When it came time to write down his account of his nearly 40 years in the Pentagon, former Defense Secretary Ash Carter decided to focus on the less glamorous parts of the job, which he served in for the last two years of the Obama administration.

The military aid scandal that spawned the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump has a very different significance for Ukraine, where years of U.S. assistance have just begun to turn a ragtag army into a better-armed and professional force to counter Russian aggression.

The Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named Tzipi Livni, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Prime Minister of Israel, a 2019 Fisher Family Fellow. 

The Arctic Transformation and Resilience Study Group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Joel Clement, will give students the opportunity to learn about and work on issues of Arctic resilience. Working together to deliver a compilation and brief analysis of existing policies that support or inhibit resilience in the Arctic, students will have the opportunity to meet with top Arctic scientists, policymakers, indigenous knowledge-holders, and finance experts, while developing a report that will be delivered to the Secretariat of the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group.

This study group will be held on Tuesdays, from 6pm–7:30pm, beginning Oct 29, and including Nov 5, 12, 19, and 26. For more information or to sign-up, please contact brittany_janis@hks.harvard.edu. Space is limited; please register by October 21.

Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dr. A. Wess Mitchell a non-resident Fellow with the Applied History Project.

Lauren Zabierek has been named Executive Director of the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. A military veteran, former civilian intelligence analyst, and a Gold Star Sister, she joins the Belfer Center following her graduation in 2019 from Harvard Kennedy School’s mid-career Master in Public Administration program. 

Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center has named Maria Barsallo Lynch Executive Director of the Center’s Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P). Barsallo Lynch brings to D3P a background in the cross-section of politics, cybersecurity, and technology that will help grow the project’s work and impact in providing solutions and tools to keep democratic processes safe.  

Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named Julia Voo Research Director for the Belfer Center’s new China Cyber Policy Initiative. Within the Initiative, Voo will lead the Center's U.S.-China: Controlling Confrontation in Cyberspace project, a Track 2 dialogue with the China Institute for International Strategic Studies - a joint collaboration to facilitate discussion and develop policy recommendations for both the U.S. and China on the risks of cyber conflict.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School has named Lauren Zabierek, Maria Barsallo Lynch, and Julia Voo to head three of the Center’s growing cyber-related projects. They will run the Center’s Cyber Project, Defending Digital Democracy Project, and China Cyber Policy Initiative, respectively.

Ane Lone Bagger visited the Belfer Center to discuss how the exchange of knowledge and problem-solving between the Center and Greenlanders can lead to solutions to issues of environmental degradation and change.