MIT Center for International Studies

"There's clearly an organized, coordinated effort to get Hezbollah's attention."

Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh of the MIT Security Studies Program spoke with Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about Israel's recent pager attacks on Lebanon and its wider implications.

Listen to the discussion here: https://ow.ly/IG3750Trkg9.

NPR WBUR 90.9 FM

The wider implications of attacks in Lebanon Lebanese officials say more than 30 people have been killed and thousands injured.

: Wednesday, October 2nd @ Bartos Theater, 4:30 PM

Join us for our second Starr Forum event of the semester: The 2024 US presidential election: The world is watching!

https://ow.ly/PtGh50TpvbJ

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
The Fletcher School at Tufts University Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Center for European Studies at Harvard University Henry J. Leir Institute

Starr Forum: The 2024 US presidential election: The world is watching Experts weigh-in on how citizens and leaders from other world regions are viewing the November 5th US election. What do they believe is at stake for their countries and regions? Is America still seen as a model for democracy? How do they view the candidates? SPEAKERS: Katrina Burgess on Latin Americ...

The demand of BRICS+ central banks for gold is "undeniably a significant factor" contributing to higher prices, says CIS Director of Research and principal research scientist Mihaela Papa.

https://ow.ly/oWlE50TlvwY

"For Mihaela Papa, Malaysia’s move towards BRICS '… reveals a more Moscow-friendly and Beijing-friendly stance.'"

Malaysian PM Meets Putin In Russia To Expand Collaboration Despite US Sanctions By Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on Wednesday as he underscored his government’s non-aligned foreign policy and became the latest leader to visit the country amid the West’s attempts to isolate Moscow.  Both l...

Congratulations to the MIT-Ukraine team for recently concluding their first student internship program with MacPaw, a leading macOS and iOS software maker! MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MacPaw

MacPaw Concludes Successful Internship Program in Collaboration with MIT-Ukraine BOSTON, Sept. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than one year after opening an office in Boston, MacPaw, a leading macOS and iOS software maker, is excited to announce the conclusion

"Understanding military spending in China and the United States is only one piece of a set of analytic challenges that must be tackled in order to make better strategic and military policy."

Arthur and Ruth Sloan professor of MIT Political Science and director of the MIT Security Studies Program M. Taylor Fravel, CIS research affiliate George J. Gilboy, and CIS principal research scientist and co-director of the Wargaming Lab at MIT Security Studies Program Eric Heginbotham discuss the flawed estimates of China's annual defense spending and its widespread use in Congress, the media, and defense circles.

China’s Defense Spending: The $700 Billion Distraction https://ow.ly/YVtb50TlmYx

China’s Defense Spending: The $700 Billion Distraction - War on the Rocks American political and military leaders are amplifying flawed estimates that China’s annual defense spending is much higher than it actually is. In these

"As a junior faculty member, Grinberg shoulders one of the largest advising loads in the department. Despite this, multiple nominators praised Grinberg for her prompt and discerning feedback. Students note her efforts in reading through and commenting on many rounds of paper drafts, supplemented by hour-long brainstorming sessions at her whiteboard."

Mariya Grinberg, assistant professor of political science and a faculty member of MIT Security Studies Program was one of the professors honored as "Committed to Caring" for their support of graduate students. Congratulations Mariya!

Read more about Mariya Grinberg and her award here: https://ow.ly/RZsI50Tke2k MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Nurturing success MIT professors Mariya Grinberg and Nuh Gedik have been selected as part of the 2023-25 “Committed to Caring” cohort for mentoring grad students.

: Have you registered for our first Starr Forum of the semester yet?

CIS invites you to attend our upcoming Starr Forum on Tuesday, September 24th, at 4 PM: The Israel/Gaza Crisis and US Policy with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Dennis Ross and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs's Melani Cammett. A reception will follow in Lobby 13.

Registration and ticket required. Register here: https://ow.ly/VOtN50TlaYv

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science

CIS is dedicated to making this world a better place; on this anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we’d like to share a range of forward-thinking dialogue related to the tragedy.

MIT Center for International Studies More than seventy years ago, MIT established the Center for International Studies to conduct research to help the United States in its cold war struggle against the Soviet Union. Before long, however, the Center broadened its focus to include research and teaching in a wide range of international su...

"Education is not just about learning facts,” Klopfer said. “Education is a whole developmental process. And we need to think about how we support teachers in being more effective. Teachers must be part of the AI conversation.”

Eric Klopfer, Professor and Director of the Scheller Teacher Education Program and The Education Arcade, was one of three MIT researchers that presented their work on AI-supported learning tools and AI fluency among students at the AI + Education Summit.

MIT RAISE

First AI + Education Summit is an international push for “AI fluency” The AI + Education Summit hosted 350 attendees of all ages from around the world for workshops, a climate hackathon, and an exploration of "AI fluency.”

CIS wishes a warm welcome to our new group of visiting fellows!

CIS offers a variety of fellowships each academic year. A generous gift from Robert E Wilhelm supports an annual fellowship for an individual who has held senior positions in public life. The Center also supports the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which is organized by the InternationalWomens MediaFoundation (IWMF), the Global MIT At-Risk Scholars Fellowship, and the Empowering the Teachers program.

Additionally, MIT Security Studies Program (SSP) hosts military fellows who rotate annually from the US armed services. The Stanton Foundation recently awarded SSP funds to support several new fellows each academic year on nuclear issues.

Curious about this year's cohort? Read more about our fellows and their stories here.

Fellows | MIT Center for International Studies Fellows The Center welcomes new visiting fellows each academic year. A generous gift from Robert E Wilhelm supports an annual fellowship for an individual who has held senior positions in public life. The Center also supports the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which is organized by the International....

CIS is proud to announce John Githongo as the 2024-2025 Robert E Wilhelm fellow!

Githongo is among the world's leading voices on the relationship between corrupt democracies, development, and poverty in the modern world. He is regarded as a leading light in the Transparency movement--a global initiative focused on freeing the world of corruption.

Hailing from Kenya, Githongo was an investigative journalist focused on bribery and fraud in his home country. He was a columnist for The East African between 1995 and 2003, and worked as a correspondent for The Economist, among other publications.

Githongo said his time at MIT will be "a period of reflection and writing on the many of the assumptions we held in the 1990s as liberal democracies were introduced across Africa have ended or become irrelevant. What we always discussed as tomorrow's challenges have arrived and define public life today on the world's youngest continent."

Read more about John Githongo here: https://ow.ly/KClj50TfPHs

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

John Githongo joins CIS as the 2024-25 Robert E Wilhelm fellow | MIT Center for International Studies John Githongo joins CIS as the 2024-25 Robert E Wilhelm fellow John Githongo joins CIS as the 2024-25 Robert E Wilhelm fellowA journalist and activist from Kenya, he is a leading expert on corruption in the developing world. August 30, 2024 | Center for International Studies August 30, 2024Center fo...

After receiving a significant gift, the Security Studies Program will be launching the Center for Nuclear Security Policy.

The Stanton Foundation recently gifted SSP $45 million to expand its leading work on the vital issue of global nuclear security. The funding will allow the program to create a new center on the topic while extending and enhancing research, teaching, and policy outreach in an area where the Institute is a longstanding leader with wide-ranging faculty expertise.

Vipin Narang, the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science at MIT, will serve as the center’s first director.

“With this new investment, MIT can lead the way in advancing evidence-based nuclear policy in the best interest of our nation and the world," says MIT President Sally A. Kornbluth.

Congrats to the MIT Security Studies Program for their exciting new development!

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering

Enabled by a significant gift, MIT’s Security Studies Program launches the Center for Nuclear Security Policy The Stanton Foundation has given MIT’s Security Studies Program a $45 million gift to establish the Center for Nuclear Security Policy, which will focus on nuclear arms security scholarship.

CIS welcomes Vipin Narang back to MIT after serving in the Biden administration!

Vipin Narang is the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science and member of the Security Studies Program. From March 2022 through August 2024, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and then Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, a portfolio with oversight over the U.S. Department of Defense’s strategic capabilities, including nuclear, space, missile defense, and cyber policy. For his service, he was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Read more about Vipin Narang here: https://ow.ly/PKLh50T8E5g

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science MIT Security Studies Program

Our country program managers teamed up with Tim the Beaver to wish you a warm welcome back to campus! MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

CIS welcomes Dr. Mihaela Papa, our new Director of Research and Principal Research Scientist!

She joined CIS from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where she was a senior fellow, co-founded and led the Rising Power Alliances project, and taught on sustainable development and global governance. She also previously served as the director of Global Programs at the MIT Sloan School of Management and as the assistant director for international activities in MIT's Office of the Provost.

We're excited to have her at CIS!

Read more about Dr. Mihaela Papa here: https://cis.mit.edu/people/mihaela-papa.

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The MIT Security Studies Program Wednesday Seminar series runs weekly during the academic year from 12:00pm to 1:30PM, EST. In-person attendance is limited to the MIT community while the public can watch on the SSP YouTube channel.

A selection of spring seminars included: From neuroscience to national security (Marika Landau-Wells, UC, Berkeley); Kim Jong Un’s pivot to the north (Alexandre Mansourov, National Committee on North Korea); Afghanistan revisited (Colin Jackson, US Naval War College); and Nuclear revolution revisited (Charles Glaser, MIT).

Click here to watch previous seminars: https://ow.ly/QOuz50SYOBW.

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

MIT Security Studies Program The Security Studies Program (SSP) is a graduate-level research and educational program providing insightful analysis of national and international security issues. We are based under the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. Information abou...

In 2020, Daniel Zhang ’22 participated in Biology Professor Bruce Walker’s course HST. 434 (Evolution of an Epidemic) as part of a MISTI Global Classroom during MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP). Soon afterward, Zhang and his roommate, Martin Lubowa, founded the nonprofit organization Future African Scientist.

Future African Scientist (FAS) seeks to unleash the scientific potential of the continent by providing African students and early-career scientists with the support they need to do world-renowned research that addresses problems in their local communities and beyond. FAS partners with leading scientists and institutions around the world, including MIT, to offer educational courses, training, networking events, and other programming around scientific research and entrepreneurship.

Read more about the creation of Future African Scientist here: https://ow.ly/l8aN50SYMZh.

MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MIT Alumni Association

The Center’s Seminar XXI program is an educational program for current and future leaders in the US national security and foreign policy communities. Based in Washington, DC, the program links the worlds of policymaking and academia by bringing together its fellows with scholars from MIT and beyond. Through this interdisciplinary and intergenerational learning experience, the fellows share their differing viewpoints, challenge each other’s assumptions, expand their interagency networks, and develop fresh ways of analyzing the complex national security issues they face each day.

Selective and renowned, fellowship candidates must be nominated and sponsored by their organizations in order to apply. Learn more about the program here: https://ow.ly/b0Zn50SYM2w.

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science MIT Security Studies Program

Missed out on attending a Starr Forum during the spring semester? Head to the CIS YouTube channel to watch previous Starr Forums, available to watch on demand.

The Center for International Studies hosted several Starr Forums on a range of topics including China: The rise and fall of the EAST (Yasheng Huang, MIT; Will Knight, Wired magazine); The war in Ukraine: Insights at year three (Dmitry Adamsky, Reichman University, Israel; Michael Kofman, Center for Naval Analyses; Carol Saivetz, MIT, and Elizabeth Wood, MIT); and Haiti: Linguistic barriers, exploitation and resistance (Dominique Dupuy, ambassador of Haiti to UNESCO, and Michel DeGraff, MIT).

https://ow.ly/sCv250SYJJE

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Starr Forum: China: The Rise and Fall of the EAST Speaker: Yasheng Huang, Epoch Foundation Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, and faculty director of the MIT-China ...

The MIT Security Studies Program new Summer Wargaming Institute is a four-day “bootcamp-style” program hosted by the MIT SSP Wargaming Lab. The goal is to teach practitioners and scholars how to design and run wargames for research, training and analysis.

Applicants must be PhD candidates or junior faculty in international relations, political science or a related field, or early-to-mid-career foreign policy/national security professionals. Learn more here.

https://ow.ly/ywVb50SUT9w

MIT Political Science MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

MISTI has pioneered international education at MIT for almost four decades.

A program created by and located within CIS, MISTI works across departments, centers, and labs throughout the Institute to enable immersive, impactful learning experiences and research opportunities for students and faculty alike. This summer, MISTI is sending 653 students across the globe. These students will be doing internships, study abroad programs, attending workshops, working on short-term research, and attending the Global Classroom programs.

MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Jim Walsh, SSP senior researcher associate, discusses tensions in the Middle East after the death of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a Hamas political leader in Iran. Both countries are blaming Israel for the attack. Concerns abound globally that an all-out war could occur in the region soon. The US is among those nations concerned, he says.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/07/31/middle-east-us-influence

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science MIT Security Studies Program

With tensions rising in the Middle East, what role can the U.S. play? Tensions are heightened in the Middle East after the death of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and a Hamas political leader in Iran. Both countries are blaming Israel for the attack.

In June and July, the Global Diversity Lab hosted its second cohort of Pathways to Political Science Summer Research interns. Pathways@GDL is sponsored in partnership with the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) and funded by the Department of Political Science, the Center for International Studies and MIT-Africa. Professors Noah Nathan and Ariel White led the Pathways@GDL visit.

Read more about the 2024 Pathways to Political Science Summer Research interns here.

https://ow.ly/ThBO50SUSz2

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science Macalester College Virginia Commonwealth University Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Amherst College University of Ghana, Legon St. Edward's University Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto de Mayaguez

Ford International Professor of Political Science Ben Ross Schneider and CIS research affiliate R David Edelman recently released books featured in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of précis, the Center’s bi-annual magazine.

Edelman’s book Rethinking Cyber Warfare: The International Relations of Digital Disruption provides a fresh understanding of the role that digital disruption plays in contemporary international security. Focusing on the critical phenomenon of major cyberattacks against wired societies, the book reconsiders central tenets that shaped global powers' policies and explains what forces in the international system might durably restrain their use. The result is a comprehensive look at one of the most pressing issues in international security that also illuminates a new pathway for managing one of its greatest sources of instability.

Schneider’s book Routes to Reform: Education Politics in Latin America examines education policy throughout Latin America to show that reforms to improve learning—especially making teacher careers more meritocratic and less political—are possible. Several Andean countries and state governments in Brazil achieved notable reform since 2000, though on markedly different trajectories. By framing education policy in a much broader comparative perspective, Schneider demonstrates that contrary to much established theory, reform outcomes in Latin America depended less on institutions and broad coalitions, but rather—due to the emptiness of the education policy space—on more micro factors like civil society organizations, teacher unions, policy networks, and technocrats.

https://ow.ly/kvNe50SMqx0 MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science

Kinan Martin '24, a computer and cognitive sciences graduate, is a MISTI-Japan intern at Reazon Holdings (Japan) this summer. He has participated in two MISTI Global Teaching Labs in Kazakhstan and Jordan and interned for MISTI Chile and MISTI Taiwan. He was awarded a 2024 MISTI Excellence Award for his commitment to global leadership. Learn about his work while interning at the University of Chile's Center for Mathematical Modeling in this video essay.

Deciphering the brain and language through AI With 11 languages in his back pocket, this computer science and neuroscience major is untangling the complexity of languages and the brain at the Natural Lan...

CIS houses several Europe-focused programs and initiatives, including MISTI internships and study abroad to MIT students throughout the region. We recently launched the Global MIT At-Risk Fellows (GMAF) program, designed to provide sanctuary to scholars around the globe whose lives and academic freedom are under threat. We offer seed funds to support faculty-led research projects in the region. We also host the speaker series Focus on Eurasia, focused on current issues in Eurasian domestic and foreign policies. Learn more here: https://cis.mit.edu/regions/europe. MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science MIT DUSP

Dmytro Chumachenko, Kateryna Lopatiuk, and Liudmyla Huliaieva were the inaugural participants of the Global MIT At-Risk Fellows (GMAF) program. The Ukrainian scholars arrived at MIT in the spring and were paired with faculty advisors to exchange knowledge on teaching methods and research strategies.

The GMAF program is being piloted by the Center’s MIT-Ukraine Program under the leadership of Ford International Professor of History Elizabeth Wood and managing director Svitlana Krasynska. The application process for spring 2025 is open through August 1, 2024.

Read about the experiences and work of the first cohort of GMAF fellows at MIT in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of précis, the Center’s bi-annual magazine. The link to apply is featured in the article.

https://ow.ly/A6FC50SJjwr

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences MIT Political Science MIT DUSP

Save the Date: On May 10th, MIT International Science & Technology Initiatives (MISTI) and the Rainbow Lounge invite MIT students of all sexual orientations and genders for a session featuring queer-identified students sharing their experiences living, working, and studying abroad.

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
https://misti.mit.edu/rainbow-lounge-2024