News + Media

	Analysis + Opinion March 24, 2025 From show trials to war: A brief history of Ukrainian scientists in portraits Alicia ChenBoston Globe An exhibit of drawings at Harvard explores the oppression and killing of Ukrainian scientists by the Soviet state and Russian army.
	In the News March 19, 2025 ‘De-dollar’ diplomacy: Brics focus on alternative currency stirs Trump’s ire South China Morning Post The Center's director of research and principal research scientist Mihaela Papa was quoted: Papa called it risky for the US to make an example of the group at a time when it "seeks to enhance internal trade flows, and its membership criteria require prospective members to maintain substantial trade relations with existing members". Any moves Trump might take to improve US ties with Russia and China would not persuade either of the two nations to lessen their commitment to Brics, she said.
	Analysis + Opinion March 14, 2025 US policy on BRICS: A temporary fix or a strategic reset? Mihaela PapaAustralian Institute of International Affairs Mihaela Papa, director of research and principal research scientist at CIS, discusses whether President Trump's threats to impose tariffs on BRICS nations in response to their efforts to de-dollarize signal a deeper shift in U.S. foreign policy.
	News Release March 13, 2025 Dr. Rand and Ambassador Shringla join MIT as distinguished fellows at the Center for International Studies Center for International Studies CIS is honored to announce that Dr. Dafna H. Rand and Ambassador Harsh V. Shringla have been selected as Robert E. Wilhelm Fellows for the 2025-2026 academic year. Career diplomats and global policymakers, Dr. Rand held senior roles in the US State Department and Ambassador Shringla is the former foreign secretary of India.
	In the News March 13, 2025 A collaboration across continents to solve a plastics problem Stephanie M. McPhersonMIT News A Global Classroom course offered by MIT-Brazil allowed students to travel to Manaus over the three weeks of Independent Activities Period (IAP) and work with locals to address the plastics sustainability crisis.
	In the News March 4, 2025 Houck and Ansari, PhD students, further their dissertation research abroad Danna LorchCenter for International Studies Olivia Wynne Houck and Natasha Ansari are the recipients of the Jeanne Guillemin Prize awarded by the MIT Center for International Studies. The Guillemin Prize provides critical funding for female-identifying PhD students pursuing research in international affairs. The annual prize was endowed by its namesake, Jeanne Guillemin, shortly before her passing in 2019. A longtime CIS associate and former Boston College professor, Guillemin dedicated her career as a science and national security sociologist to the interdisciplinary pursuits of peace and security. She was a leading expert in biological warfare, writing prolifically on the subject and advising the US Government.
	In the News February 27, 2025 “Urban Futures of the Amazon” debates urbanization issues in the biome and the region Ricardo GandourCenter for International Studies Rosabelli Coelho, managing director of the Center's MIT-Brazil and MIT-Amazonia programs, played a key role in enabling the event by securing funding through the MIT Global Seed Fund with the establishment of the MIT-Brazil Amazonia Seed Fund, fostering connections between MIT and partners in Belém, and supporting the workshop’s development. The project, 'Amazonian Urban Futures: Belém do Pará,' led by MIT’s Kent Larson, Gabriela Bila Advincola and Luis Alonso (Media Arts and Sciences/ MIT City Science Group), in collaboration with Roberta Menezes Rodrigues (Federal University of Pará – UFPA), Helena Pinto Lima (Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi), and Lucas Nassar Sousa (City Laboratory NGO), was one of the first projects selected in the initial year of the seed fund.
	Analysis + Opinion February 23, 2025 Lessons from Donald Trump’s South African doppelgänger, Paul Kruger Evan LiebermanDaily Maverick Paul Kruger, the second president of the South African Republic, might as well have been a prototype for Donald Trump. The echoes between their leadership styles—xenophobia, nationalism, disdain for intellectualism, and corporate favouritism—are striking.
	In the News February 19, 2025 MIT Human Insight Collaborative launches SHASS Faculty Fellows program MIT News Volha Charnysh, Ford Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science and member of the Center's Global Diversity Lab, and Richard Nielsen, associate professor of political science and faculty director of the Center's MIT-Arab World program, are among the six faculty members selected as the inaugural SHASS Faculty Fellows. The fellowship will allow selected faculty to focus on their research, build community, and pursue mentorship opportunities.
	In the News February 12, 2025 Cultivators of research MIT News Kenneth Oye, professor of political science and data systems and society as well as the director of the Center's Program on Emerging Technologies (PoET), was one of the two professors honored as “Committed to Caring” for their mentorship of graduate students.