UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

Studying Economic Black Holes: Lessons from North Korea - IGCC For some economies, reliable data is scarce due to government control, low capacity, or conflict. In this working paper, Stephan Haggard, Kyoochul Kim, and Munseob Lee provide six methods for obtainin...

Reliable economic data is scarce in some countries due to government control, low capacity, or conflict. Stephan Haggard, Kyoochul Kim & Munseob Lee provide six methods for studying “economic black holes”—like North Korea—in the latest IGCC working paper: bit.ly/3J55GIe

What New Russian Nuclear Weapons Mean - IGCC

The global nuclear order is changing rapidly, and Russia is making moves to stay ahead. In our latest blog post, IGCC postdoc Spenser Warren examines Russia’s novel weapons and their impact on the country’s nuclear competition with the United States: ucigcc.org/blog/what-ne...

Why Energy-Dependent States Lose Wars - IGCC

From Libya and Saudi Arabia to Russia and Iran, oil and gas-producing states have repeatedly failed to translate resource wealth into battlefield success. In a new post on our blog, outgoing IGCC dissertation fellow Max Plithides uncovers the economic roots of military failure: bit.ly/4mlIunA

Hardline Migration Policy Risks Eroding Democracy - IGCC

The populist right is ascendant across the West and committed to restricting immigration once in power. But, writes IGCC dissertation fellow Jesús Rojas Venzor, hardline policies could do more than restrict migration—they risk eroding core democratic tenets: bit.ly/4lM1BHr

Understanding China’s Science & Technology Ambitions - IGCC China’s rapid ascent as a global science and technology (S&T) superpower has elevated S&T to a core priority for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), prominently underscored during the recent 20th Party...

Participants will gain critical insights into historical foundations of Chinese science policy, its modern strategic ambitions, governance structures, funding mechanisms, and China’s expansive network of national labs and research centers. More info here: ucigcc.org/events/under...

Training is underway for our inaugural course on "Understanding China’s Science & Technology Ambitions," led by IGCC nonresident fellow Jimmy Goodrich. Over the next two days, Jimmy will unpack China’s evolving science and technology policy landscape.

The PPNT Boot Camp summer training course is a tentpole of IGCC's Public Policy & Nuclear Threats program dedicated to preparing the future generation of nuclear policy leaders. For more info on PPNT, visit ucigcc.org/training/ppnt/

The 2025 Public Policy & Nuclear Threats Boot Camp wraps up today. Our thanks to the many presenters and organizers who helped to make this event possible, and congratulations to the 29 participants who have successfully completed this year's course!

Alumni Confidential: James Goldgeier - IGCC Engaged scholarship is a cornerstone of IGCC’s mission. James Goldgeier, professor of international relations and former dean of the School of International Service at American University, is a leadin...

New on our website: an interview with professor & former dean at American University's School of Int'l Service @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social. An alumnus of IGCC's Dissertation Fellowship, Jim discusses his career trajectory and advice for scholarly engagement with decisionmakers:
bit.ly/4nQaVM1

Dispatch from PPNT: On Day 3 of this year's boot camp, participants heard from Laura Rockwood (Senior Fellow, VCDNP) and Laura Holgate (Former U.S. Ambassador,
@iaeaorg.bsky.social) on the international safeguards that are in place to reduce nuclear threats and increase security around the globe.

Between Power and Promise: The Evolution of U.S. Sanctions Strategy - IGCC This post is part of a series that explores how conceptions of geoeconomics are changing as states use industrial policy, trade, investment, sanctions, and foreign aid to shore up their national secur...

In the latest IGCC blog post, part of our series on Geoeconomics and Economic Statecraft, Andrew Reddie and Leah Walker of the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab discuss the evolution of U.S. sanctions sanctions strategy. Read their analysis here: bit.ly/44QlpSN

On to our second full day of PPNT Boot Camp! Today, participants enjoyed a presentation and lunch with Elaine Bunn, a senior advisor for the @csis.org Project on Nuclear Issues, as well as a virtual lecture from national security analyst and author Joseph Cirincione. Stay tuned for more from PPNT!

Our 2025 Public Policy & Nuclear Threats (PPNT) Boot Camp is off and running! On this first full day of lectures, participants have heard from program director Neil Narang of
@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social, Ambassador Linton Brooks of @csis.org, and John Scott of Los Alamos Nat'l Lab. More to come!

14 Books on Authoritarian Rule - IGCC

Still rounding out your summer reading list? Check out these recommendations from IGCC Research Director Stephan Haggard. These selections explore the commons themes of how autocrats rise to power and, most importantly, how democracy might be preserved: bit.ly/42zZFKS

Fusion and China’s Quest for Energy Independence - IGCC

ICYMI: In May, IGCC nonresident fellow Jimmy Goodrich detailed how harnessing fusion energy fits into China’s strategic push for technological self-reliance for our blog. Revisit his analysis here: bit.ly/4lKHbhp

Using Distributional Politics to Understand Global Progress on Ecosystem Conservation - IGCC Agriculture, forestry, and land use account for a quarter of global emissions, but climate policies in these sectors receive little attention compared to energy and transportation. In this essay, Luke...

In a new IGCC essay, the latest in our series on climate change and democracy, Luke Sanford of Yale and Cesar Martinez-Alvarez of @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social explore the politics of deforestation and the conditions that may lead to green backlash in the land use sector: bit.ly/460lLZd

Stepping Back from the Nuclear Brink: A Talking Policy Roundtable - IGCC A new, dangerous nuclear era is upon us. China is rapidly expanding its arsenal; Russia is threatening to use its nukes in Ukraine; and North Korea is undertaking provocative tests of its delivery sys...

With the 2025 IGCC Public Policy & Nuclear Threats (PPNT) Boot Camp starting next week, listen to last year's special podcast roundtable featuring a panel of experts discussing the current nuclear weapons landscape... and how to mitigate the risks they pose:

bit.ly/4hetZAi

Earlier this year, IGCC was pleased to welcome UCLA professor Michael Ross to the formal network of IGCC scholars. Michael has published widely on the politics of climate change, natural resources, and democracy. Read more about his work here: ucigcc.org/people/micha...

Hostile Conditions Might Increase Cycles of Labor Unrest in the Global South - IGCC

New on our blog, 2023-24 IGCC dissertation fellow Luis Rubén González Márquez shares his analysis of new evidence which suggests that economic and political factors may soon drive new waves of labor-related conflict in the Global South:

ucigcc.org/blog/hostile...

Five Questions on the Logic of Nuclear Nonuse - IGCC In the eight decades since two atomic bombs brought World War II to a devastating conclusion, nuclear weapons have not been used again. But today, the advent of advanced precision weapons and the decl...

This month, IGCC is hosting our annual Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Bootcamp. Catch up on some of the research we support in this space, like this recent blog post from IGCC postdoctoral fellow Colleen Larkin: ucigcc.org/blog/five-qu...

Check out this fascinating interview from @uofcalifornia.bsky.social 's IGCC on the ripple effect of American investment in tech innovation since WWII. @gpsucsd.bsky.social @jacobsschool.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social #BehindEveryBreakthrough

Five Questions on the Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics - IGCC Authoritarian regimes are gaining ground—asserting influence in multilateral institutions and regional organizations, even those that are fundamentally democratic in character like the European Union ...

Authoritarian regimes are gaining ground across an array of institutions, from multilateral organizations to universities and sports. For the IGCC blog, Alexander Cooley & Alexander Dukalskis discuss how this influence is taking shape and what democracies can do about it: bit.ly/4kZjKRE

China is Militarizing—Will that Make War More Likely? - IGCC CHINA FOCUS: China Focus is a column for IGCC’s Global Policy at a Glance which examines China’s rise as an autocratic great power and its implications for U.S. national security, the global economy, ...

ICYMI: Last month, IGCC director Tai Ming Cheung wrote for our China Focus blog column, assessing how Beijing is putting the nation on a war footing amid greater international uncertainty and whether this increases the risk that China will resort to war in the future: ucigcc.org/blog/china-i...

Will America Ride the Next Wave of Innovation and Growth? - IGCC Waves of economic growth are often fueled by the development and diffusion of new general-purpose technologies. But other factors—industrial and corporate organization, legal frameworks, and, of cours...

new podcast on the UCal Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation about what could have been in the absence of 🌮 policy (less so war, the mother of all things). helped by @yussefr.bsky.social. not as optimistic as in 2024.
@ucigcc.bsky.social @nwittstock.bsky.social
ucigcc.org/podcast/will...

The United States Hit Iran: What Happens Next? - IGCC

The U.S. hit Iran. But what happens next? IGCC senior fellow David Lake of @gpsucsd.bsky.social examines three unanswered questions following the historic strikes on Iran’s nuclear program: ucigcc.org/blog/the-uni...

Will America Ride the Next Wave of Innovation and Growth? - IGCC Waves of economic growth are often fueled by the development and diffusion of new general-purpose technologies. But other factors—industrial and corporate organization, legal frameworks, and, of cours...

Tech fuels economic growth—but it’s not the whole story. In the latest episode of Talking Policy, Mark Schwartz of UVA discusses the global prospects for tech-enabled growth and U.S.-China competition for AI and energy leadership: bit.ly/40jXHg4

Today, IGCC hosted a workshop on the state of Chinese science, technology, innovation, and industrial policy in Washington, DC. The culmination of a three-year project, the discussions explored a transformational new phase of China’s economic development.

Earlier this year, we welcomed Maggie Peters, a professor of political science at UCLA to the formal IGCC network of scholars! Her research centers on the political economy of migration. Read more about Maggie and her work here: ucigcc.org/people/marga...

Stepping Back from the Nuclear Brink: A Talking Policy Roundtable - IGCC A new, dangerous nuclear era is upon us. China is rapidly expanding its arsenal; Russia is threatening to use its nukes in Ukraine; and North Korea is undertaking provocative tests of its delivery sys...

U.S.-China tensions, Russian and North Korean saber rattling, India-Pakistan hostilities, and Israel-Iran conflict underscore nuclear escalation risks in 2025. Re-listen to IGCC’s podcast roundtable from October about how the world might be able to reduce nuclear risks: ucigcc.org/podcast/step...

Patriots and Mercenaries: Five Questions on Ethnicity in Russia’s Army - IGCC Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year, has come at a heavy toll for both sides of the conflict. Russia’s extensive battlefield losses have exposed both the Kremlin’s willingn...

Russian losses in Ukraine have exposed a stratified society whose manpower sustains the Kremlin’s goals of conquest. On the IGCC blog, Jesse Driscoll of @gpsucsd.bsky.social discusses ethnic hierarchies in Russia’s military and whether four years of war are changing things: bit.ly/4e2Cxc0