March 13th, 2013

CDDRL director Larry Diamond expands democratic teachings beyond the Stanford classroom

In April, CDDRL Director Larry Diamond will be teaching a free 10 –week online course on comparative democratic development. The course will provide a broad and introductory survey of the political, social, cultural, economic, institutional, and international factors that foster or obstruct the development and consolidation of democracy. Read more »

March 12th, 2013

Tackling development challenges in Africa, three social entrepreneurs join Stanford community

In April, three social entrepreneurs working to advance social, economic, and political change in Africa will spend the spring quarter in residency at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Read more »

March 7th, 2013

Stanford conference focuses on the role of women and international development

On March 2, the Stanford Association for International Development held their annual conference exploring the role of women in international development. Co-sponsored by CDDRL, the event featured a keynote address by Nancy Lindborg, the assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance to the United States Agency for International Development. Read more »

Spring 2013 Course: IR 142 Challenging the Status Quo

The course is offered during the spring 2013 quarter featuring three social entrepreneurs working to advance political, economic, and social change in Africa. Read more »

March 5th, 2013

Report released on the North Korea problem and the necessity for South Korean leadership

Shorenstein APARC recently released a policy report explaining why, of the new governments on and around the Korean Peninsula, only the South Korean government of President Park Geun-hye may have an opportunity to revive North Korea diplomacy. Read more »

Corn getting thirstier with climate change

A new study led by FSE associate director David Lobell finds water stress may be the main culprit behind diminishing crop yields at higher temperatures. The paper appeared in the March online edition of Nature Climate Change. Read more »

March 4th, 2013

Stanford conference to explore right to information and technology

On March 11-12, the Program on Liberation Technology at CDDRL is convening a conference to examine digital tools and their impact on the development of democratic development. Hosted in partnership with U.C. Berkeley’s Data and Democracy Initiative, the two-day conference will bring together academics, practitioners, and policy-makers. Read more »

International banking standards in the US, Japan, and the EU

Based on research conducted at Stanford, a working paper by Minoru Aosaki explores economic impacts and policy challenges related to Basel III, the new international standard of banking regulation, in the United States, Japan, and the European Union.

• » Implementation of Basel III: Economic Impacts and Policy Challenges in the United States, Japan, and the European Union

ARD conference takes place in Tunis, March 28-29

The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy is holding its fourth annual conference in Tunis on March 28-29. This year's conference theme 'Building Bridges: Towards Viable Democracies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya' examines the cornerstones of democratic transition in those countries. It will address: - Constitution drafting - National dialogues and civil society - Political coalitions and Islamism - Political participation and pluralism - Economic policy - Arab relations with the USA and Europe Read more »

March 1st, 2013

Stanford students head to African refugee camps on design project

Four Stanford students are traveling to Africa, making their way to remote refugee camps along the Sudanese border to research ways in which technology and design innovation can improve conditions for refugees and their surrounding communities. The trip evolved out of a UN-CISAC project and Stanford Law School class, "Rethinking Refugee Communities." Read more »

February 28th, 2013

Despite significant reform, gaps remain in China's health care system

Despite significant efforts to reform health care in China, says Karen Eggleston, coverage is "wide but shallow." Eggleston has written about the Chinese government's ambitious reforms.

• » Newsweek
• » Milken Institute Review

Students take part in UN simulation to debate Iran's nuclear program

CISAC faculty member Amy Zegart writes in Foreign Policy about Stanford's popular UN Security Council simulation, which this year took on a hypothetical nuclear crisis in Iran. More than 150 students represented 23 countries in the 48 hours of mock debate. Read more »

February 27th, 2013

Cautious optimism over return of Japan's conservative party

Amidst optimism about the return to power of Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party, there is also cause for caution, says Daniel Sneider.

• » Drinking from the Poisoned Well
• » The National Interest essay
• » Reuters interview

Hecker steps down as co-director, but not away from CISAC

Siegfried Hecker, CISAC's co-director for five years, is stepping down from his leadership role to take a sabbatical and work on his book. He'll return this summer as a senior fellow at CISAC and FSI and to co-teach the popular "Technology and National Security" class. Read more »

February 26th, 2013

Agricultural climate adaptation can mitigate too

Adapting to climate change or mitigating climate change – which would you choose to invest your cash in? A new study shows that when it comes to agriculture, adaptation measures can also generate significant mitigation effects, making them a highly worthwhile investment. Read more »

February 25th, 2013

Funding research in the world's poorest places

FSI's Global Underdevelopment Action Fund fuels interdisciplinary work across Stanford and helps put researchers in the field where they're trying to solve some of the world's toughest problems. Read more »

Stanford scientists help shed light on key component of China's pollution problem

A new study co-authored by FSE affiliated faculty Peter Vitousek reveals, among other findings, that amounts of nitrogen deposited on land and water in China by way of rain, dust and other carriers increased by 60 percent annually from the 1980s to the 2000s, with profound consequences for the country’s people and ecosystems. Read more »

February 21st, 2013

The historical roots of ethnic conflict in India

Stopping ethnic violence in India begins with understanding the history behind it, says Ajay Verghese, a current Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow. His research explores the roots of conflict in two demographically similar regions of Rajasthan. Read more »

Stanford scholar explains the strengthening of prison gangs in Brazil

The recent terror attacks that have swept across the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil were orchestrated by newly ascendant prison gangs to protest the abuse of inmates by prison guards. Benjamin Lessing, a CDDRL and CISAC post-doctoral fellow, argues that mass arrests should not be the strategy adopted. Read more »

February 20th, 2013

New Stanford project on entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring

CDDRL's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University is pleased to announce the launch of a new research project on entrepreneurship after the Arab Spring. The project, led by Dr. Amr Adly who has just joined ARD from Egypt, focuses on addressing ways to overcome the barriers facing entrepreneurs in Egypt and Tunisia. Read more »

Inequality in schools threatens American prosperity

CISAC Co-Director Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, co-chair of the federal Equity and Excellence Commission, explains why the growing achievement gap in education threatens American prosperity. Read more »

February 19th, 2013

Latest research examines link between violence and economic growth

In a report for the Inter-American Development Bank, CDDRL's Program on Poverty and Governance research team explores the relationships between economic outputs and drug trafficking violence in Mexico. Read more »

A Soon-To-Be Global Nuclear Leader? The European Union in Global Nuclear Politics

Since its inception, the European Union has come under criticism that it has consistently shied away from taking full-fledged global political and security responsibilities despite its role as an economic powerhouse on the world stage. Francesca Giovannini, TEC and CISAC Post-Doctoral Fellow, discusses how this is now changing, with the EU clearly taking the lead in global nuclear governance and how this assumption of a global leadership role presents both opportunities and challenges within the EU. Read more »

Autocracy is here for now, but is it here to stay?

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continues to struggle with governance challenges— from corruption to weak state institutions — that have stalled its democratic development writes Kathryn Stoner in a journal article for Perspectives on Politics. Stoner, CDDRL's deputy director and a FSI senior fellow, reviews five books that examine whether Russia will slip further into autocracy or step back onto its democratic path. Read more »

A cloud over EUs legacy in Afghanistan?

Training the Afghan National Police (ANP) has been the centerpiece of the EU's engagement in Afghanistan since 2007. What began as a German-led police training mission in 2002 became an EU-led mission in February 2007, christened EUPOL. After 6 years, and with the close of the international military combat mission in Afghanistan looming ahead in 2014, TEC Anna Lindh Fellow and Visiting Researcher Christian Tygesen discusses what is likely to be the legacy left behind by EUPOL. Read more »