“I use ‘disruptive’ in both its good and bad connotations. Disruptive scientific and technological progress is not to me inherently good or inherently evil. But its arc is for us to shape. Technology’s progress is furthermore in my judgment unstoppable. But it is quite incorrect that it unfolds inexorably according to its own internal logic and the laws of nature.”
About
Welcome to the International Security Program (ISP). We are part of the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as the oldest research program of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Although located within the School of Government, ISP is not a degree program.
ISP addresses the most important challenges to U.S. national security and international security in the quarter century ahead. As the first issue of the journal International Security stated in 1976, "we define international security broadly to include the full array of factors that have a direct bearing on the structure of the international system and the sovereignty of its members, with particular emphasis on the use, threat, and control of force."
Program researchers analyze security issues rigorously, draw prescriptive conclusions, and communicate their recommendations directly to makers of public policy and shapers of public opinion. The Program also seeks to advance scholarship in security studies by contributing to significant academic debates through its own research activities and by publishing the leading peer-reviewed journal in the field, International Security. Each year ISP develops and trains new talent in security studies by hosting pre- and postdoctoral research fellows. The Program also created and continues to publish a book series, the Belfer Center Studies in International Security, to provide an outlet for policy-oriented research and analysis in the field of international security.
Since the early 1990s, the International Security Program has led an international effort to recognize the threat of terror, analyze its causes, and recommend what the United States should do to prevent and fight it. Several experts in the International Security Program have authored important works in the field of terrorism.
On our pages, you will find information about our research projects, our publications, and the faculty, fellows, and staff associated with the program.
New Research Fellows
David Allen (Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy)
Michael Beckley
Chad Ellsworth (Air Force Fellow)
Alexandra Tejblum Evans (Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy)
Payam Ghalehdar
Andrea Gilli
Jeffrey G. Karam
Ayako Kobayashi
A. Bradley Potter
Nina Silove (August 2017–February 2018)
Ariane Tabatabai
Andrew Taffer (December 2017–June 2018)
Torrey Taussig
Ketian Zhang
Joint w/ Project on Managing the Atom
Alexander Bollfrass (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow)
Brian Filler (Air Force Fellow)
Amit Grober
Elmar Hellendoorn
Frank O'Donnell (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow)
Reid Pauly
Daniel Salisbury (Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow)
Katlyn Turner
Returning Research Fellows
Christopher Anzalone
Irina Chindea
Kate Cronin-Furman
Paul Fraioli
Chuck Freilich
Mathias Ormestad Frendem
Kelly Greenhill
Jason Kelly (Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy)
Benjamin Rhode (Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy)
Calder Walton (Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy)
Joint w/ Project on Managing the Atom
Mansoor Ahmed
Mariana Budjeryn
Mahsa Rouhi
ISP Associates
Charles Cogan (July–December 2017)
Vera Mironova
Richard Rosecrance
Amanda Rothschild (July–December 2017)
Andrew Taffer (September–November 2017)
Director
Faculty Chair
Faculty
Fellows
Associates
Staff
Susan M. Lynch
Susan M. Lynch
- Program Assistant, International Security Program; Web Manager, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program
Sean M. Lynn-Jones
Sean M. Lynn-Jones
- Editor, International Security; Series Editor, Belfer Center Studies in International Security
Martin B. Malin
Martin B. Malin
- Executive Director, Project on Managing the Atom
Diane J. McCree
Diane J. McCree
- Managing Editor, International Security
Karen Motley
Karen Motley
- Executive Editor, Belfer Center Studies in International Security
Hui Zhang
Hui Zhang
- Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Alumni
International Security Program
For all program-related questions, including event and fellowship information:
Quarterly Journal: International Security
For all journal-related questions:
Belfer Center Studies in International Security
For questions about the book series:
Discussion Paper Series
For information about International Security Program's discussion papers: