International Security Program

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.