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This list is designed to assist members of the media who seek comment and background information on issues related to international affairs from the diverse group of faculty, fellows and researchers affiliated with MIT's Center for International Studies. Experts are listed alphabetically as well as by topic; the alphabetical list includes contact information. For a guide to everyone at CIS, see Directory. For a list of our press contacts, see Press Inquiries.

. View experts in alphabetical order      . View experts by topic of expertise



AFRICA

Alice Amsden
(industrial transformation)
Francis Deng
(Sudan and Darfur, human rights, development, conflict management, identity and conflict, displacement)

ASIA

Alice Amsden
(industrial transformation)
Arundhati Banerjee
(South Asian/Indian literature, culture)
John Dower
(US-Asia history)
Taylor Fravel
(Asian security and Chinese politics)
Robert Madsen
(finance, investment, political analysis, rise of China’s effect on East Asia, Japan’s economy)
Peter Perdue
(modern Chinese and Japanese social and economic history)
Daryl Press
(East Asia balance of power)
Balakrishnan Rajagopal
(politics of South and Southeast Asia)
Richard Samuels
(Japanese politics and leadership, Asian security, political economy, comparative politics)

CENSUSES

Melissa Nobles
(racial categorization/US and Brazil)

CHINA

Taylor Fravel
(foreign and security policy, Chinese elite politics)
Robert Madsen
(rise of China and effect on East Asia, investment and finance)
Peter Perdue
(modern Chinese history)
Karen Polenske
(technology change, cokemaking and steelmaking)
Lucian Pye
(politics)
Edward Steinfeld
(government, political economy, state enterprise restructuring, financial reform)
Lily Tsai
(politics, governance/accountability, civil society)
Jing Wang
(popular culture, media, language)

CITIES IN CONFLICT

Diane Davis
Roger Petersen

CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS

Taylor Fravel
(China and Taiwan)
Chappell Lawson

Roger Petersen
Richard Samuels
Harvey Sapolsky

CIVIL SOCIETY

Lily Tsai
(governance, social vs. formal institutions, accountability)

COLD WAR HISTORY

Taylor Fravel
(East Asia)
Barry Posen
Stephen Van Evera
Elizabeth Wood

COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Suzanne Berger
(focus on France and Italy)
Donald Blackmer
(Russia/FSU, left-wing parties in Western Europe)
Melissa Nobles
(racial and ethnic politics, nationalism, social movements, retrospective justice)
Roger Petersen
Lucian Pye

(Asia, China, political cultures, political psychology)
Jonathan Rodden
(political economy of institutions, European politics)

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Francis Deng

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Francis Deng
Taylor Fravel

(Territorial Disputes)
John Tirman
Stephen Van Evera

DEFENSE POLICY

Owen Coté, Jr.
Eugene Gholz

(defense industry)
Barry Posen
Daryl Press

(crisis decision-making)
Harvey Sapolsky

(defense industries, politics)
Cindy Williams
(defense budget, military personnel policy)

DEMOCRACY

Barbara Bodine
(Middle East / Persian Gulf)
Diane Davis

(police, military and democracy)
Chappell Lawson
(democratization, Latin America)
Lily Tsai
(States and governance)

DEVELOPMENT

Diane Davis
(political economy)
Francis Deng
(Africa, Sudan)
Richard Locke
(economic)
Robert Lucas
(international migration, environment, labor)
Judith Tendler
(development economics, better-performing government and NGO programs)
John Tirman
Bish Sanyal
(state-NGO relationships, advanced information technology)

DIPLOMACY

Barbara Bodine
(U.S. Foreign Service, Middle East, Persian Gulf)
Francis Deng
(Sudan, UN)
Luise Druke
(UNHCR, migration and refugees, international law)

DISASTER RECOVERY /
URBAN SECURITY

Lawrence Vale

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Daniel Hastings
(bio-security, access to bio technologies, implications of GPS technology)
Lawrence McCray
(uncertainty and decisionmaking, implications of laser technology)
Dava Newman
(uncertainty and decisionmaking, technology and public policy)
Kenneth Oye
(uncertainty and decisionmaking related to such emerging technologies as synthetic biology, ubiquitous computing, energy technology; economic, environmental, social and politics effects)
Merritt Roe Smith
(history of emerging technologies, e.g., cars, lasers, GPS; role of the military in innovation)

ENERGY

Nazli Choucri
(world oil market, development, technology transfer)
Thomas Neff
(international industries and markets)
Kenneth Oye
(emerging technologies)
Karen Polenske
(industrial technology, China)

ENGINEERING SYSTEMS

David Mindell

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
& PLANNING

JoAnn Carmin
(civil society participation in environmental governance, environmental moements, disasters and emergencies, Central and Eastern Europe)
Daniel Hastings
(spacecraft-environment interactions)
Lawrence McCray
Kenneth Oye
Karen Polenske

(China, air pollution, environmental analyses)
Sanford Weiner
(comparative regulation)

ETHNIC CONFLICT / POLITICS

Melissa Nobles
Roger Petersen
Barry Posen
John Tirman
Stephen Van Evera

EUROPE

Alice Amsden
(industrial transformation)
Robert Art

(security)
Suzanne Berger
(effects of globalization, politics, labor)
Roger Petersen
(ethnic conflict, Balkans/Kosovo)
Barry Posen
(EU security and defense policy)
Jonathan Rodden
(politics, elections, public finance)
Serenella Sferza
(political parties)
Bernd Widdig
(German culture and literature; MIT-Germany Program)

FOREIGN POLICY

Robert Art
Taylor Fravel
(East Asia)
Chappell Lawson

(Latin America)
Kenneth Oye
Barry Posen
John Tirman
Stephen Van Evera

FRANCE

Suzanne Berger
(politics)

GERMANY

Jonathan Rodden
(politics)
Bernd Widdig
(culture, language, literature, inflation)

GLOBALIZATION

Suzanne Berger
(competitiveness, effects of globalization on institutions, history of globalization in France)
Diane Davis

(cities)
Eugene Gholz
(and national security)
Robert Lucas
Robert Madsen
(Asian economies)
Balakrishnan Rajagopal
(human rights)
Jonathan Rodden
Serenella Sferza

(effect on long-term political change, working in the global economy)
Edward Steinfeld

(impact on Chinese industry)
John Tirman
(globalization and conflict)
Elizabeth Wood
(women's rights and globalization)

GRAND STRATEGY

Robert Art
Barry Posen

HEALTH POLICY

Harvey Sapolsky

HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Bruce Mazlish
David Mindell

(war and naval technologies)

HUMAN RIGHTS

Alice Amsden
Kanchan Chandra
Diane Davis
Francis Deng
John Dower
Balakrishnan Rajagopal

(displacement, globalization and social responsibility, environment/land/housing, social movements, critical social and legal theory)
John Tirman
Elizabeth Wood
(international trials)

IDENTITY POLITICS

Francis Deng
Melissa Nobles
Roger Petersen

INDIA

Arundhati Banerjee
(culture and language, MIT-India Program)
Karen Polenske

(technology change)

INNOVATION

Sanford Weiner
(public and private organizations)
Karen Polenske
Barry Posen

(military)
Merritt Roe Smith
(role of military)

 

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY

Kenneth Oye

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Suzanne Berger
(MIT’s “MISTI” internship programs, France)
Patricia Gercik
(MISTI Program, Japan)
Richard Samuels
(Japan)
Bernd Widdig
(Germany)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Robert Art
Nazli Choucri

Owen Coté, Jr.
Taylor Fravel
Michael Piore

(labor economics)
John Tirman
Stephen Van Evera

IRAN
(politics, nuclear program, U.S. policy)

Sanam Anderlini
Barry Posen
John Tirman
Jim Walsh

IRAQ

Barbara Bodine
(reconstruction, U.S. policy, diplomacy)
Owen Coté, Jr.

Barry Posen
John Tirman

Stephen Van Evera
Jim Walsh

ITALY

Richard Locke
(political economy)
Richard Samuels
(political leadership, economic history)
Serenella Sferza
(MIT-Italy Program, political parties)

JAPAN

John Dower
(modern history, US-Japan relations)
Patricia Gercik
(culture, business practices)
Robert Madsen
(economics and politics)
Richard Samuels
(security, politics, public policy, political leadership, defense/aerospace)

LABOR RELATIONS

Suzanne Berger
(globalization issues, Asia, Europe, U.S.)
Richard Locke

LATIN AMERICA

Diane Davis
(politics and society)
Chappell Lawson
(democratization, mass media, regime change, Mexican elections/politics)
Jean Jackson
(indigenous movements, Colombia)
Judith Tendler
(development policy) 

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Jeanne Guillemin
Jean Jackson

MEXICO

Chappell Lawson
(politics, elections, media, democratization)

MIDDLE EAST

Barbara Bodine
(U.S. diplomacy, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, regional issues)
Owen Cote, Jr.

(U.S. military policy)
Diane Davis

(Jerusalem 2050 project)
Leila Farsakh

(Arab-Israeli conflict)
Philip Khoury
(modern and contemporary history, Arab nationalism, Arab world's relationship with France, Britain and the U.S., state formation)
Karen Polenske
(technology change)
Barry Posen
(U.S. policy, Iran, Iraq)
Stephen Van Evera
(Arab-Israeli conflict)
Jim Walsh
(U.S. policy, Iran, Iraq, WMD issues)

MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

Francis Deng
(UN, displaced persons worldwide, Africa)
Luise Druke
(UNHCR, crisis prevention and management)
Richard Locke
Robert Lucas
Michael Piore
David Singer

(remittances)
Sharon Stanton Russell

(trends and policies, migration and development, forced migration)
John Tirman
(Migration and security)

MILITARY ISSUES

Owen Coté, Jr.
(transformation, operations, innovation, technology, history, naval forces)
Peter Duffy
(naval warfare, programs, planning)
Taylor Fravel
(Chinese military policy)
Eugene Gholz
(transformation)
David Mindell
(history of automation)
Barry Posen
(innovation, organization and employment of force)
Daryl Press
(technology, future of warfare)
Harvey Sapolsky
(innovation, defense politics, organizational theory)
Jim Walsh
(WMD proliferation, terrorism)
Cindy Williams
(personnel policy, command and control, budget, the draft vs volunteer service)

NORTH KOREA

Jim Walsh
(nuclear program)

NUCLEAR ENERGY / POWER

Thomas Neff

(nuclear fuel markets)

NUCLEAR WEAPONS /
WMD PROLIFERATION

Owen Coté, Jr.
(nuclear weapons in the FSU, nuclear force structure)
Thomas Neff
(post-cold war security)
Jim Walsh
(Iran, North Korea, NPT, terrorism)

PERSIAN GULF

Sanam Anderlini
Barbara Bodine
John Tirman


POLITICAL ECONOMY

Alice Amsden
(industrialization in East Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe)
Suzanne Berger
(France and Italy)
Richard Locke
(Italy, Brazil, Germany)
Kenneth Oye
(international political economy, emerging technologies)
Jonathan Rodden

(institutions)
Serenella Sferza
(Europe)
David Singer
(international financial regulation, capital flows/policy, central banking, governance)
Edward Steinfeld
(reform in socialist and post-socialist systems)
Judith Tendler
(development economics, NGO performance, infrastructure programs)

POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Willa Michener

POPULATION AND POLITICAL CHANGE

Nazli Choucri

REGULATION

Lawrence McCray

RUSSIA AND THE FSU

Donald Blackmer
(domestic politics)
Thomas Neff
(FSU defense conversion)
Elizabeth Wood
(political economy of contemporary Russia)

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

Daniel Hastings
(bio-security, access to bio technologies, implications of GPS technology)
Lawrence McCray
(technology policy, effects of emerging technologies, laser technology)
David Mindell
(technology policy)
Dava Newman
(emerging technologies/uncertainty and decisionmaking, technology and public policy, effects of emerging technologies)
Kenneth Oye
(emerging technologies/uncertainty and decisionmaking, including synthetic biology, ubiquitous computing, energy technology; economic, environmental, social and politics effects of emerging technologies; regulation)
Karen Polenske
(change in India, Indonesia, Middle East, China, UK, US)
Harvey Sapolsky
(public policy, health policy, military innovation)
Eugene Skolnikoff
(interaction of science and technology and international politics)
Merritt Roe Smith
(history of emerging technologies, e.g., cars, lasers, GPS; role of the military in innovation)

SECURITY STUDIES

Robert Art
(grand strategy, constructive engagement, US foreign policy, European security, coercive diplomacy)
Owen Coté, Jr.
(international security, US defense policy, naval doctrine and innovation)
Taylor Fravel

(China, East Asia)
Daniel Hastings
(aeronautics/astronautics policy, space systems and policy, US Air Force science and technology)
Barry Posen
(international security, grand strategy, use of force, military intervention, doctrine, organization and escalation)
Harvey Sapolsky
(use of force, weapons acquisition, defense industries, defense politics)
Stephen Van Evera

(national security policy, causes and prevention of war)
Jim Walsh
(WMD proliferation, international security, US policy on Iraq, Iran, North Korea)
Cindy Williams
(US defense and security budgets, US and European military personnel structures, command and control)

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Stephen Van Evera
(methods)

SPACE SYSTEMS AND POLICY

Daniel Hastings
(policy and technology, Air Force programs)

SUDAN / DARFUR

Francis Deng

TERRORISM

Barbara Bodine
(counterterrorism policy, methods)
Owen Coté, Jr.

(threat of WMD terrorism)
Jeanne Guillemin
(anthrax, anthrax controversies)
Gregory Koblentz
(Homeland Security, biological weapons, bioterrorism)
Barry Posen
John Tirman
Stephen Van Evera
Jim Walsh
(WMD proliferation, international security)

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Melissa Nobles

UNITED NATIONS

Barbara Bodine
Frances Deng

Luise Druke

URBAN DESIGN POLITICS

Lawrence Vale
(public housing, disaster recovery, urban security)

URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING

Diane Davis
(politics of urban policy)
Bish Sanyal
(Bangladesh, Zambia, Kenya, Jordan, Curacao)

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Owen Coté, Jr.
(threat of WMD terrorism)
Jim Walsh
(nuclear terrorism, non-proliferation)


Massachusetts Institute of Technology