Miriam Pemberton is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Formerly she directed its Peace Economy Transitions Project, focusing on helping to build the foundations of a postwar economy at the federal, state and local levels.

With Lawrence Korb, she headed the annual Task Force on “A Unified Security Budget for the United States,” which examined the balance of spending on military and non-military security tools and argued for a rebalanced security budget. She also headed a team that produced three “Military vs. Climate Security” reports comparing federal spending on the two security domains, and arguing for a shift of security resources toward mitigating climate change.

With William Hartung, now of the Quincy Institute, she co-edited Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (Paradigm Publishers, 2008).

As an Associate Fellow, she has published Six Stops on the National Security Tour: Rethinking Warfare Economies (Routledge, 2022). It provides an overview of the Military Industrial Complex and its means of perpetuating itself. And through portraits of six military-dependent communities across the U.S. it demonstrates how redirecting our militarized foreign and industrial policy toward climate security can help communities like these become part of the solution to the climate crisis.

She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

 

Latest

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The director of the Arms Control Association debates a Fellow of the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy on the way out of the current crisis in nuclear arms control.

Getting Real(istic) About Nonproliferation

Does the current crisis over the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran mean that the nuclear nonproliferation regime should be strengthened and reformed, or scrapped? Here is an argument for scrapping it.

Taking the Wind Out of the Perfect Geopolitical Storm: Iran and the Crisis over Non-proliferation

A one-stop shop for understanding the current crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions: the international players, the fuel cycle and major proposals for regulating it, and a policy to steer us to “calmer waters.”

Sharing–and Reducing–the Military Burden

The U.S., alone among its major allies, is planning substantial increases in military spending, despite its overwhelming worldwide military dominance.

Balancing Security and Democracy

The Bush administration heralds Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim democracy and a crucial ally in the war on terrorism.

Guns vs. Butter Returns

Debating the surging defense budget and its effect on domestic spending went out of fashion after 9-11 with all that talk about Homeland Security.

The Me Too Club

Iran and the EU3 (Britain, France, and Germany) essentially agreed to an atomic breathing spell in Geneva on Wednesday, May 25th.

Breaking the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) Stalemate: Japan Could Help

Today’s NPT stalemate involves both security and economic concerns.

“Wrong Bang For The Buck”

The 9/11 Commission thought long, broadly and productively about increasing U.S. security. One of their main contributions was to expand conventional notions of the tools necessary to do the job.

“Pentagon ‘Cuts’ Really Miss the Point”

While the administration and Congress begin to reduce unnecessary weapons programs, they must pay equal attention to investing in the non-military tools that are critical to our security.

“Slowing the Military Spending Surge”

A leaked document from the Pentagon at the beginning of the new year seemed to mark a milestone.

FPIF Statement on the War

During the past two years our government has taken us resolutely on a march in the opposite direction.

The Economic Costs of a War with Iraq

With the budget surplus gone, these costs would inevitably create deeper deficits and likely put out of reach initiatives like Medicare drug coverage and new funding for education and environmental protection.

The Economic Impact of Going to War with Iraq

If we start this war with Iraq, we will be endangering our economic health.

War in Iraq: The Oil Factor

How much is the Bush administration’s push for war with Iraq motivated by its desire to gain control of Iraq’s oil fields?

Military Contractors Spent Freely To Influence 2000 Election, Future Policy

U.S. defense contractors were full participants in the last election cycle

Security Exception & Arms Trade

Economic globalization and the financial architecture which sets the rules of play are proving beneficial to those invested in a war economy.

Arms & Environmental Technologies

Although the world market for environmental technologies is twice the size of the world arms market, the U.S. supports its arms exports over its environmental technologies market by a staggeringly large margin.