Mission

The Security Studies Program at MIT is a graduate-level research and educational program based at the Center for International Studies at MIT. The senior research and teaching staff includes social scientists and policy analysts. A special feature of the program is the integration of technical and political analysis of national and international security problems. Security Studies is a recognized field of study in the MIT Political Science Department. Courses emphasize grand strategy, the causes and prevention of conflict, military operations and technology, and defense policy.

 

 

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News

 

In the News

Sara Plana and Andy Halterman have been awarded NSF graduate research fellowships for 2016-2017.

 

SSP alums Jennifer Lind and Nick Miller, and graduate student Mark Bell are quoted in "Trump's comments on Japanese nukes are worrisome — even by Trump standards," vox.com, March 31, 2016.

 

Jim Walsh was on WBUR commenting on the Brussels terrorist attacks in a segment titled "Has ISIS Declared War on Europe?" March 22, 2016.

 

Richard Samuels was one of the speakers at a Starr Forum titled "3.11: Five Years After the Triple Disaster in Northeastern Japan," March 10, 2016. video of talk

 

Fiona Cunningham, Stephen Wittels, and Ketian Zhang are each recipients of 2016 World Politics Fellowship grants from the Smith Richardson Foundation.

 

Amanda Rothschild was the speaker at a Pine Crest School Holocaust Awareness Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 3, 2016. more information

 

SSP alum Marc Devore's 2015 report "When Failure Thrives" is quoted extensively in "Does the Army Need Airborne?" Army Times, February 29, 2016.

 

Barry Posen was the moderator of a Starr Forum titled "With Friends Like These: America's allies and the fight against ISIS," February 25, 2016. more information video of talk

 

MIT News article about Marika Landau-Wells' research: "It's all in our heads," February 23, 2016.

 

Interview with Richard Samuels by the Einstein Foundation, Berlin, about his current research project. text of interview

 

New Publications

Christine M. Leah, "There Are Going To Be More Cold Wars," realcleardefense.com, April 7, 2016. (Article also appears in Business Insider.)

 

Gene Gerzhoy and Nick Miller, "Donald Trump thinks more countries should have nuclear weapons. Here's what the research says," Washington Post Monkey Cage Blog, April 6, 2016.

 

Jonathan Caverley (with Ethan B. Kapstein), "Who's Arming Asia?" Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, Vol. 58, No. 2 (April-May 2016), pp. 167-187.

 

Jim Walsh and John Park, "To Stop the Missiles, Stop North Korea, Inc.," op-ed, New York Times, March 10, 2016.

 

Gautam Mukunda, "Why Donald Trump Might Be the Most Dangerous Presidential Candidate in History," HuffingtonPost, March 2, 2016.

 

Amanda Rothschild, "ISIS and Genocide: How the United States Talks about Atrocities," Foreign Affairs, February 28, 2016.

 

Jonathan Caverley (with Jesse Dillon Savage), "When Peacekeepers Come Home," op-ed, New York Times, February 21, 2016.

 

Lena Andrews and Julia Macdonald, "Five costs of military innovation," warontherocks.com, February 18, 2016.

 

Amanda Rothschild, "As You Were Saying...American Dream in 'N.Y. Values'," op-ed, Boston Herald, February 7, 2016.

 

Rohan Mukherjee (with Anthony Yazaki), eds., Poised for Partnership: Deepening India-Japan Relations in the Asian Century, Oxford University Press India, 25 January 2016.

 

Kelly M. Greenhill, "Demographic Bombing: People as Weapons in Syria and Beyond," Foreign Affairs, December 17, 2015.

 

SSP's 2014-2015 Annual Report is now available. Director's Statement from the annual report: "The Iran Nuclear Deal-A Critique of the Debate."

 

Mark Bell, "Examining Explanations for Nuclear Proliferation," International Studies Quarterly, December 2015.

 

Barry R. Posen, "Contain ISIS," The Atlantic, November 20, 2015.