Events

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

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.

Speaker: Valbona Zeneli, Visiting Scholar, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University 

Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese enjoyed unfettered access to Europe's economic, research, and academic domains. Chinese President Xi Jinping's friendship pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin resulted in negative reverberations throughout European capitals and raised concerns about China's strategic ambitions and their impact on Europe. The presentation will examine the change in Europe's assessment of Chinese ambitions since the initiation of the war in Ukraine and likely impact on Chinese engagement activities going forward, including the need for a stronger transatlantic coordination.

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