HKS in the News June 20, 2012

1. Aung San Suu Kyi signals change in Burma, but investors should proceed with caution (Ruggie) The Christian Science Monitor

2. Could Europe Ruin the World Economy? (Dapice) Asia Sentinel

3. Rejuvenating the social housing brand The Guardian

Aung San Suu Kyi signals change in Burma, but investors should proceed with caution

The Christian Science Monitor

June 19

Commentary by: John Ruggie, Mossavar-Rahmani Center

Topic: The need for foreign investors to support human rights in Myanmar

The recent decision by the Obama administration to ease economic sanctions on Myanmar (also known as Burma) presents an important opportunity to reintegrate that country into the international community. But caution is necessary to make sure that the inflow of new investments does not end up harming the country’s long-suffering citizens.

In spite of recent ethnic violence, changes in Myanmar (Burma) over the past year provide reasons for hope. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released from jail, and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, once the country’s most famous prisoner, now sits in parliament. Over the weekend in Oslo, Ms. Suu Kyi accepted the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded when under house arrest in 1991. Today she is in Britain for the first time in 24 years. And on Wednesday, she will accept the honorary doctorate from Oxford that she was awarded in 1993, also while she was under house arrest. …

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Could Europe Ruin the World Economy?

Asia Sentinel

June 20

Commentary by: David Dapice, Ash Center

Topic: The European economic crisis

Greek voters have spoken and narrowly approved a pro-austerity party. Instead of celebrating, bond markets raised Spanish interest rates in anticipation of further strains. Just how bad could the debt crisis get? In the best tradition of economists, who juggle issues with two hands using the phrase “on the other hand,” the answer is that the euro crisis is potentially, perhaps probably, serious for Europe with noticeable knock-on effects. But contrary to general expectation, the effects may be less severe in the rest of the world.

The notion that over-indebted countries with shrinking economies could solve their problems by having their badly impaired banks borrow money and buy more government debt from their floundering home countries has long seemed strange. It conjures images of two drunks staggering down the street holding each other up. Because Europe is not politically integrated, its politicians have trouble acting as if southern-tier economies deserve the same degree of support that the US federal government provides to struggling regions under a truly integrated federal system. …

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Rejuvenating the social housing brand

The Guardian

June 20

Cited: Research by the Hauser Center

Topic: Branding social housing in the UK

The implicit question hanging over this year's CIH conference in Manchester was what exactly is social housing for? The sector's future is being hotly contested by powerful political and trade constituencies on issues such as affordability of rents, who social housing should be for, how it should be allocated and the extent of capital and revenue subsidy.

For those of us who care that social housing retains a non-commercial aim, we must actively contribute to developing the sector's brand. There needs to be a better alignment between the sector's image and its social and cultural identity.

Harvard Kennedy School recently published Idea, a new conceptual framework for branding in the non-profit sector . Idea – which stands for integrity, democracy, ethics and affinity – seeks to guide third sector branding so that it links with actual social impact, reflects the sector's mission and stays true to intrinsic values. …

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