October 19th, 2008

NY Times References Miller's Research on Economic Volatility and Health Outcomes

CHP/PCOR faculty member Grant Miller was mentioned in a recent article by the New York Times on the current recession and the societal changes that may occur. Scholars question whether the economic downturn will signify a rise in adverse health outcomes. According to some scholars, a downturn could potentially result in health benefits that are not measured by the market. The New York Times cited Miller's work on coffee price fluctuations and child survival in Colombia as an example. In a recent study, Miller found that infant and child mortality rates fell as coffee prices slumped, a result of parents having the ability to invest more time in taking care of their children. Read more »

October 17th, 2008

Vantage Point: Two views of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement

On Oct. 10, India and the United States signed a historic and controversial agreement permitting the United States to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India for civilian--that is, peaceful--energy-production purposes. Leonard Weiss, an individual affiliate of the Center on International Security and Cooperation (CISAC ), and Amandeep Singh Gill, a visiting scholar at CISAC, present different perspectives on the agreement.

• » India nuclear deal: A new beginning
• » U.S.-India nuclear agreement is reckless foreign policy

New "Stanford Pioneers in Science" Series to honor CISAC co-founder Sidney Drell's contributions to science

This month, Stanford's Continuing Studies program will launch "Stanford Pioneers in Science," a series that honors the lives and accomplishments of Stanford's most celebrated scientists--faculty who have been awarded Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science or Technology and MacArthur Fellowships. The series will first honor CISAC co-founder Sidney Drell. The science series, free and open to the public, will continue throughout the year.

• » Stanford Pioneers in Science
  
• » Stanford Pioneers in Science Series 2008-2009

October 14th, 2008

Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Anthrax...

Important planning for responding to a future anthrax attack has quietly been under way since the last attacks seven years ago. A key part of this effort has been figuring out how best to deliver prophylactic antibiotics quickly to the people living in the city that is attacked. Read more »

A silver lining to the U.S.-India nuclear deal

Although much maligned among arms control advocates, the U.S.-India nuclear might actually provide an opportunity to strengthen the NPT. CISAC's Associate Director for Research (acting) Pavel Podvig explains how in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Read more »

October 13th, 2008

CHP/PCOR conference brings entrepreneurs, industry leaders together to discuss innovation in health care reform

On September 16, 2008, the Center for Health Policy (CHP) and the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research (PCOR) hosted a unique conference at Stanford University, "Better Health, Lower Cost: Can Innovation Save Health Reform?" in honor of their 10th anniversary. Video available 5 papers available
Read more »

Perry, Drell, Shultz, Nunn lauded for arms control work

CISAC's William J. Perry, center co-founder Sid Drell, Hoover Senior Fellow George Shultz, and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn have been awarded the American Academy of Arts and Sciences' Rumford Prize in recognition of their ongoing efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons. Read more »

Nobel laureate outlines strategy to reduce nuclear proliferation risk

In Issues in Science and Technology this month, PESD senior fellow and Nobel laureate in physics, Burton Richter, discusses how the international political community might address proliferation risk inherent in the expansion of nuclear energy.
Read more »

Victor to teach political economy of energy class again this winter

PESD Director David Victor will be teaching "The Political Economy of Energy Policy" in the upcoming winter quarter. The class will introduce students to the major theoretical frameworks used by political scientists, sociologists, economists, and other intellectual disciplines to understand how societies design and implement public policies related to energy, and how the energy industry responds. Topics covered will include theories of the state, monopoly and regulation, public choice, organizational behavior, international agreements, and innovation. The class will apply these theories to major current and historical issues in energy policy, such as ethanol, climate change, energy security, the role of national oil companies in the world oil market, the functioning of OPEC, and the California electricity crisis. Read more »

October 11th, 2008

Perry to receive West Point's Thayer Award

William J. Perry will receive the Thayer Award in a ceremony Oct. 16 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The award, established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, "Father of the Military Academy," is presented to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the Military Academy motto, "Duty, Honor, Country." Read more »

October 10th, 2008

Obama advisor, CDDRL Director McFaul to square off against McCain advisor, former CIA Director Jim Woolsey

On October 14, at a special Commonwealth Club of California event in San Francisco, CDDRL Director Michael McFaul will debate former CIA Director James Woolsey on international security and how it factors into each presidential campaign's plans for the country. McFaul is a foreign policy advisor to Sen. Barack Obama; Woolsey is an advisor to Sen. John McCain.

• » America and the World: Presidential Candidate Advisors Speak on International Security
  

October 9th, 2008

Eden to share leadership of CISAC

Lynn Eden, CISAC's longtime associate director for research, has been named the center's acting co-director for the 2008-09 academic year. She replaces Scott Sagan, political science professor, who is on sabbatical. Eden's "deep knowledge of and long association with CISAC will guarantee a seamless transition," said Coit Blacker, director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, where CISAC is based. In addition, Pavel Podvig, a CISAC research associate, will step into Eden's role this year. He will be responsible for research administration, mentoring of fellows, the annual social science fellowship selection process, working with foundations, and other center-wide management.

October 6th, 2008

Rai reports on the positive impact of India's energy reforms

In an article published by UPenn's Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI), PESD research fellow Dr. Varun Rai reports on the positive impact that India's major energy policy reforms have had since 1998. Rai asserts that these policies are the right platform for India's energy future: they will provide enough transparency and the right economic signals leading to the emergence of an efficient energy system in India.
Read more »

Siegfried Hecker awarded 2008 National Materials Advancement Award

CISAC Co-Director Siegfried Hecker has been selected by the Board of Trustees of the Federation of Materials Societies to be the 2008 recipient of the National Materials Advancement Award. Read more »

SPRIE Advisory Board member Kyung Yoon to receive leadership award

Kyung Yoon, Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles and SPRIE Advisory Board member, has been selected by the Society of Asian Women Leaders to receive their Woman of the Year "Guidling Light Award for Leadership." Read more »

October 2nd, 2008

New York Times editor appointed Stanford scholar, adviser

Philip Taubman, reporter and editor at the New York Times for nearly 30 years and an expert on national security issues, has been appointed as a consulting professor at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation and as an adviser to the campus on university affairs issues. Read more »

September 30th, 2008

Krasner moderates Atherton talk on foreign affairs

Stephen Krasner, senior fellow at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and professor of international relations, moderated at an event last week discussing foreign affairs form the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the 2001 September 11th attacks of the WTC. Read more »

McFaul discussed in Moscow Times article on US election

CDDRL Director Michael McFaul is quoted in the Moscow Times in reference to his advisory role on Barack Obama's presidential campaign. McFaul, Obama's adviser on Russia, said foreign policy was still a secondary issue for most American voters. "After last week's events [on Wall Street], this is even more so," McFaul said in a telephone interview. Read more »

September 26th, 2008

Victor delivers keynote lecture at Petro Gas conference in New Delhi

David Victor delivered the keynote lecture at the 7th Annual Petro India Gas Conference in New Delhi, India on September 25. The conference was organized by India Infrastructure Publishing and focused on the significance of the industry within the context of the world energy market. In his lecture on "Regulation and Pricing in the International Gas Market" Victor highlighted some key issues that need particular attention in the rapidly changing Indian gas market.

• » Regulation and Pricing in the International Gas Market
• » Geopolitics of Gas

Straub calls for oral history project on modern Korea

David Straub, associate director of the Korean Studies Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, has proposed an oral history project to flesh out the story of U.S-Korean relations. "While books may last forever, one 'non-renewable' source of information and wisdom is the oral history of our forerunners," says Straub. " When our elders and predecessors pass away, we bitterly regret that we did not ask them more about their experiences and insights." Read more »

Siegfried Hecker awarded 2008 Los Alamos Medal

CISAC Co-Director Siegfried Hecker has been awarded Los Alamos National Laboratory's highest honor, the Los Alamos Medal. Read more »

September 24th, 2008

The myth of the authoritarian model: How Putin's crackdown holds Russia back

The conventional explanation for Vladimir Putin's popularity is straightforward. In the 1990s, under post-Soviet Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, the state did not govern, the economy shrank, and the population suffered. Since 2000, under Putin, order has returned, the economy has flourished, and the average Russian is living better than ever before. As political freedom has decreased, economic growth has increased. Putin may have rolled back democratic gains, the story goes, but these were necessary sacrifices on the altar of stability and growth. Read more »

September 23rd, 2008

The resilience of authoritarianism

Since the first gulf war, most authoritarian regimes In the Arab world have been able to maintain structures of governance that have endured since the post-World War II process of decolonization. We have not seen the emergence of agents of change capable of mounting effective political challenges. Regimes that often seemed to be losing international and domestic credibility have been able to remake themselves in ways that worked to maintain power and control. Read more »

Ethnicity in today's Europe

The Forum on Contemporary Europe (FCE) is sponsoring long-term research on questions of European integration. This year FCE has conducted a series of seminars and international conferences to bring European authors and policy leaders together with forum researchers and Stanford centers to investigate the challenges of social integration. The series has combined the study of European Union (EU) policy toward its newest members, East-West and trans-Atlantic relations, crime and social conflict, and European models of universal citizenship. 3 papers available
Read more »

Program on Global Justice: Just supply chains, liberation technology, and human rights

One of Stanford's many remarkable attractions is the Rodin sculpture garden. And perhaps the most extraordinary Rodin sculpture is his Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante's Inferno. In his Divine Comedy, Dante tells us that the inscription over the Gates of Hell is "abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Read more »