Events

Steve Johnson is an HSP fellow and a leader in Internet technology and governance. However, he has another passion that touches on homeland security issues of police protection, equity, and misconduct. His gay brother, Scott Johnson, was killed in Sydney, Australia in 1988. The police declared it a suicide. After a 30-year struggle to prompt a police investigation, a third inquest declared Scott’s death a gay hate homicide. Then ensued the successful apprehension and conviction of Scott’s killer and a Parliamentary Commission looking into the police handling of 100 deaths of gay men, confirming an epidemic of gay hate crime the New South Wales police did too little about. In December 2023, The Commission of Inquiry published its recommendations, a strong indictment of the police’s resistance to investigate hate crimes, and an outline for reform. This will be a unique discussion about how Steve turned his personal tragedy into policy change in safety and security. 

This event is open to all Harvard students, fellows, faculty, and staff. Refreshments will be served. 

Speaker: Julie George, Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program

Under which conditions do dual-use emerging technologies proliferate in the international system? The speaker investigates the likelihood of proliferation of three emerging technologies: artificial intelligence, robotics, and cyber. She selects these three emerging innovations based on their date of discovery in the 1950s and analyze the paths taken by states and the private sector. The outcome variable, proliferation, includes two stages, specifically possession and the operationality of the emerging technology. It is evaluated based on two hypotheses: 1) whether foreign acquisition or indigenous formation is the modal form of technology acquisition and 2) the degree to which there are international institutions governing these technologies. By analyzing neglected patterns that characterize the proliferation of technologies by states and how they have changed from the 1950s to the present, scholars and policymakers gain a greater sense of the liabilities of the innovations to the international system. Overall, scholarly attention to emerging technologies is increasingly important as these innovations continue to take shape and impact the nature of national and international security.

Open to Harvard ID Holders Only: Admittance will be on a first come–first served basis. Coffee &Tea Provided.

Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs for a Belfer Briefing on Europe with Karen Donfried, Belfer Center Senior Fellow, and Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. They will discuss, "Changing Geopolitics:  The EU's Global Gateway in an Era of Competing Offers."

The briefing will cover Global Gateway, which was launched by the European Union in December 2021 in an increasingly challenging geopolitical context.  While not a counteroffer to China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Gateway aims to provide sustainable, quality infrastructure investments without creating untenable debt in partner countries.

This event will be off-the-record, in-person, and is restricted to Harvard ID holders. If your RSVP has been confirmed, you will receive confirmation and event details prior to the session.

What do Africa and the Arctic have in common? Join the Belfer Center’s Africa Futures Project and the Arctic Initiative for an interactive discussion and community networking event that will explore parallels between these seemingly disparate regions.

Drs. Zoe Marks and Jennifer Spence will provide an overview of shared dynamics in both regions, including great power competition, extractive industries, and the energy transition. The remarks will lay the foundation for small group discussion on other misconceptions, commonalities, and cautionary tales. Participants will have an opportunity to connect with Harvard's Africa and Arctic networks and insights generated from their discussions that will inform topics for future Africa + Arctic dialogues.

Refreshments will be served. 

Dr. Zoe Marks is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Chair of the Africa Futures Project.

Dr. Jennifer Spence is the Project Director of the Arctic Initiative

Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for a seminar with Dr. Victor Cha, Professor of Government at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, & Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Head of the Department of European & International Studies and Professor of International Relations at King's College London, and moderated by S.T. Lee Chair in U.S.-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, Dr. Rana Mitter on Tuesday, April 16th from 2:30-3:30 PM in the Belfer Library (L369). 

Korea has a long, riveting history—it is also a divided nation. South Korea is a vibrant democracy, the tenth largest economy, and is home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, a poor country in a rich region, and is best known for the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family. But both Koreas share a unique common history.

Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo draw on decades of research to explore the history of modern Korea, from the late nineteenth century, Japanese occupation, and Cold War division to the present day. A small country caught amongst the world’s largest powers—including China, Japan, Russia, and the United States—Korea’s fate has been closely connected to its geography and the strength of its leadership and society. This comprehensive history sheds light on the evolving identities of the two Koreas, explaining the sharp differences between North and South, and prospects for unification.

This event will be off-the-record, in-person, and is restricted to Harvard ID holders. 

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Wake Smith, Research Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and Lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment. Smith will give a talk on "Frosted Tips: An Alternative Rationale for Solar Geoengineering." Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: RSVP required. A Harvard University ID is required for in-person attendance; all are welcome to attend via Zoom.

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page (typically one week later). Those who register for this event will automatically receive a link to the recording as soon as it becomes available.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Sponsors: The Belfer Center's Environment and Natural Resources Program, the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies for a Belfer Briefing on Europe withKaren Donfried, Belfer Center Senior Fellow, and Nikolaos Dendias, Greek Minister of National Defense. They will discuss "Geopolitics and Security Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Role of Greece."

The briefing will focus on the importance of strong national defense and regional cooperation in an era of diverse challenges, from climate change to energy market shocks. Minister Dendias will address Greece’s relations with the United States, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and the shared goal of promoting peace and security. Elaine Papoulias, Executive Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, will make welcoming remarks.

This event will be off-the-record, in-person, and is restricted to Harvard ID holders. If your RSVP has been confirmed, you will receive confirmation and event details prior to the session.

A conversation between MEI Faculty Chair Professor Tarek Masoud and author and former member of Knesset Dr. Einat Wilf. This event is part of the Middle East Initiative's "Middle East Dialogues," a series of frank, open, and probing encounters with vital and varied perspectives on the current conflict, its causes, and the prospects for peace and progress in the region.

This event is open to HUID holders only. Registration is required.

Following the announcement of a new US Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa in August 2022, and a second US-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022, the goal of the Africa in Focus discussion series is to take stock of US-African relations to date, including unpacking key components of the US strategy, and understanding African perspectives on the current and future trajectory of US engagement on the continent.

Speaker: Jung Jae Kwon, Stanton Nuclear Security Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

How do non-nuclear allies of the U.S. try to generate deterrence without their own nuclear arsenal? How do the allies seek to employ their non-nuclear military capabilities even as they ultimately have to rely on the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" for security? While these questions have grown more important in an era of "integrated deterrence," existing scholarship on nuclear strategy or extended deterrence has largely overlooked the agency of allies. This project seeks to fill the gap. The speaker identifies three ways in which the allies have used their military capabilities to generate deterrent effects and develop a theory to explain and predict their behavior. He conducts case studies of U.S. allies, such as South Korea and Japan, to examine the causes of the variation in their behavior and draws on extensive fieldwork, elite interviews, and primary sources for empirical analysis.

Open to Harvard ID Holders Only: Admittance will be on a first come–first served basis. Coffee &Tea Provided.