Security Studies Program MIT

In our upcoming Wednesday Seminar, Kari Bingen, Senior Fellow at @csis.org, will discuss the landscape of space security and competition. Learn more: https://bit.ly/47glAbX

🗓️3/11 at noon ET
📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/4svYaru

After the strike: The danger of war in Iran | Brookings Brookings experts break down what the war in Iran means and what's at stake internationally and domestically.

Center for Nuclear Security Policy Caitlin Talmadge with the Brookings Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon provide expert insight for the @brookings.edu’s “After the strike: The danger of war in Iran”.

Read more: www.brookings.edu/articles/aft...
@proftalmadge.bsky.social

🌮Spend your lunchtime with us!
In tomorrow’s Wednesday Seminar, Paul DeLuca, director of the Navy and Marine Forces Program at RAND, will discuss the relationship between maritime forces and supply chain security and insecurity.

🗓️3/4 at noon ET
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/4cVsOpk

“It doesn’t matter what Hegseth says at a podium. What matters is what the Iranians believe, and they believe it’s about regime survival,” says SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh about the goal of US military action in Iran.

🎧via @wbur.org Here and Now: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Expert breaks down challenges of regime change in Iran, calls it a ‘tough nut to crack’ | Fox News Video International security expert Jim Walsh discusses the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, his experiences in the region and the potential for regime change on ‘Fox Report.’

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh, speaking to Fox News about the joint US-Israel strikes on Iran says, “there’s no indication to the intelligence community, the US intelligence community or anyone else, that they were actively restarting their nuclear program.”
www.foxnews.com/video/639023...

Jon Lindsay gives a presentation in front of an audience.

An audience member asks a question as others look on.

Jon Lindsay, seated at a table with another person, addresses an offscreen audience.

Thank you, @jonrlindsay.bsky.social, for your book discussion “Age of Deception: Cybersecurity as Secret Statecraft” at this week’s Wednesday Seminar.

ICYMI you can catch up on the conversation with the recorded stream. 🎥 https://youtube.com/live/yJRGUArzrKg?feature=share

Assessing Xi’s Unprecedented Purges of China’s Military: Key Developments and Potential Implications This report brings together top experts on China’s military to assess Xi Jinping’s unprecedented purge of officers from all areas of its armed forces. Experts predict what this means for military read...

In a new report from @csis.org China Power, SSP Director M. Taylor Fravel (@fravel.bsky.social) writes the purge would create challenges for the PLA "in undertaking large-scale military operations such as a blockade or amphibious assault of Taiwan.”

Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3ODuCtm

⚠️FINAL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!⚠️
Are you a PhD student, junior faculty member, or early/mid-career national security practitioner interested in using wargaming as an analytic or teaching tool? Apply for the 2026 Summer Wargaming Lab Institute!

Learn more and apply: https://bit.ly/49DlhZj

In our upcoming Wednesday Seminar, Paul DeLuca, director of the Navy and Marine Forces Program at RAND, will discuss the relationship between maritime forces and supply chain security and insecurity.

📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/4cVsOpk

Xi’s Purges of China’s Military Run Deep, New Study Shows

“You can think of the purge of Zhang Youxia as just completing the first phase, with more turbulence to come,” says SSP Director @fravel.bsky.social in a recent @nytimes.com article.
📰 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/w...

Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America’s Future Against a Rising China The debate about US policy toward China hinges on rarely stated judgments about the nature of the challenge.

@cato.org hosts SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser and the @brookings.edu’s Patricia Kim to discuss US policy towards China. Full discussion 👇🏽

🍔Spend your lunchtime with us!
In this week’s Wednesday Seminar, @jonrlindsay.bsky.social will discuss his new book, “Age of Deception: Cybersecurity as Secret Statecraft”.

🗓️2/25 at noon ET
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/40kP9VU

How Could Artificial Intelligence Shape the Future of War? AI could affect four essential competitions in military affairs: quantity versus quality, hiding versus finding, centralized versus decentralized command and control, and cyber offense versus defense....

“Taken together, our analysis suggests that the U.S. military should look for ways to use AI in capabilities and operational concepts that leverage mass, deception, mission command, and cyber resilience,” write SSP Alum Zach Burdette along with coauthors from RAND.
https://bit.ly/4qPZwvX

Image of Erik Lin-Greenberg and his book.

A cake replica of Lin-Greenberg’s book.

Lin-Greenberg cutting into a cake.

Congratulations to Erik Lin-Greenberg for receiving the 2026 Best Book Award from the Conflict Processes Section of the @apsa.bsky.social. Lin-Greenberg’s “The Remote Revolution" studies drone use and its impact on military and state action.
Learn more:
https://bit.ly/4cbyPy8

Assessing the Scope and Impacts of Xi’s Military Purges | CSIS Events Join the CSIS China Power Project for a virtual event to discuss the widespread purges in the PLA and what they reveal about China’s strategic priorities and overall military readiness.

SSP Director M. Taylor Fravel @fravel.bsky.social) joins a panel of experts to discuss the scope and impacts of the recent purges within the People’s Liberation Army.
🗓️2/24 3-4:30pm ET

Register now for this online event hosted by the Center for Strategic Studies (@csis.org): https://bit.ly/4aHhpXF

In our next Wednesday Seminar, @jonrlindsay.bsky.social will discuss his new book, “Age of Deception: Cybersecurity as Secret Statecraft”, which explores the dimensions of cybersecurity within a broader historical context of intelligence operations.

📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/40kP9VU

What price for peace in Ukraine? | Brookings Four years since Russia’s invasion, Brookings experts answer questions about prospects for an end to the war and support for Ukraine.

“It is unnecessary and patronizing to push the issue of presidential elections in Ukraine in these peace talks—Ukrainians will insist on the elections themselves the moment security situation in the country allows,” writes Mariana Budjeryn via @brookings.edu https://bit.ly/4rllw2J

What does the U.S. want out of its negotiations with Iran? The U.S. military is reportedly preparing for the possibility of sustained military operations against Iran.

“If our objective is regime change, then bombing them is not going to lead to regime change,” says Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh on @wbur.org Here & Now about the recent US-Iran talks.

🎧Full conversation: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Elena presenting at a lectern in front of an audience.

An audience member asks a question as others look on.

Elena speaking from a lectern.

Thank you, Professor Elena Kempf, for sharing your research topic “New Weapons between Utopia and Apocalypse” with us at this week’s Wednesday Seminar.

🎥ICYMI catch up with the conversation with the recorded stream https://youtube.com/live/Rk0gpfYTWUA?feature=share

Japan's Trump-backed leader wins snap election gamble--What to know Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's party appeared poised to pick up seats in the snap elections.

“If US interests are defined as pro-Taiwan, anti-Beijing and a preference for stable Seoul-Tokyo relations, Washington will likely be pleased," MIT professor of political science Richard Samuels.
Via @newsweek.com
https://bit.ly/4bT15VZ

Tensions grow as more US-Iran talks are expected | Fox News Video International security expert Jim Walsh discusses the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions and military pressure on Iran on ‘Fox Report.’

“I don’t think Iran’s going to give up its ballistic missiles. That’s its only line of defense. There’s no country in the world that’s going to negotiate away its only method of defending itself,” says SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh in a conversation with Fox News.
https://fxn.ws/4qspm8O

🍟Spend your lunchtime with us!
In tomorrow’s Wednesday Seminar, Professor Elena Kempf will discuss the history of weapons prohibitions during the 19th and 20th centuries.

🗓️2/11 at noon ET
📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/4r88ci8

Carney's Challenge: Can Europe Take the Reins of NATO? Developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies.

Carney’s Challenge: Can Europe Take the Reins of NATO?
“You need some leadership to make these coalitions come together,” responds professor of political science Barry Posen.
🎧 Listen to the full podcast via @cnas.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4r1gqbG

What to expect ahead of the U.S.-Iran negotiations President Trump says Iran's supreme leader should be “very worried” ahead of the talks, especially if he tries to restart Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S. bombed last year.

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks to @wbur.org Here & Now, saying Trump wants “a big grab bag of things” from Iran in the US-Iran negotiations.
🎧Full conversation: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Sebastian at the front of a room full of people.

An audience member asks a question.

Two men standing in front of a banner.

Thank you, Sebastian Rosato (@krocinstitute.bsky.social), for your engaging discussion on "Commerce and Conflict" at this week’s Wednesday Seminar. ICYMI catch up with the conversation with the recorded stream📼 https://youtube.com/live/6I_tEvo_3rc?feature=share

In our upcoming Wednesday Seminar, Professor Elena Kempf will discuss the history of weapons prohibitions during the 19th and 20th centuries.

🗓️2/11 at noon ET
📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://youtube.com/live/Rk0gpfYTWUA?feature=share

If you are a recent or soon-to-be college graduate interested in China’s foreign and security policies and possess advanced Chinese language skills, then consider applying for the China research support associate position at MIT’s Security Studies Program.

Info + application: https://bit.ly/4rCIhz3

The Paradox of Wartime Commerce Why states keep trading even in the midst of conflict.

“States can keep trading with an adversary in particular circumstances: when trade doesn’t help the enemy win the war and when cutting that trade would be damaging to the state’s long-term security,” writes SSP's Mariya Grinberg. Read more via @foreignaffairs.com
https://fam.ag/4kaP7sM

Wednesday Seminars return tomorrow, February 4, with Sebastian Rosato, @krocinstitute.bsky.social, examining the relationship between commerce and conflict in international affairs.

🗓️2/4 at noon ET
📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496
📡Bookmark the livestream
https://bit.ly/468pVNO

“We find concerning evidence that automated nuclear weapons launch systems may enhance the credibility and effectiveness of nuclear threats,” write @joshschwartz.bsky.social, SSP visiting scholar, & @mchorowitz.bsky.social in their latest article for International Organization https://bit.ly/3LLxxPA