précis, the MIT Center for International Studies newsletter, covers the wide range of Center activities and tracks the accomplishments of our faculty, researchers and affiliates. It is published twice yearly, once during each academic semester. Both the current issue and past issues of précis are featured online.

Ben Ross Schneider is a professor of political science in the Department of Political Science at MIT. Schneider also co-directs MIT Brazil, which is part of the Center's MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI); the Interdisciplinary Workshop on Institutions and Development (IWID), and the Harvard-MIT Workshop on the Political Economy of Development in Brazil.

He discusses with précis opportunities for research-related activities in Brazil, his current and future research agenda on Latin America, and the upcoming presidential elections in Brazil. Read More

National security budgets are the most dependable reflection of US security policy. Seeing things through the lens of the budget can help decision-makers and ordinary citizens discern the genuine priorities of national leaders from the oftentimes illusory ones portrayed in rhetoric.
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Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP's) failed attempt to destroy a commercial airliner on Christmas Day has thrust Yemen back into the world spotlight as an important base for jihadist terrorist activity. The bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, apparently received operational guidance in Yemen shortly beforehand, and AQAP leaders there have since claimed responsibility for the attack.
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