Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
@belfercenter.bsky.social
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School's research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy. belfercenter.org
The new Spring 2026 issue is online! Articles by @eunajo.bsky.social, @jessicacweiss.bsky.social, Rosato, @fiona-cunningham.bsky.social, Ven Bruusgaard, Joshi, @rohanmukherjee.bsky.social, @kerbydavis.bsky.social, Gholz Correspondence on paradigms, realism, Ukraine direct.mit.edu/isec/issue
Volume 50 Issue 4 | International Security | MIT Press
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"These twin crises (airport lines and aviation safety) are separate but related: They are both the result of an approach to governance that neglects the work of governing." My essay in @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
There Were Warnings
Americans are learning that public safety is not a given.
theatlantic.com
Iran and the Strait of Hormuz: Still so relevant today. @proftalmadge.bsky.social @ssp-mit.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social @intsecurity.bsky.social
MIT Press@mitpress.bsky.social · 5mo agoHow might Iran retaliate in the aftermath of a limited Israeli or U.S. strike? "Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz tops the list of global energy security nightmares," wrote Caitlin Talmadge in 2008 in @intsecurity.bsky.social. Talmadge's article is freely available to read for 90 days:
Winter 2026 issue preview @intsecurity.bsky.social! R. Krebs| why populists love dead soldiers @janinadill.bsky.social et al. | local consent for military interventions @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social | AI & cyberattacks Brenner | AI & strategic surprise @johnseverini.bsky.social & Biddle | naval warfare
On Feb. 5, New START, the last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arms, will expire—a dark milestone. President Trump has an opportunity to put off nuclear competition and explore whether new accords can help avoid it, argues Professor @matthew-bunn.bsky.social for @thehill.com.
thehill.com
🚨New book: Atomic Backfires: When Nuclear Policies Fail is a sobering edited volume on how efforts to reduce nuclear weapons dangers may sometimes wind up exacerbating them. In a field fixated on finding solutions, Atomic Backfires provocatively takes the opposite tack.
Atomic Backfires: When Nuclear Policies Fail
A sobering edited volume on how efforts to reduce nuclear weapons dangers may sometimes wind up exacerbating them, edited by Stephen Herzog, Giles David Arceneaux, and Ariel F. W. Petrovics.
belfercenter.org
⌛One week left to apply! If you’re looking to deepen your expertise, expand your professional community, and contribute to policy-relevant research, now is the time to submit your application for a Belfer Center Fellowship — the deadline is December 1. Learn more: www.belfercenter.org/fellowships
Our middle powers project at the @belfercenter.bsky.social has now published its first reports, including mine on Turkish foreign policy 👇
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs@belfercenter.bsky.social · 9mo ago🚨 Now Published: Middle Power Case Studies Amidst great-power rivalry between the U.S. and China, a growing group of “Middle Power” countries are rising in prominence and potential, challenging the international order. Through the Belfer Center's Middle Powers project, we interrogate this trend.
“China is a status quo power concerned with regime stability,” three East Asia scholars write in a provocative new piece for @intsecurity.bsky.social, “and it remains more inwardly focused than externally oriented.” @polgreen.bsky.social writes for the @nytimes.com.
Nick Lindsay@bluenoser2.bsky.social · 9mo agoThe Thucydides Trap Is Coming for America www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o.... @mitpress.bsky.social @drjlhazelton.bsky.social
🚨 Now Published: Middle Power Case Studies Amidst great-power rivalry between the U.S. and China, a growing group of “Middle Power” countries are rising in prominence and potential, challenging the international order. Through the Belfer Center's Middle Powers project, we interrogate this trend.
Middle Powers: An Intellectual Framework
Belfer Center Director Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Rana Mitter and Moeed Yusuf - together leading the Middle Powers Project - outline its scope and ambition.
belfercenter.org
In the final episode of season 9 of the We Society podcast🎙️Will Hutton is joined by Prof Rana Mitter, @belfercenter.bsky.social @harvardkennedy.bsky.social, to discuss modern China and its global role, including the future of US-China relations. Listen now 👂➡️ podfollow.com/the-we-socie...
🖋️Critical Mineral resource management, supply chain dynamics and international policy development are some of the most strategic geopolitical issues of our time. From powering clean-energy transitions to advanced tech, these are the raw materials that modern economies—and national security—rely on.
Mike Goldfien@mikegoldfien.bsky.social · 9mo agoExcited that my article, "To Agree or Not to Agree: Hawks, Doves, and Regime Type in International Rivalry and Rapprochement," is now out at International Security. @intsecurity.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social. direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
1) ***Announcement*** The new Fall 2025 issue is online! Read articles by Marc Trachtenberg, @aaronbateman.bsky.social, @ajmount.bsky.social, Dong Jung Kim, and @mikegoldfien.bsky.social direct.mit.edu/isec/issue @mitpress.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social
Volume 50 Issue 2 | International Security | MIT Press
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📖 The energy weapon has returned - and it's changing the rules of global power. In a new Foreign Affairs article, Meghan O'Sullivan, Director of the Belfer Center, and co-author Jason Bordoff argue that the necessary policy responses could provide a powerful boost to the clean energy transition.
Belfer Center Fellowships are open for application through December 1, 2025. @mbudjeryn.bsky.social, Senior Researcher at MIT and Associate with the @managingtheatom.bsky.social, reflects on her time at Harvard Kennedy School as "life changing."
New podcast from @intsecurity.bsky.social Nick Anderson and Daryl Press argue that the current U.S. approach for operating airpower to defend Taiwan risks catastrophic defeat. Hardened aircraft shelters may offer a way to blunt Chinese attacks. @belfercenter.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social
8 – Airpower and the Sino-American Contest for Military Primacy in Asia | The International Security Podcast
Nicholas Anderson and Daryl Press argue that the current U.S. approach for operating airpower to defend Taiwan risks catastrophic defeat. They have created a new, unclassified, and transparent model t...
international-security.simplecast.com
Congratulations to former Managing the Atom Stanton Fellow Sébastien Phillippe, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship (the "genius grant")! Amazing work, from disarmament verification to remarkable work assessing past consequences of nuclear testing and potential consequences of nuclear war.
Sébastien Philippe
Exposing past harms and potential risks from building, testing, and storing launch-ready nuclear weapons.
macfound.org
🚨Belfer Center Fellowship applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open! Supporting academic & professional tracks, our fellowships are open to doctoral candidates, recent Ph.D. recipients, and practitioners from the public and private sectors. More info: www.belfercenter.org/fellowships
"Just a year and a half ago, #Greenland's foreign policy strategy was basically one big invitation to the #US for cooperation. Then #Trump destroyed the trust and interest from Greenland," says Ulrik Pram Gad, Senior Researcher @diis.dk. #Arctic @fridtjofnanseninst.bsky.social
Denmark, Greenland and Iceland's Reactions To Trump
Oslo (High North News): "Just a year and a half ago, Greenland's foreign policy strategy was basically one big invitation to the US for cooperation. Then Trump destroyed the trust and interest from Gr...
bit.ly
🚨 JUST IN: President Donald Trump has an opportunity to avoid the dangers of an unrestrained nuclear arms competition—something he has repeatedly warned about. Will he seize it? Latest by Matt Bunn (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social) in @thebulletin.org #nuclearweapons #nukesky #Trump #Putin #China
Putin just gave Trump the opportunity to maintain nuclear restraint. Will he seize it?
Extending New START will also give time for Trump to work with Russia and China on future arms control accords.
thebulletin.org
Important WaPo story on the challenges of reprocessing, quoting me and others: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump’s nuclear ‘renaissance’ rests on risky plan for radioactive waste
The administration goes all-in on recycling spent fuel, despite a history of spectacular mishaps, including an unintentional atom bomb.
washingtonpost.com
🛰️What counts as a "novel space activity?" Why do these activities matter for industry and policy? And how does a new Executive Order, released by the White House in August, aim to close these regulatory gaps? Read a new Belfer Center explainer by space experts: www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...
Explainer: Novel Space Activities in the Executive Order on Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry
Research and insight to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels.
belfercenter.org
New: The Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security today published its final report urging the U.S. to strengthen its strategy to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and safeguard national security. Convened by the @carnegieendowment.org, @nti.org and the Belfer Center.
💡New, by Rabia Akhtar, Associate of the Belfer Center's Managing the Atom Project - what does the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan yesterday actually mean for the global nuclear security landscape?
Beyond the Hype: Pakistan-Saudi Defense Pact Is Not a Saudi Nuclear Umbrella
Rabia Akhtar, Associate with Managing the Atom, writes about the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Riyadh, September 2025.
belfercenter.org
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce that Ambassador Ivo Daalder has joined the Center as a Senior Fellow.
Public Health in Peril: Why Recent CDC Resignations Matter to Us All www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...
Public Health in Peril: Why Recent CDC Resignations Matter to Us All
Syra Madad writes that the departure of five top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a seismic blow to public health credibility, and a rebuke of political interferenc...
belfercenter.org
Political anxieties have piled up and put an end to an era of public optimism, writes International Relations Professor @stephenwalt.bsky.social for @foreignpolicy.com.
How Fear Killed Liberalism
Political anxieties have piled up and put an end to an era of public optimism.
foreignpolicy.com
The World Bank has ended its ban on funding nuclear energy projects. Marina Lorenzini of @belfercenter.bsky.social writes on what to expect next. ⬇️
The World Bank can now fund nuclear energy projects: Here’s what’s next
After ending its ban on funding nuclear energy projects, the World Bank will infuse nuclear expertise into its teams of economists and country experts.
thebulletin.org
Read this great new piece on China in International Security! direct.mit.edu/isec/article... @daveckang.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @intsecurity.bsky.social
What Does China Want?
Abstract. The conventional wisdom is that China is a rising hegemon eager to replace the United States, dominate international institutions, and re-create the liberal international order in its own im...
direct.mit.edu