Summer 2018 Belfer Center Newsletter

Inside the Summer 2018 Newsletter

In this issue, we are pleased to highlight the Belfer Center’s newest initiative – The Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship. Led by Nicholas Burns, Cathryn Cluver Ashbrook, and Karl Kaiser, the project will expand the Kennedy School’s teaching and research on Europe and a long-time relationship that continues to be vital to the United States.

In the U.S., Europe, and around the world – as concerns deepen about cyber and information attacks on elections – the Center’s Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) is broadening its work with campaign and election officials. In March, nearly 120 state and local officials from 38 states spent several days in Cambridge learning how to fortify their electoral processes against attacks.

The Cyber Security Project hosted a number of high-level officials from the government and private sector to brainstorm significant cybersecurity and public policy challenges. And to help ensure that ethical and policy issues will keep pace with artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Center launched the Council on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence.

The Iran Project’s first Annual Symposium on Islam and Sectarian De-escalation attracted more than 200 guests and dozens of speakers from around the world and launched a serious discussion focusing on finding pathways for sectarian de-escalation and peaceful co-existence.

John Park discusses the potential impact of North and South Korean talks and what a U.S.-North Korean summit could mean if and when it takes place. We also take a look at Center experts’ involvement in security-related issues on the Korean Peninsula since the 1990s through today.

In this issue, we also highlight the work of Harvard Kennedy School students aiming to improve gender balance in national security fields and feature an April Women in Power conference focusing on the advancement of women in leadership positions.

In the Spotlight in this issue is Dorothy Zinberg, a Belfer Center founder and pioneer for science and women who recently was awarded the prestigious Harvard Signet Award for “bringing science to society and society to science.”

We also feature three of the Center’s outstanding research fellows – Nadiya Kostyuk, Reid Pauly, and Ariane Tabatabai – and Senior Fellow Salam Fayyad, former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister.

Global Relations

• Bridging the Atlantic to Reinvigorate an Indispensable Relationship
• The Possible Impact of Korean Talks
• Applying Expertise to Korean Relations
• Understanding Iran's National Security Decisions

Protecting Election Integrity

• Officials from 38 States Learn to Fortify Elections Against Attacks
• D3P "Hackathon" Sparks Innovation

Science and Technology Impacts

• Carter: Shaping Change for Good
• Ensuring Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence
• Cyber Security Project Explores Different Facets of Cyber Challenges and Looks for Solutions

Climate Change Impact and Remediation

• NOVA: Holdren, Schrag Explain Climate Change
• Solar Geoengineering: Taking a Hard Look

National Security Strategies and Decisions

• Symposium Aims to Reduce Sectarianism in Muslim World
• Looking at the Future of Palestine
• If I Stop, Will You Shoot? Diagramming Coercive Assurance
• Investigating the Use of Cyber Attacks as Force Multipliers

Women in Leadership

• Spotlight: Dorothy Zinberg - A Harvard Pioneer for Science and Women
• Student Group Aims to Improve Gender Balance in the National Security Field
• At Women in Power Conference, A Focus on Fighting for Equality

Belfer Center Initiatives and Updates

• Ray Dalio Applies Lessons from the Past to Today's Financial World
• Students Explore Saudi Arabia, Share Research on Security
• Fellowship Program for Current and Emerging Leaders from Palestine
• International Council Discusses 2018 Global Challenges

Additional Features

• From the Director
• Hot Off the Presses
• Newsmakers

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