News + Media
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Analysis + OpinionSeptember 17, 2006Mexico's dangerous political chasmChappell LawsonBoston GlobeThis month, Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal formally certified Felipe Calderon's victory in the July 2 presidential election. Although this decision is the legal end of the electoral process, it will not resolve the post-electoral conflict. |
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AuditSeptember 1, 2006The US-India Nuclear Deal: Triumph of the Business LobbySubrata Ghoshroy, MITMuch has been written and spoken about the US-India nuclear agreement since Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush unveiled it on July 18, 2005, in Washington, DC. Since then, the U.S. Congress has virtually set aside its much touted concerns about proliferation of nuclear weapons and is nearly ready to approve the amendments to the 1954 Atomic Energy Act that will be necessary for the deal to be consummated. |
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AuditAugust 21, 2006Channel surfing: non-engagement as foreign policyBarbara Bodine, MITThe adoption of Security Council Resolution 1701 brought a halt to the month-long Israeli-Hezbollah war. UNIFIL will be greatly expanded with a more vigorous mandate to back Lebanese assertion of full sovereignty and control over southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah’s militia and missile sites. But is an agreement hammered out in Manhattan sustainable on the ground? |
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AuditAugust 1, 2006Why do Islamist groups become transnational and violent?Quinn Mecham, Middlebury CollegeSince al-Qaeda’s rise to prominence as the most commonly recognized Islamist group worldwide, Islamist movements are increasingly viewed as violent, transnational organizations. Most Islamist groups, however, are actually non-violent and focused on the domestic audience of their home countries. |
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Analysis + OpinionJuly 12, 2006Political polarization will strengthen Mexican democracyChappell LawsonSan Jose Mercury NewsOn July 2, Mexico held its most closely contested presidential race in 50 years. Based on his early lead, conservative candidate Felipe Calderón of the National Action Party (PAN) has insisted that he won the race and discounted any possibility that the final results might prove otherwise. Meanwhile, his leftist opponent, former Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is demanding a recount of all 42 million ballots from the election. |
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News ReleaseJuly 1, 2006Professor Barry Posen becomes Director of the MIT Security Studies ProgramBarry Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, assumed the directorship of the MIT Security Studies Program (SSP) on July 1, 2006. He succeeds MIT political scientist Harvey Sapolsky, who retired after 40 years of teaching at MIT and 15 years directing SSP, which is part of CIS. |
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Analysis + OpinionJune 28, 2006Japan's Jujitsu leaderRichard J. SamuelsBoston GlobeIn five short years, Koizumi created a more muscular Japan with more security options than at any time since the 1940s. |
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AuditJune 1, 2006Budgets to make America saferCindy Williams, MITSince September 2001, federal budgets for national security have climbed more than 50 percent in real terms. Unfortunately, much of the added money reflects “business as usual” rather than programs aimed at making the nation safer from today’s threats. |
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AuditJune 1, 2006Immigration and insecurity: post-9/11 fear in the United StatesJohn Tirman, MITThe attacks of September 11, 2001, transformed the landscape of global security, none more than borders and immigration. The topography of citizenship, belonging, and suspicion instantly changed for Arab and Muslim communities in the United States. They drew the sharp attention of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence services, and that continues. |
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News ReleaseMay 6, 2006Iraqi journalist Huda Ahmed named Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow at MIT's Center for International StudiesCIS announced today that Huda Ahmed, an Iraqi journalist who has been covering the war in Iraq for the Knight Ridder newspapers, will become the Center's second Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. The announcement was made at the Elizabeth Neuffer Forum held on May 10, 2006. |