News + Media

	News Release January 7, 2009 MIT scholars offer advice to President Obama Barack Obama will be flooded with advice on the many critical matters he must face as 44th president of the United States, as will the new Congress. To that end, scholars at MIT's Center for International Studies (CIS) offer fresh ideas, succinctly stated, on issues ranging from security strategy to the financial crisis to human rights.
	Analysis + Opinion January 6, 2009 Iran, Iran, Iran William Luers, Thomas R. Pickering and Jim WalshNew York Times Three of the most pressing national security problems facing the Obama administration - nuclear proliferation, the war in Iraq and the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan - have one thing in common: Iran. All three challenges are, in principle, amenable to diplomatic solution, but only if we give it a try. Success on any of the three will not be possible without serious engagement with Iran.
	News@E40 January 5, 2009 Kirshner teaches IAP course CIS is delighted to bring Mia Kirshner, actor and author of I Live Here, to teach an IAP course. I Live Here is a multimedia publication that presents the first-hand stories of refugees and displaced people in four corners of the world. Mirroring the multimedia approach of the book, the two-week course will ask participants to create their own short videos based on hidden stories that need to be heard within the greater Boston community. The documentaries will be featured on the CIS website and will also be shown at a CIS-sponsored event with Mia Kirshner on Thursday, January 29. All CIS-sponsored IAP courses are available here.
	News@E40 January 1, 2009 CIS sponsors East Asia working group CIS is sponsoring a new working group focused on East Asia's regional security. Using the strengths of both the Political Science Department and the Center's Security Studies Program, the goal is to create a regular forum for discussion of ongoing security developments in this dynamic region. The new group is one of several CIS-sponsored groups that tackle research issues not confined to a single department. The groups are structured to generate meaningful scholarly work on a host of academic and policy issues and are open to both faculty and students. Visit CIS Working Groups to learn more.
	In the News December 20, 2008 Eugene Skolnikoff: the pioneer of science diplomacy bridges Eugene B. Skolnikoff is one of the pioneers who recognized the value of S&T in foreign relations. One of the founding fathers of "Science Diplomacy," he has been working on science in foreign policy for almost 50 years. He served on the science advisory staff under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Carter, and has had a distinguished academic career at MIT, where he is now professor emeritus of political science. He kindly agreed to speak with about his decades-long experience in the field of science and public policy, how the Soviets opened the opportunity for him to join the White House, and why he thinks that global warming is not the most pressing foreign policy issue for science diplomacy.
	In the News December 5, 2008 A 'Once-in-a-Century' Financial Crisis-Mortgaging the Future: How We Got in This Mess & Why It Could Happen Again Robert MadsenEconomy, Culture & History Japan SPOTLIGHT Bimonthly (November/December 2008): Pages 30-33 Overcoming the present financial crisis—which Alan Greenspan recently described as "a once-in-a-century" disaster—and shoring up the foundations of the world economy will doubtless require several years. In the meantime, the recriminations have already begun. Most of the criticism justifiably centers on the United States, whose poorly regulated real estate and mortgage markets precipitated the trouble and whose investment banks, hedge funds, and other institutions almost instantaneously transformed it into a worldwide phenomenon. It would be a mistake, however, to limit the scope of the inevitable scrutiny to just the United States or even the global financial system, for many other institutions also played significant roles in these tragic events.
	Audit December 1, 2008 US and Colombia: a growing military intervention? Jenny Manrique Cortés, MIT Colombia is one of the closest friends of American foreign policy. A country of 44 million, Colombia has been fighting for years against two scourges that have turned into primordial interests for the US: drug trafficking and terrorism.
	In the News December 1, 2008 The future of the American frontier John TirmanThe American Scholar Can one of our most enduring national myths, much in evidence in the recent presidential campaign, be reinvented yet again?
	In the News November 25, 2008 Fallon: US needs strategy on China Bryan BenderBoston Globe Former top commander says Pentagon officials insisted he prepare for war with China.
	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)