Science, Technology, and Public Policy

As the Arctic thaws, cooperation in the Arctic Ocean is critical to maintain the fragile ecosystems on which so many people depend. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upending Arctic diplomacy, the question of how to proceed with Arctic Ocean governance has become more urgent than ever.

Join the Arctic Initiative for a seminar that explores the history of cooperation in the Barents Sea and Bering Strait, as we discuss a path forward for cooperation in the Arctic in a time of conflict. 

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders. Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page.

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

Registration: Please RSVP at the link below. Registration will remain open until the event begins.

Study Group Leader: Joel Clement, Senior Fellow, Arctic Initiative

The Arctic Knowledge Systems Study Group will explore ways to collaboratively employ indigenous and scientific knowledge to improve resilience in the Arctic. It will consist of 6 sessions in which we will discuss inclusion of indigenous perspectives and how to improve for the future. All sessions will be held on Tuesdays beginning September 15 from 12:00pm - 1:00pm (ET).

Space is limited! To apply to join the study group please email Brittany Janis your resume and 100 words on why you are interested in participating. 

Speaker: Aaron Arnold, Associate Project on Managing the Atom; Assistant Professor at Curry College

Over the past two decades, the United States has increasingly turned to targeted sanctions and export restrictions, such as those imposed against Iran and North Korea, in order to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). One vexing problem, however, is how to contend with jurisdictional hurdles when the violations occur overseas, in countries that are unable or unwilling to assist US enforcement efforts. To solve this problem, US prosecutors are turning to strategies with significant extraterritorial implications— that is, exercising legal authority beyond national borders. One such tool is to use civil legal procedures to seize assets linked to sanctions or export control violations in jurisdictions that lack cooperative arrangement with US enforcement agencies. While this may be an attractive strategy to bolster enforcement efforts against overseas illicit procurement such tools are not without consequence.

Speaker: Daniel Salisbury, Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Individuals and entities from the private sector have long contributed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), acting as middlemen and suppliers. Over the past decades, trade in WMD-related goods has become increasingly regulated, and illicit trade increasingly criminalized. Despite the clear role that these actors have played in recent proliferation cases, supplying North Korea and Iran among others, the conceptual literature on proliferation behavior has largely continued to focus on the state level. This seminar will draw on concepts from criminology, and particularly the study of white collar crime, to provide insights into the behavior of these non-state suppliers and middlemen, and to generate more effective means of countering their activities.
 

Speaker: Hassan Abbas, Ph.D; Professor of International Security Studies Chair of the Department of Regional and Analytical Studies

Cyber Security Project Director Michael Sulmeyer moderates a discussion on election hacking with CrowdStrike Inc. CEO and Co-Founder Dmitri Alperovitch, President of Verified Voting Pamela Smith, and Cyber Security Project Fellow Ben Buchanan 

Nikos Passas is a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University. He specializes in the study of corruption, illicit financial/trade flows, sanctions, informal fund transfers, remittances, white-collar crime, terrorism, financial regulation, organized crime and international crime. He will present an MTA seminar on illicit commercial flows - what they hide and how to stop them.

Iran's failure to comply with its non-proliferation obligations is viewed as one of the most urgent threats to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and international peace and security. Given that diplomacy has thus far not been successful in changing that country's conduct, the only available options for dealing with the problem seem to be increasingly crippling sanctions and, possibly, military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. The seminar presentation challenges the above assumptions by drawing attention to the absence of serious diplomatic efforts and lack of understanding of what is at stake for Iran in the dispute.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

This presentation asks why states without nuclear weapons fight opponents with nuclear weapons. The presentation critically examines the claim that states believe opponents will not use nuclear weapons in conflict.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

In his new book, THE IMPOSSIBLE STATE: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco), former Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Victor Cha argues that North Korea is in an untenable and combustible situation—one that the next U.S. president will have no choice but to confront.