MIT Center for International Studies

A hand places a tile on a game board.

Erik Lin-Greenberg lectures at the front of a room.

A Chinese flag in the foreground with a game board in the background.

Eric Heginbotham lectures in front of a fireplace and American flag.

On July 20-24, SSP’s Wargaming Lab held its annual Summer Wargaming Institute at the MIT Endicott House. The Institute, led by the Lab co-directors Erik Lin-Greenberg and Eric Heginbotham, is a four-day “bootcamp”-style program attended by participants from academia, government, and think tanks.

Lights Out? Wargaming a Chinese Blockade of Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan could see the greatest naval battles since World War II. Twenty-six wargames illustrated the risks to China, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States that would ensue. Prepara...

Eric Heginbotham, principal research scientist at @ssp-mit.bsky.social, co-authored a @csis.org report based on 26 wargames simulating a Chinese blockade of Taiwan.
Read the report here: www.csis.org/analysis/lig...

YouTube video by J-WAFS at MIT The Jameel Index Forum: Food Trade in the Current Age of Uncertainty

Mihaela Papa, director of research and founder of our BRICS Lab, delivered the thematic address at the launch of the Jameel Index for Food Trade and Vulnerability. Watch her address and the event below: youtube.com/watch?v=1kvI...

Lauren Sukin (@laurensukin.bsky.social), Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at @ssp-mit.bsky.social, recently co-authored a study examining US public opinion on relationships in the Indo-Pacific. Read more below:

How China hounds pro-democracy activists in Boston - The Boston Globe Dissidents in exile in the US face surveillance, harassment, and sometimes threats from agents linked to the Chinese government.

Alicia Chen, the 2025 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, explores how pro-democracy dissidents in Boston face surveillance, harassment, and threats from the Chinese government.
Read here: bostonglobe.com/2025/07/18/o...

Julia Lodoen

“I am very thankful to have received the Guillemin Prize, which allows me to continue this research by visiting archives in Argentina and Uruguay. These archives contain documents created and circulated by the military regimes in both countries, which allows me to examine the inner workings of the coercive apparatus, as well as decisions about repression.” Julia Lodoen

Congratulations to SSP PhD candidate Julia Lodoen on receiving the Jeanne Guillemin Prize!

The @mit-cis.bsky.social Guillemin Prize supports research for women PhD candidates studying international affairs.

YouTube video by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) The World at MIT: Yasheng Huang

Watch the latest #ThinkBigThursday episode with Yasheng Huang (@yashenghuang.bsky.social), faculty director of the Center’s MIT-China program. youtu.be/AmrzGl5XWeI?...
@mitsloan.bsky.social

M. Taylor Fravel (@fravel.bsky.social), director of @ssp-mit.bsky.social, discusses China's military capability in a new article for @foreignaffairs.com. Read below:

Introducing the MISTI-Lithuania Program: a cross-disciplinary partnership that fosters the exchange of artistic intelligence, cultural innovation, and highlights the humanities as agents of technological transformation.
Learn more here: act.mit.edu/2025/07/mist...
@actmit.bsky.social

Exploring data and its influence on political behavior A new MIT course taught by Department of Political Science Professor Daniel Hidalgo, 17.831 (Data and Politics), is a practice-based class that helps students parse and understand data and politics.

F. Daniel Hidalgo, associate professor of @mitpolisci.bsky.social and associated faculty of the MIT-Brazil Program, explores the intersection of data and politics in course 17.831 (Data and Politics).
Read here: news.mit.edu/2025/explori...

Six ways AI could cause the next big war, and why it probably won’t Unlike the dystopian visions of artificial intelligence ushering in a new era of conflict and chaos, the likelihood of AI tools directly triggering a major war appears limited. But there are specific ...

Zachary Burdette, a recent @ssp-mit.bsky.social PhD graduate, explores how artificial intelligence could influence the future of international security.
Read here: thebulletin.org/premium/2025...

BRICS in Action: A Deep Dive into the Outcomes of the 2025 Summit This GIGA Forum brings together four experts to dissect the highlights and outcomes of the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil. With perspectives spanning longstanding and newer BRICS members, the panel explo...

Missed our latest #GIGAForum? Catch up now with the in-depth analysis on the outcomes of the 2025 #BRICSSummit by Mihaela Papa @mit-cis.bsky.social sky.social, @gustavobcarvalho.bsky.social, Damyana Bakardzhieva & #GIGA's @mjph.bsky.social.

➡️ Watch full video: www.giga-hamburg.de/en/events/gi...

From MIT, an instruction manual for turning research into startups MIT Proto Ventures published an instruction manual to help other universities and research institutions create their own venture studios. The manual provides a repeatable process for turning lab resea...

Fiona Murray, faculty director of the MIT-UK Program, also serves as the faculty director of MIT Proto Ventures, which recently published a playbook to help research institutions establish their own in-house venture studios.
Read here: news.mit.edu/2025/from-mi...
@mitsloan.bsky.social

Mihaela Papa, #BRICS researcher at MIT, characterizes the group's orientation not as anti-Western, but as “advancing its own goals and remaining diplomatically and economically resilient when these goals clash with those of the West.”

table.media/en/china/fea...

#BRICSSummit2025

CIS is excited to announce that Dr. Austin Long, an expert in strategic policy, has joined the Center for Nuclear Security Policy (CNSP) as a Senior Nuclear Fellow. Welcome to CNSP Dr. Long!
Read more about Dr. Austin Long and his role at CNSP here: ssp.mit.edu/news/2025/au...
@ssp-mit.bsky.social

US manufacturing is in ‘pretty bad shape.’ MIT hopes to change that. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Initiative for New Manufacturing is partnering with Siemens, GE Vernova and others to boost productivity through technology and innovation.

US manufacturing is in ‘pretty bad shape.’ MIT hopes to change that. Suzanne Berger, Institute Professor, is leading the way.
manufacturingdive.com/news/us-manu...
@mitpolisci.bsky.social

BRICS’ New Map Is Taking Shape As the U.S. retreats from global leadership, BRICS is emerging as a pragmatic platform for countries seeking greater autonomy in a fragmented world.

Mihaela Papa, director of research at CIS, analyzes how the BRICS map reflects a global alignment driven by a shared pursuit of new partnerships in trade and development.
Read here: worldpoliticsreview.com/brics-summit...

Hope in a minefield: How MIT students are helping Ukrainian farmers reclaim their land - The Boston Globe Called the MIT Ukraine program, the initiative aims to leverage MIT’s deep strengths in robotics, AI, and sensor technology to support and accelerate demining efforts.

The MIT-Ukraine Program leverages MIT’s strengths in robotics, AI, and sensor technology to support and accelerate demining efforts in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as reported by our 2024 Neuffer Fellow Anjana Sankar (@asankar.bsky.social‬).
Read here: bostonglobe.com/2025/06/26/w...
@mitpolisci.bsky.social

Steven Simon, former CIS Wilhelm Fellow, argues the actions of the Trump administration is pushing the country towards competitive authoritarianism.
Read here: iiss.org/online-analy...

What U.S. strikes in Iran mean for national security Over the weekend, President Trump sent U.S. stealth bombers to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.

Jim Walsh, senior research associate at @ssp-mit.bsky.social, discusses the US strikes in Iran and its effect on national security in a recent episode of @wbur.org's Here & Now.
Listen here: wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Ukraine’s smart munitions deliver a punch—and a warning about the future of warfare Ukraine's use of low-cost quadcopters shows how drones can lower the barrier to obtaining long-range precision strike capabilities.

Erik Lin-Greenberg, co-director of @ssp-mit.bsky.social's Wargaming Lab, analyzes how Ukraine's creative use of first-person view drones can reshape how states engage in statecraft and conflict in a @thebulletin.org article.
Read here: thebulletin.org/2025/06/ukra...

America Should End Israel’s War on Iran—Not Join It Trump can prevent a disastrous escalation.

Steven Simon, former CIS Wilhelm Fellow, argues that the US should focus on ending Israel’s war with Iran rather than becoming involved in the conflict.
Read here: foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Israel strikes Iran. What happens next? | Brookings Brookings scholars examine the implications of Israel's surprise attack on Iran for the region and beyond.

Caitlin Talmadge (@proftalmadge.bsky.social), Raphael Dorman-Helen Starbuck Associate Professor of @mitpolisci.bsky.social, analyzes Israel's campaign against Iran, specifically its targeting of Iran's military capabilities.
Read here: brookings.edu/articles/isr...

Do Madman Tactics Work? Featuring Samuel Seitz and John Glaser

Does "madman behavior" in international confrontations work? Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Samuel Seitz argues it's ineffective in an episode of Power Problems by ‪@cato.org.
Listen here: www.cato.org/multimedia/p...
@ssp-mit.bsky.social

YouTube video by MIT Center for International Studies (MIT CIS) Starr Forum: The Trump-Putin Phenomenon

#Throwback: At a 2017 Starr Forum, Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe.bsky.social) and Garry Kasparov compared the leadership styles of President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Watch the full seminar here: youtu.be/bBsC9ey_H-s?...
@ssp-mit.bsky.social

What Israel's escalation in Iran means for the region Israel has launched waves of attacks on Iran.

@ssp-mit.bsky.social Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh analyzes the state of Iran's nuclear program on a recent episode of @wbur.org's Here & Now.
Listen here: wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

‘Embarrassing’: Americans fighting for Kyiv are frustrated with Trump’s erratic efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war - The Boston Globe Americans are continuing to join the Ukrainian army to battle Russia. But Trump’s tough stand on Ukraine has been seen as an ideological betrayal by many.

Anjana Sankar (@asankar.bsky.social), our 2024 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, explores how Trump's erratic position on Ukraine is causing anger and disillusionment among American soldiers stationed in Ukraine.
Read here: bostonglobe.com/2025/06/04/w...

CIS is delighted to announce the launch of a new pilot initiative with Angola! The initiative marks a significant collaboration between MIT-Africa, Sonangol, and the Instituto Superior Politécnico de Tecnologias e Ciências (ISPTEC). Read here: cis.mit.edu/news/mit-afr... @evlieb.bsky.social

What Israel's escalation in Iran means for the region Israel has launched waves of attacks on Iran.

Jim Walsh, senior research associate at @ssp-mit.bsky.social, discusses the rapid military escalation between Israel and Iran on an episode of @wbur.org's Here & Now.
Listen here: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Israel launches fresh wave of strikes on Iran after hitting nuclear and military sites overnight - live updates Iranian state media report more explosions, with blasts heard in Tehran, as Israel says its air force is hitting military targets.

Jim Walsh, senior research associate at @ssp-mit.bsky.social, weighs-in on Israel's recent strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites.
Watch the broadcast here [starting 5:55]: bbc.com/news/live/c9...