Events

Speaker: Matthew Borawski, Research Fellow, International Security Program

The U.S. defense industrial base proved ill-equipped to adequately surge ammunition production for Ukraine's fight against Russia, with the Department of Defense reporting it will take nearly three years to replenish the two million 155mm artillery rounds provided to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the United States assumes increased conventional risk to its own warfighting capabilities. How did U.S. munitions manufacturing erode, was it avoidable, and what is needed to reach sufficient capacity in the future? The answer to these questions should inform the larger, more critical question: How can the United States ensure a munitions shortage does not occur if U.S. military forces are committed to large scale combat operations in the future? Answering the research question could help the United States maintain its conventional superiority in a future conflict and minimize readiness impacts when providing lethal assistance to our Allies and Partners, including Ukraine and Taiwan. These effects would also improve our integrated deterrence strategy since robust production capacity remains a deterrent. Instead, the United States appears to be in a continuous spin-up/ramp-down cycle for ammunition production, which creates the cyclical crisis and preparedness paradox.

Invitation Only. Coffee &Tea Provided.

Speaker: Sanne Verschuren, Assistant Professor of International Security, The Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University

Despite nearly seventy years of research and development in the United States, missile defense continues to face high, if not insurmountable, technological challenges, is financially burdensome, and has resulted in negative outcomes for strategic stability. Hence, the speaker asks: What explains the continued and widespread support for missile defense among U.S. policymakers? Contrary to arguments about American cultural features, public appeal, and organizational politics, she examines two conditions that can explain the persistence of missile defense: technological malleability and patterns of ignorance.

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

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar series featuring Leah Stokes, Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Stokes will give a talk on “Making Climate Policy: Why the Inflation Reduction Act Passed.” Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis. The seminar will also be streamed via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.

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

Speaker: David Kearn, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

The book project seeks to explain the divergence of views of within the strategic community after the signing of the SALT I Accords and the subsequent shift in U.S. strategic nuclear policy away from "assured destruction" to "nuclear warfighting" throughout the 1970s and culminating in the Reagan administrations "prevailing strategy."

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

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy of the U.S. National Security Council. Ladislaw will give a talk on "U.S. International Climate and Energy Policy." Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. The seminar will also be streamed via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.

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

Harvard Kennedy School Study Group led by Dr. Karen Donfried, Belfer Center Senior Fellow

Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00pm

Over the course of six sessions, a study group, led by Dr. Karen Donfried, will examine key foreign policy debates flowing from Russia’s war against Ukraine. The objective is to provide a deeper understanding of the geopolitics of the war in Ukraine and the implications for U.S. interests.

Eligibility requirements: Harvard graduate and post-graduate students, who can attend all six sessions. We will seek to accommodate several undergraduates. Applicants with a strong interest in foreign affairs are encouraged to apply. No specific experience or first-hand knowledge of the issues is required. 

• Apply online through this link by 12:00 PM on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. Late applications will not be considered.

Please join the Belfer Center's Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Program for a a conversation with Stephanie Nguyen, Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Trade Commission, on Wednesday, February 21st from 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM in Wexner 434AB.

This session is off the record, in person, and for HUID holders only. If your RSVP has been confirmed, you will receive confirmation and event details prior to the session.

Meets: 4:45-6:00pm ET from February 14 to March 27 (excluding March 13)

In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nearly all cooperation on Arctic science and conservation has ceased between the West and Russia, bringing to a halt thirty years of joint effort on fisheries and wildlife conservation, climate change research, protected areas management and other areas of environmental science.  

This six-session study group, led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams, will explore the Arctic's unique environmental and cultural characteristics, as well as the key agreements and governance structures supporting environmental protection and sustainable development in the region. The group's objective is to evaluate the costs and benefits of renewing cooperation with Russia and develop recommendations that could be shared with key government agencies in the United States or other Western countries regarding future cooperation in the science and conservation arenas.

Classes will be a combination of presentations by the study group leader and guest speakers; student presentations; and at least one debate. Guest speakers will include scientists, Arctic experts from NGOs, and government representatives. Some minimal reading will be required before each session for all participants. 

Eligibility Requirements: Harvard graduate and post-graduate students, who can attend all sessions. Applicants with a strong interest in Arctic issues are encouraged to apply. No specific experience or first-hand knowledge of the issues is required.

The application deadline has passed.

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for an AI Cyber Lunch featuring Internet pioneer Scott Bradner. In a talk entitled "Section 702 and You: Who Is the NSA Watching?" Bradner will turn a critical eye on the provision of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act that permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the United States. Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. All are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.

Recording: Please be advised that this seminar will not be recorded. The event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

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

As the two-year anniversary of the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, join us for a wide-ranging conversation with the founders of the humanitarian organization Assist Ukraine, the Arctic-biologist-turned-activist Olga Shpak and the alpinist and conservationist Art Davidson. The panel will cover the war’s impact on Arctic science, the current situation on the ground in Ukraine, the process of providing aid to front-line defenders, and more.

Belfer Young Leader Fellow Vladyslav Wallace will moderate. Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Margaret Williams will provide introductory remarks. Q&A to follow. No RSVP required. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Refreshments will be provided.

Sponsors: The Harvard Kennedy School Ukraine Caucus and the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative