Belfer Center Event Photos: March 11–21

In 2016 the Russian government, at the direction of Vladimir Putin himself, orchestrated cyberattacks on our Nation for the purpose of influencing the election that year – plain and simple. The experience should be a wake-up call for our Nation, as it highlighted cyber vulnerabilities in our political process, and in our election infrastructure itself. Now, with the experience fresh in our minds and clear in our rear-view mirror, the key question for our leaders at the national and state level is this: what are we doing about it? The matter is all the more urgent given the public testimony of our Nation’s intelligence chiefs last month, before this very Committee, that the Russians effort continues into the ongoing 2018 midterm election season.

The Belfer Center is pleased to welcome a number of high-ranking former officials who have joined the Center as Senior Fellows in the past few months. Each brings valuable experience and expertise in critical issues of concern to the Center that they share with students, faculty, and the larger community through their research, seminars, presentations, and various events.

Jeh Johnson, a Senior Fellow with the Belfer Center, was Secretary of Homeland Security from December 2013 to January 2017. Johnson is currently a partner with the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. As Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson was responsible for the TSA, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration, U.S. Citizenship Services, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and FEMA. Here, Juliette Kayyem, Director of the Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project, asks Secretary Johnson about his experience at DHS.

From sharply rising tensions with a nuclear North Korea and decertification of the Iran nuclear deal to China’s growing global assertiveness and the State Department pullback from projecting American values, such as democracy and human rights, around the world, the United States faces urgent national security challenges.

In a panel discussion Monday evening at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) moderated by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, former members of President Obama’s cabinet described what they see as a fraying of alliances, a loss of credibility with allies and enemies, a stepping back as a leader on human rights and democracy, and a relinquishment of diplomacy as a critical component of national security.

The Homeland Security Project, an initiative of Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, has announced the appointment of Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security, as the Project’s new non-resident Senior Fellow.