structure, and civil society of Jerusalem. The talks are free and open to the public.
	News@E40 October 23, 2008 A conversation with Admiral Fallon The Center is honored to host a Starr Forum with Admiral William Fallon, former head of CENTCOM, on Tuesday, October 28. He will address global issues of national importance for the next U.S. administration just one week before the national election. Admiral Fallon joined CIS as a 2008-09 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow. The talk will commence at 4:30p at the Wong auditorium (MIT Tang Center, 70 Memorial Drive). EVENT DETAILS »