In the News | 2020
In the NewsDecember 20, 2020A new approach to studying religion and politicsPeter DizikesMIT NewsAssociate professor Richard Nielsen is an MIT political scientist with an innovative research program: He studies clerics in the Islamic world, combining textual analysis, ethnographic insights, on-the-ground research in the Middle East, and a big-data approach to charting online tracts. |
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In the NewsDecember 20, 2020Taiwan's planned submarine fleet could forestall a potential Chinese invasion for decadesCNNOwen Cote quoted: Owen Cote, associate director of the Security Studies Program at MIT and an expert on submarine warfare, stated that “Chinese ASW capabilities are weak and the acoustic conditions in these very shallow, noisy waters are very difficult even for advanced ASW capabilities like those deployed by Japan and the US.” |
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In the NewsDecember 16, 2020US sanctions Turkey over Russian air defense system, raising questions and concernsAbhijnan RejThe DiplomatVipin Narang quoted: “The CAATSA sanctions on Turkey put the United States in the awkward position of having to sanction government entities in a nation that hosts American theater nuclear weapons. It may not be unprecedented — the US has embargoed Turkey before — but it is rare and disconcerting.” |
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In the NewsDecember 14, 2020Q&A: Holly Jackson on building a cosmic family treeJane HalpernMIT NewsAs a MISTI intern, Jackson traveled to Santiago in 2019, well before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down in-person international exchanges worldwide. Since then, she has been working remotely from her Cambridge, Massachusetts, apartment with the Chilean astronomy team and biologists in the United Kingdom to build “family trees” of stars in the Milky Way. Here, Jackson discusses her recent work. |
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In the NewsDecember 14, 2020For cultural and political conflicts, a humanizing imperativeAlthough the violence of the Second Intifada was a world away from Nasir Almasri’s suburban community and American childhood, the shock waves of that prolonged event helped shape him. |
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In the NewsDecember 8, 2020MISTI pilots conversations in energyChristine Davies, MISTIMIT NewsWhile fall typically sees MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) programs gearing up to facilitate international summer internship and research experiences for MIT students, this year’s changing global circumstances presented challenges to making in-country internships happen—but they also offered new opportunities for students to engage with organizations and leaders overseas. |
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In the NewsDecember 4, 2020Twenty years of cultivating tech entrepreneursLeda ZimmermanMIT NewsAdministered by MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI), Global Startup Labs empowers young technology entrepreneurs in developing regions of the world to realize their business goals, leveraging MIT-designed curricula and the enthusiasm and expertise of MIT student instructors. |
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In the NewsDecember 2, 2020Biden cabinet picks signal a big shift from the Trump eraFox News RadioJim Walsh discusses who could have taken part in the assassination and what impact this will have on the region and on the Biden administration. |
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In the NewsDecember 2, 2020Taiwan is building eight new submarines—they alone could destroy a Chinese invasion fleetDavid AxeForbesOwen Cote quoted: “Outside of the US and the UK, submarines are not considered primary ASW platforms, and outside of NATO and Japan most navies are pretty bad at surface- and air-based ASW, so in the rest of the world it doesn’t make sense to compare numbers of submarines on each side the way you would, for example, numbers of air-to-air fighters,” Cote explained. |
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In the NewsDecember 1, 20204 looming foreign policy crises that could derail Biden’s agenda early onAlex WardVoxVipin Narang quoted: “North Korea is one of those challenges that no one really wants to deal with right now, since there are no easy solutions or pathways to slowing down the growth of the program. But Kim has a way of putting himself back on the high-priority list,” said Vipin Narang, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program at MIT. |
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In the NewsNovember 27, 2020Who is Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Iranian nuclear scientist killed in attack outside Tehran?Adam TaylorThe Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: “Plenty of people in the program can design a warhead now if needed,” said Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “So Iran may now have more motivation to weaponize, without attenuating its ability to do so.” |
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In the NewsNovember 27, 2020Beijing takes its South China Sea strategy to the HimalayasSteven Lee MyersThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “In the end, it reflects the consolidation of China’s control over the area it claims,” said M Taylor Fravel. “Previous compromise ideas from the 1990s may no longer be on the table,” he said, “as China may be unwilling or unlikely to withdraw from territory where it has erected such infrastructure.” |
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In the NewsNovember 26, 2020Biden says US is back at the head of the tableWBUR Here & NowThe Trump administration has been about "America first" and downplaying alliances with organizations such as the World Health Organization. Jim Walsh assesses the impact that has had and the challenges the president-elect will face. |
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In the NewsNovember 24, 2020Six MIT faculty elected 2020 AAAS FellowsMIT NewsNazli Choucri was among the six faculty members elected as fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Choucri is a professor of political science, a senior faculty member at the Center of International Studies (CIS), and a faculty affiliate at the Institute for Data, Science, and Society (IDSS). |
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In the NewsNovember 23, 2020Faculty seed projects grow into pandemic research opportunitiesMIT NewsGlobal partnerships are a fundamental component of research at MIT — even during this time of suspended travel. MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) supports those connections via MISTI Global Seed Funds (GSF). |
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In the NewsNovember 19, 2020Ending the forever wars, by any means necessaryJacob SilvermanThe New RepublicBarry Posen quoted: “The president expressed his desire to end these wars when he came into office four years ago,” said Barry Posen. “Where was he in the last four years?” “There’s no real hope that there’s a happy ending that’s possible here,” Posen said. “In my view, there was no hope three or four years ago.” |
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In the NewsNovember 9, 2020Aspiring physician explores the many levels of human healthAlison Gold, School of ScienceMIT NewsDuring her time at MIT, senior Ayesha Ng’s interests have expanded from cellular biology to the social systems that shape public health. To pursue her interest in brain research and the societal impact of brain injuries, Ng traveled to the University of Hong Kong the summer after her first year as an MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) China Fung Scholar. |
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In the NewsNovember 8, 2020India looks to continuity in ties under Biden, experts expect rebalancing in some areasRezaul H LaskarHindustan TimesVipin Narang quoted: The India-US relationship stands to benefit as it is one that Washington won’t have to repair post-Trump, said Vipin Narang. “In general, it will likely be more of the same, since the relationship continued its steady progress despite Trump disrupting relations with other partners such as Germany and South Korea,” Narang said. |
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In the NewsNovember 3, 2020Transatlantic research and study partnership continues amid the pandemicMISTIMIT NewsThis year, the fund is calling on researchers at each institution to submit proposals that address climate solutions and zero pollution. “The fund’s new focus on climate change is fundamentally important,” agrees Phil Budden, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and co-director of the MIT-UK program at MISTI. “Not least as the UK will host the UN's 26th ‘Conference of the Parties’ (COP26) in Glasgow, in November next year. |
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In the NewsNovember 2, 2020Power, the party, and the president: Xi's revolutionary pastChina and the WorldTo discuss how Xi’s revolutionary past is shaping China’s future, we’re joined by the Chinawatchers' Chinawatchers, Frederick Teiwes from the University of Sydney and Joseph Torigian from American University in Washington DC. |
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In the NewsOctober 30, 2020Democracy in distress?Peter DizikesMIT NewsExperts analyze a global trend: democratic governments that collapse from within while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy. |
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In the NewsOctober 26, 2020China spread virus, India gave fitting reply — Aaj Tak, News18 looks for Chinese army in NoidaBismee Taskin and Taran DeolThe PrintVipin Narang quoted: “Foundational agreements between India and the US have been a long time coming. They are essentially agreements that set up parameters for cooperation, they don’t specify the modalities or details of the cooperation,” said Vipin Narang, MIT Associate Professor, on whether an India-US alliance is in the making. “For about two decades since 2000, India and the United States have slowly started moving closer together and cooperating,” Narang added, cautioning that hyping up the relationship can become harmful. |
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In the NewsOctober 23, 20203 questions with Fotini Christia, the new chair of the Social & Engineering Systems PhD programMIT Institute for Data, Systems, and SocietyFotini Christia is a professor of political science and faculty member of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. Her research interests deal with the political economy of conflict and development in the Muslim world and she has done extensive experimental, survey, and big data research on Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and Yemen. In addition to chairing the Social & Engineering Systems PhD program, she directs the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center (SSRC) within IDSS. |
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In the NewsOctober 23, 2020Universities should lead the way on climate action, MIT panelists sayBecky HamMIT NewsClimate solutions must include more than just advanced science and technology capabilities, said Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and professor of political science. At MIT, she notes, classes on the ethics of climate change, the J-PAL King Climate Action Initiative, and Charlotte Brathwaite’s “Bee Boy” theater project are some examples of how the social sciences and arts can be brought to bear on climate issues. |
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In the NewsOctober 20, 2020Satellite images indicate Russia is preparing to resume testing its nuclear-powered cruise missileZachary CohenCNNVipin Narang quoted: “A nuclear powered cruise missile gives a low-flying, radar-evading, nuclear-capable missile intergalactic range that can pose a challenge to national missile defenses,” he told CNN, adding that indications Russia may be preparing another test show “how much our missile defenses drive their developments and how scared they are of them, not today, but tomorrow.” They are also highly controversial “because it's crazy to put an unshielded nuclear reactor on a missile to power it,” Narang added, noting that the consequences of testing this type of weapon can be catastrophic if something goes wrong. |
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In the NewsOctober 14, 2020Fotini Christia named director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research CenterTerri Park, Schwarzman College of ComputingMIT NewsFotini Christia has been named the director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center (SSRC) at MIT. The interdisciplinary center, part of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society in the MIT Stephen A Schwarzman College of Computing, focuses on the study of high-impact, complex societal challenges that shape our world. |
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In the NewsOctober 14, 2020A new world of warcraftLeda ZimmermanPolitical SciencePolitical scientist Erik Lin-Greenberg explores how a burgeoning high-tech arsenal is shaping military conflict |
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In the NewsOctober 13, 2020Anat Biletzki on the Human Rights and Technology Fellowship ProgramMIT NewsAnat Biletzki is a founding co-director of the Center's Human Rights and Technology Fellowship Program. The program offers research fellowships to MIT students and invites proposals for its 2020-21 cohort of fellows through October 26. She speaks here on the fellowship program. |
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In the NewsOctober 13, 2020North Korea has unveiled new weapons, showing Trump failed to tame its nuclear programAlex WardVoxVipin Narang quoted: “The temperature is down because Trump is happy to live in denial,” MIT nuclear strategy expert Vipin Narang told me. “The problem with that is when the temperature inevitably turns back up.” |
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In the NewsOctober 12, 2020Threat from nuclear weapons and missiles has grown since Trump entered officePaul SonneThe Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: Trends were already moving in a worrisome direction before Trump took office, and any administration would struggle to strike substantive new arms control deals in the current environment, said Vipin Narang. But Trump has exacerbated the challenges, he argued. “It’s not just we are building and modernizing our nuclear weapons program; we are doing it at a time when states are seeking riskier behavior with each other also.” |
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In the NewsOctober 11, 2020North Korea unveils ‘very destabilizing’ ICBMPatrick TuckerDefense OneVipin Narang quoted: MIT associate professor Vipin Narang echoed Lewis’ analysis that the ICBM was no surprise, and that it was likely intended to deliver multiple defense-thwarting warheads. “Be thankful we didn’t see a solid fuel ICBM!” tweeted Narang, a member of MIT’s Security Studies Program. |
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In the NewsOctober 11, 2020Trump’s virus treatment revives questions about unchecked nuclear authorityDavid E Sanger and William J BroadThe New York TimesVipin Narang quoted: “The history of obfuscating the medical condition of presidents is as old as the Republic,” said Vipin Narang. “The issue here is that the dex” — shorthand for dexamethasone — “can make you paranoid and delusional.” “We don’t know how much he was given,” Mr. Narang said. “And if he gives an order in the middle of the night, and no one is there to stop him, we are dependent on his military aide not to transmit the order or the duty officer at the national military command center to stop it.” |
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In the NewsOctober 10, 2020Trump says the US nuclear arsenal is now 'tippy top' thanks to him, but nuke experts say he's out of touch with realityRyan PickrellBusiness Insider IndiaVipin Narang quoted: Vipin Narang, a security studies expert at MIT told Insider that the Trump's approach to nuclear policy and arms control has put US security in jeopardy. “The administration added the W76-2, but took away the [Iran nuclear deal], [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty], and is now threatening to rip up New START so, on balance, has probably made us less safe in the nuclear domain,” Narang said. |
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In the NewsOctober 6, 20203 Questions: Chappell Lawson on US security policyPeter DizikesMIT NewsThe year 2020 has featured an array of safety and security concerns for ordinary Americans, including disease and natural disasters. How can the US government best protect its citizens? That is the focus of a new scholarly book with practical aims, “Beyond 9/11: Homeland Security for the Twenty-First Century,” published by the MIT Press. |
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In the NewsOctober 6, 2020China, India, and sovereignty in the HimalayasPower Problems Podcast, Cato InstituteEmma Ashford, a host of Cato Institute's Power Problems podcast, talks with Taylor Fravel about ongoing China-India tensions and what China wants from the world. |
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In the NewsOctober 6, 2020MIT deepens connections to the Middle EastMISTI launches new seed fund in Jordan as part of MIT-Arab World program. The new fund aims to support joint early-stage collaborations between researchers and their students in Jordan and their counterparts at MIT, and will enable the MIT-Arab World program to move forward on its key objectives. |
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In the NewsOctober 5, 2020Why soldiers fightLeda ZimmermanPolitical ScienceMatthew Cancian concluded his service in the Marine Corps in 2013, but in some ways he never left his Afghanistan battlefield experience behind. A rising fifth-year doctoral candidate in political science, Cancian researches what motivates people to enlist and to engage in combat. |
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In the NewsOctober 2, 2020'The war isn’t coming today'Leah FeigerViceVipin Narang quoted: “It is routine for E6-Bs to be seen in the air,” Vipin Narang, a professor of political science at MIT, told VICE News...“There's a problem when you look on any particular day you might see something. But if you don't look at the history, you know, you wouldn't know that it's actually pretty routine,” he added. |
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In the NewsSeptember 21, 2020Tibet’s shadow looms over Himalayan stand-offAmy Kazmin and Christian Shepherd The Financial TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “The trick will be to achieve a disengagement that both sides can portray as a victory,” said M Taylor Fravel, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program. “It’s hard for China to appear to be backing down. It makes a risky situation even riskier.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 16, 2020Secret Tibetan military force raises stakes in India-China clashSudhi Ranjan Sen and Archana ChaudharyThe Japan TimesVipin Narang quoted: While neither country has an incentive to go to war, the increasing intensity and persistence of friction may cause them to stumble into one, according to Vipin Narang. “An advertent or inadvertent incident at a local flashpoint could now really fuel a broader conflict that neither government wants,” said Narang. |
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In the NewsSeptember 11, 2020China and India agree to ‘disengage troops’ in HimalayasAmy KazminThe Financial TimesVipin Narang quoted: “The bottom line is we have to see what happens on the ground,” said Vipin Narang. “Until there is physical disengagement on the ground, you could still get an accident that forces one or both sides into a conflict that they don’t want.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 11, 2020The 9/11 Commission Report, the pandemic and the future of Homeland SecurityCarrie CorderoLawfareChappell Lawson and Alan Bersin write in a new volume they have edited along with Juliette Kayyem, that the new report will likely “bring significant disruption and confusion with little expectation of operational improvement.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 10, 2020India and China meet to defuse Himalayan border tensionsAmy KazminThe Financial TimesVipin Narang heavily quoted: “I don’t think that either side really wants to risk a war over these positions along the line of actual control but we now have a lot of friction points,” he said. “The problem isn’t that one side starts a war intentionally. The risk is that they stumble into war.” But he added that expectations for the talks were muted. “I don’t think anybody expects there to be a massive breakthrough,” he said. “The best-case scenario is that both sides walk away with a detailed framework of how to disengage.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 9, 2020Fresh Pangong lake face-off complicates Jaishankar-Wang’s face-to-face meetRezaul H LaskarHindustan TimesVipin Narang quoted: “I don’t think either India or China have an incentive to go to war over the border dispute, but the increasing intensity and persistence of friction, along with air activity and the presence of loaded firearms may cause them to ‘stumble’ into war,” he said. “An advertent or inadvertent incident at a local flashpoint could now really fuel a broader conflict that neither government wants, as the forces continue to come into contact with each other,” Narang added. |
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In the NewsSeptember 7, 2020Pictures and videos show California burning as more wildfires break out across stateAristos Georgiou NewsweekVipin Narang quoted: “This is not a nuclear blast. It is California on fire,” MIT professor Vipin Narang wrote in a post showing the image on Twitter. |
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In the NewsSeptember 6, 2020Russia 'thinks they can get away with' poisoning NavalnyFox NewsJim Walsh discusses the suspected poisoning of Russian activist Alexei Navalny and Trump's response to the allegation. |
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In the NewsSeptember 4, 2020Images suggest North Korea may be preparing launch of submarine missile—think tankDavid BrunnstromReutersVipin Narang quoted: “North Korea already tested a PKS-3 SLBM last October. And it didn’t cross Trump’s redline then, and is unlikely to this time. Trump won’t care,” Vipin Narang, a non-proliferation expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote on Twitter. |
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In the NewsSeptember 3, 2020America’s problem is much bigger than TikTokDavid WertimePOLITICO China WatcherM Taylor Fravel quoted: This year’s annual Pentagon report on the People’s Liberation Army dropped this week and it’s “the most comprehensive and detailed one ever published.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 2, 2020China may double its nuclear arsenal in just 10 years. Don’t panic.Alex WardVoxVipin Narang quoted: “A doubling is not as scary as it sounds,” said Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at MIT. “China doubling over the next couple decades is kind of ‘it’s about time,’” said MIT’s Narang. “China is late to the game.” |
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In the NewsSeptember 1, 2020Donald Blackmer, professor emeritus of political science and longtime leader at MIT, dies at 91MIT NewsAn esteemed scholar and extraordinary steward of institutions and people, he was known to light up the academic landscape. |
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In the NewsAugust 27, 2020China fires missiles into South China Sea as US sanctions BeijingJesse JohnsonThe Japan TimesVipin Narang quoted: “That they have been working on ASBMs and testing them isn’t a surprise,” said Vipin Narang, a professor of international relations at MIT. “But everything is now framed as a provocation.” |
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In the NewsAugust 27, 2020China fires missiles into South China Sea, sending US a messageSteven Lee Myers and Keith BradsherThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “The growing frequency of exercises and the new types of capabilities displayed demonstrate the progress China has achieved in its military modernization drive over the past two decades,” said M Taylor Fravel. He said that it was not clear if the missiles were fired at fixed or moving targets, adding that the latter would be “a better test of the overall system, to include identifying, tracking, and destroying a moving ship at sea.” |
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In the NewsAugust 26, 2020America’s invasion of Iraq fuelled militant IslamMorgan DuchesneyThe StarJohn Tirman quoted: As John Tirman of MIT says, “Expediency (has) usually trumped principle in US foreign policy … The result has predictably, been a growing antipathy for America and its hypocrisies … The avatar of that antipathy has been militant Islam. We remain deaf to this lesson, at our peril.” |
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In the NewsAugust 18, 2020Fostering friendships and films from across the globeMISTIMIT NewsWhat do you do when a pandemic shuts down international travel, and you can't do your internship in Japan? For MISTI students this summer, the answer was the Virtual Language Conversation Exchange with Tokyo Tech. |
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In the NewsAugust 11, 2020The Galwan Valley clash and China’s approach to sovereignty disputesChinaPower PodcastTaylor Fravel compares the recent clash to past incidents along the Sino-Indian border and discusses whether confidence building measures have the potential to prevent further China-India territorial conflict. |
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In the NewsAugust 7, 2020Why the Beirut blast created a mushroom cloudErik OlsenPopular ScienceVipin Narang quoted: “We did not see anything remotely like that in Beirut,” says Vipin Narang. The Beirut fireball’s vivid red color sets it apart from the aftereffects of an atom bomb, too. “It’s characteristic of NO compounds,” Narang says, which are by-products of ammonium nitrate explosions. |
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In the NewsAugust 6, 2020Hiroshima's legacy 75 years laterWBURWBUR's Here and New host Robin Young speaks with JIm Walsh about the first use of an atomic weapon and the state of nuclear weapons today. |
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In the NewsAugust 4, 2020New North Korea ICBM report suggests Pyongyang can hit US with nukesDavid BrennanNewsweekVipin Narang heavily quoted: Narang said the UN report should be read as "further evidence that North Korea is consolidating its nuclear weapons force, improving and augmenting it to improve survivability, retaliatory power, and penetration. In other words, North Korea is making the technological improvements we would expect any other nuclear weapons power to make," he explained. "And that's precisely what they want us to acknowledge." |
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In the NewsAugust 2, 2020Putin's virus disinformation campaign against AmericansFox NewsJim Walsh joins Arthel Neville on 'America's News HQ' to discuss the implications of Putin's virus disinformation campaign aimed at Americans. |
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In the NewsJuly 27, 2020Shining a light on the quantum worldFernanda FerreiraMIT NewsWith funding from MISTI, physicists at MIT and in Israel collaborate to improve understanding and use of quantum light. |
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In the NewsJuly 23, 2020Xi’s obsession to look strong amid domestic discontent likely reasons for China’s rogue behaviour, say expertsPTI / The HinduVipin Narang quoted: "It could be anything from opportunism to concerns about India completing the infrastructure projects such as the DS-DBO (Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie) road to concerns about international or domestic legitimacy, where Xi Jinping believes he cannot afford to look weak," he told PTI. |
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In the NewsJuly 23, 2020Fellowship is at the heart of emergency response in NigeriaMISTIMIT NewsWhen Amir Bature came to MIT from Bayero University Kano (BUK) in Nigeria as part of the Empowering the Teachers (ETT) program, he was amazed at his shift in perspective during his time on campus. “The first time we arrived at MIT, there were a lot of things where we said ‘no, this is impossible.’ But before we left, it was all possible!” He had no idea that he would soon be applying this mindset to a public health crisis in his home country of Nigeria. |
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In the NewsJuly 18, 2020China now trying to put ‘genie back in bottle’Amit Shah's Aksai Chin Phuket NewsChina's foreign policy is at an inflection point even as India needs to come up with a new consensus on the border issue with Beijing, says China expert Taylor Fravel.
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In the NewsJuly 15, 2020Asia greets US shift on South China Sea with hope and doubtKen Moriyasu and Tomoya OnishiNikkei Asian ReviewM Taylor Fravel quoted: Given a choice, "Southeast Asian states do not want to choose between the US and China. But they also want to be able to assert their maritime claims and jurisdiction. The statement may create an expectation among other claimants that the United States may take actions to defend their claims, but the statement itself creates no such obligation, only an expectation," he said. |
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In the NewsJuly 15, 2020France creates first university intelligence chair and masters course on the dark arts of espionageHenry SamuelThe TelegraphJoel Brenner quoted: Speaking to the Telegraph, Joel Brenner said: "I'm pleased to see that Sciences Po-Aix recognizes that intelligence and the place of intelligence agencies in society are worthy of academic study. This is a welcome development and will make it easier to nourish links between French universities and their counterparts in the US and UK." |
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In the NewsJuly 13, 2020Trump administration’s move on visas is ‘dream-crashing’ for Indian students and familiesJoanna Slater and Niha MasihThe Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: The announcement makes international students a pawn in the administration’s push to get universities to fully reopen in the fall, said Vipin Narang. The level of anxiety it has induced is “incalculable,” he said. “It really does enrage me.” Several major US universities, including MIT, have sued the Trump administration in an attempt to reverse the move. |
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In the NewsJuly 13, 2020US says most of China’s claims in South China Sea are illegalEdward Wong and Michael CrowleyThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “The statement is a full-throated endorsement of the tribunal’s ruling,” said M Taylor Fravel, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies China’s territorial disputes and its military. |
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In the NewsJuly 13, 2020At home and abroad with MISTI 2020MISTIMIT News“Covid-19 has demonstrated that international collaboration is essential to tackling challenges that span countries and cultures. Our aim in the coming year is to continue to equip students with the skills and awareness they will need to confront such challenges in the future.” |
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In the NewsJuly 10, 2020US tells foreign students with online classes to go, universities look at optionsKarishma Mehrotra Indian ExpressVipin Narang quoted: “There’s always been this concern about these online-only, for-profit, F1 scam businesses. But this directive seems a little more carefully crafted to target institutions like MIT. If all they want is some in-person component for online classes, I’ll be happy to do that. If this targets legitimate students in legitimate institutions, then any loophole that would allow faculty and institutions to make a class ‘hybrid’ would be exploited.” |
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In the NewsJuly 8, 2020History contradicts new Chinese claims over Bhutan's territoryIndia Today BureauIndia TodayM Taylor Fravel heavily quoted: Past Chinese maps, put out by prominent China expert and Director of the MIT Security Studies Program M Taylor Fravel, suggest that China has acknowledged the area as Bhutanese territory in the past. According to Fravel, the old Chinese maps “do not show Sakteng or nearby areas in Bhutan as Chinese territory”. |
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In the NewsJuly 6, 2020India-China agree to disengage at Galwan Valley; experts discuss the road aheadParikshit LuthraCNBC-TV18After a 60 day long confrontation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India and China have agreed to disengage and deescalate tensions at the LAC. Vipin Narang is among the experts who discuss the road ahead. |
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In the NewsJuly 3, 2020Trump slams China’s pattern of aggressionYashwant RajHindustan TimesVipin Narang heavily quoted: Narang said that one of the Trump administration’s foreign policy “bright spots” have been its relationship with India, and his personal bonhomie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “That does not mean that the relationship is all roses, but there is a lot of sympathy and friendship toward India, across both parties and especially the Trump administration which has remained silent on domestic issues that some members of the Democratic Party have expressed concern about...” |
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In the NewsJuly 3, 2020First China, now Pakistan: How India's battling on two frontsSudhi Ranjan SenBloomberg | QuintVipin Narang heavily quoted: “But my general sense is that Pakistan may feel like it needs to show resolve at home and to India in Jammu & Kashmir” after India changed the province's consitutional status in August last year, Narang said. Islamabad may “also be opportunistically taking advantage of India's distraction and focus on the LAC.” |
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In the NewsJune 28, 2020Report: Boston minority communities hit hardest by evictionsMichael CaseyAP NewsJustin Steil quoted: “The results are very troubling,” said Justin Steil, an associate professor of law and urban planning at MIT who authored the report with MIT researcher David Robinson. “It suggest that above and beyond income, housing cost measures that race continues to play a significant role in evictions,” he said. “We see white supremacy and anti-blackness functioning in the housing markets as well as other areas of social life.” |
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In the NewsJune 26, 2020China’s military provokes its neighbors, but the message is for the United StatesSteven Lee MyersThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “When China views it is being challenged in these other sovereignty disputes in this era, it will respond with a very tough line. China never had the ability to assert itself in the maritime domain until really in the last 10 or 15 years,” Mr Fravel said, noting the steady buildup of China’s naval and air forces. He added, “That has enabled China to press its claims in the East and South China Sea more than before.” |
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In the NewsJune 25, 2020When culture clashes with Covid-19MIT News OfficeTo what extent are different responses attributable to the “culture” of each country? And how much have widespread social norms affected the responses of different countries during the Covid-19 pandemic? |
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In the NewsJune 24, 2020India reinforces contested region as China holds ground, sources sayFrench Press Agency (AFP)Vipin Narang quoted: “There may be some short-term public backlash against China in India, but publicly, Pakistan swamps China as a perceived threat,” said Vipin Narang, a security specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “The effects of this crisis, even if it slow burns, may be short-lived amongst India's public. And cheap TVs are still cheap TVs.” |
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In the NewsJune 23, 2020India-China standoff: Prof M Taylor Fravel speaks on the false claim of Galwan by ChinaRahul KanwalIndia TodayIn this special broadcast of Newstrack, Rahul Kanwal exposes the cartographic aggression of China and speaks with Taylor Fravel on the matter. |
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In the NewsJune 22, 2020India has closed military gap with China along borderPramit Pal ChaudhuriHindustan TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “China has just over 10 percent of its ground forces [in its western theatre], a very large part of the country, and not even all these troops are focused on India.” But because China does not want to deploy a large fraction of its forces in Tibet or Xinjiang, he added, “I think this disparity in the local balance makes China especially sensitive to changes that improves India’s position.” |
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In the NewsJune 21, 2020Xi plays tough, but can China afford to make an enemy of India?Emma Graham-HarrisonThe GuardianM Taylor Fravel quoted: “I feel it’s generally a response to the pressure Xi feels he is under,” said Fravel. “Because of Covid and the criticism China faced internationally, the economic crisis at home, and the concomitant deterioration of China-US relations, [Beijing] has taken a tough stance on a number of sovereignty issues as a way of signalling that China will not be cowed.” |
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In the NewsJune 20, 2020Modi says China isn’t occupying Indian territory after clashArchana ChaudharyBloombergVipin Narang quoted: “The biggest implication is that wherever the Chinese have in fact changed the ground status quo—whether in Galwan Valley or Pangong Tso or elsewhere—is tacitly being accepted by the government as de facto Chinese claims,” said Vipin Narang. “One can litigate whether this is in fact ‘Indian territory,’ but it is tacitly accepting whatever faits accomplis China has undertaken.” |
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In the NewsJune 19, 2020China lays claim to entire Galwan ValleyAnanth KrishnanThe HinduM Taylor Fravel quoted: "Chinese maps that I have seen show almost all of the Galwan River as lying within the territory China claims in the area,” M Taylor Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military at MIT, told The Hindu earlier. "The one discrepancy would be the western tip of the Galwan River as it meets the Shyok River. Here, the last few kilometres of the Galwan River are often depicted as lying beyond China’s border. How one defines the parameters of the valley itself might be different than the river, however.” |
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In the NewsJune 19, 2020'PLA was acting with higher approval'Pottayil RajendranRediffM Taylor Fravel interviewed on the China-India border dispute. "I don't think China is looking for a wider conflict with India on the China-India border," Dr Fravel tells Senior Rediff.com Contributor Pottayil Rajendran. Read the interview |
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In the NewsJune 19, 2020China Flexes Territorial Muscle – Recent India border clash signals risk Beijing will take in approach to disputes, experts sayChun Han WongThe Wall Street JournalM Taylor Fravel quoted: The use of such forceful tactics "reflects a continuity in China's approach under Xi," said M Taylor Fravel, a professor and director of the MIT Security Studies Program at MIT. "Whether it marks an inflection point in China's foreign policy and a willingness to use force in territorial disputes depends on what happens in the next few days and weeks." |
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In the NewsJune 18, 2020Modi denies any Indian territory was lost in China clashThe Associated PressThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: From a strategic perspective, Fravel said, China should want to drive a wedge between India and the United States to prevent any kind of counter-balance coalition. "The deaths and the clash on Monday night will probably very quickly and much more rapidly push India closer to the United States, which I think is probably not what China wants,” he said. |
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In the NewsJune 18, 2020Modi finds neighbors silent as India-China tensions simmerArchana Chaudhary and Bibhudatta PradhanBloombergVipin Narang quoted: “The optimistic view is that the tragic loss of life will incentivize both governments to energize their efforts to resolve the border dispute,” said Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT and author of ‘Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict.’ “The pessimistic view is that China has no intention of relieving the pressure that it is putting across the entire Line of Actual Control and that this is a long way from being over.” |
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In the NewsJune 17, 2020Ladakh face-off | China’s Foreign Minister blames India ‘for deliberately provoking’ border clashAnanth KrishnanThe HinduTaylor Fravel quoted: China was unlikely to confirm the number, said M Taylor Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military at MIT. “I can think of no armed conflict involving China where it has released casualty figures publicly at the time of the conflict,” he said. “Usually, they are published years or decades later,” he noted on Twitter, pointing out that casualties from the 1962 were only revealed for the first time in an internal history published in 1994. |
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In the NewsJune 17, 2020A watershed moment in India-China relations, says MIT's Vipin NarangKaushik VaidyaBloomberg | QuintVipin Narang was interviewed and heavily quoted in this article about the "violent face-off" in the Galwan Valley on Monday night in which 20 Indian armymen were killed in action. The political mood over the next several days in both countries will be critical he says. |
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In the NewsJune 17, 2020India and China trade barbs after ‘gang war’ high in the HimalayasJoanna Slater and Gerry ShihThe Washington PostM Taylor Fravel quoted: China probably has “little interest in further escalation,” said M Taylor Fravel, an expert on the People’s Liberation Army who heads the Security Studies Program at MIT. “China’s main competitor in East Asia and beyond is the United States, not India.” |
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In the NewsJune 17, 2020Himalayan flashpoint could spiral out of control as India and China face offJulian BorgerThe GuardianVipin Narang quoted: “Now domestic politics and public opinion, especially nationalist pressure to avenge their deaths and escalate, becomes a dangerous force,” Vipin Narang, a security studies professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said. “It will be hard for India at least, with a relatively open media, to de-escalate as easily now.” |
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In the NewsJune 16, 2020India-China clash: An extraordinary escalation 'with rocks and clubs'Soutik BiswasBBC NewsVipin Narang quoted: "It is looking bad, very bad," says security analyst Vipin Narang, of the deadly clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh on Monday night. The most serious face-off on the world's longest unsettled land border in nearly half a century left 20 Indian soldiers dead. India says both sides suffered casualties. "Once fatalities are sustained, keeping everything quiet becomes hard on both sides. Now public pressure becomes a variable," Dr Narang, a security studies professor at MIT, told me. "The scale, scope and swathe of the pressure across the border is seemingly unprecedented." |
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In the NewsJune 16, 2020North Korea blows up joint liaison office with SouthRobin YoungWBUR Here & NowNorth Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office building just north of the heavily armed border with South Korea on Tuesday. The dramatic display of anger sharply raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and puts pressure on Washington and Seoul amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy. Host Robin Young speaks with security analyst Jim Walsh about the implications. |
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In the NewsJune 12, 2020Russia, China and the US: Who has the best Middle East policy?Dale SprusanskyWashington Report on Middle East Affairs, June/July 2020, pp 58-59The Middle East Institute held an online discussion with two renowned scholars of international affairs on April 16 to assess the role of the US, China and Russia in the Middle East, which included SSP's Barry Posen. Here is a recap with some highlights and quotes from the event. |
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In the NewsJune 12, 2020Two years after Trump-Kim meeting, little to show for personal diplomacyDavid E Sanger and Choe Sang-HunThe New York TimesVipin Narang quoted: “Trump has told himself this was a win, and so has Kim,” said Vipin Narang. “Trump keeps repeating, ‘There wasn’t a war.’” “For Kim Jong-un it was also a win because he is able to take the air out of the maximum pressure campaign” to crush the country economically, he said, “while he is still expanding his missile and nuclear force.” |
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In the NewsJune 5, 2020Fingers, boots, and lines: Understanding the 2020 India-China border tensionsAnkit PandaThe DiplomatThe Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast host Ankit Panda speaks to M Taylor Fravel, the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, about the ongoing India-China tensions along the Line of Actual Control. |
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In the NewsJune 5, 2020Pan-India News 18 poll on India-China standoff: Here’s what it means according to expertsParikshit LuthraCNBC-TV18CNBC-TV18’s Parikshit Luthra is joined by M Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kanwal Sibal, former secretary, and Jayant Dasgupta, former Indian ambassador to WTO, to discuss about India-China relations and border skirmishes. |
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In the NewsJune 4, 2020Mattis calls out clearing protesters outside White House 'abuse of executive authority'Jeremy HobsonWBUR Here & NowFormer Secretary of Defense James Mattis has called the decision to clear peaceful protesters from outside the White House this week an "abuse of executive authority." Host Jeremy Hobson speaks with security analyst Jim Walsh about the incident. |
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In the NewsJune 2, 2020Philippines backs off threat to terminate military pact with USJason GutierrezThe New York TimesM Taylor Fravel quoted: “In light of China’s continued assertion of its historic rights in Vietnamese and Malaysian waters over the last year, Manila may have concluded that its previous rapprochement with Beijing would not protect Philippine interests,” said M Taylor Fravel, a political-science professor who is director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
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In the NewsMay 29, 2020Experts explain: What triggered China’s recent LAC moves?Sushant SinghThe Indian ExpressM Taylor Fravel quoted: “China’s actions are hard to decipher, especially in the absence of any authoritative statements from Beijing. The simplest explanation perhaps is that China is responding to India’s efforts to bolster border-area infrastructure in Ladakh after the completion of the DSDBO road. After India’s move into Doklam in 2017, China is perhaps especially sensitive to Indian activity along the disputed border. Around Galwan, in particular, China may be seeking to pre-empt an Indian effort to improve its links to the LAC”, he added. |
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In the NewsMay 28, 2020What do the IG firings say about American democracy?WBUR On PointThe president has fired at least five inspectors general. It may be his right, but what does it say about political accountability and American democracy? Joel Brenner weighs in. |
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In the NewsMay 28, 2020Chinese aggression in Ladakh also a message for domestic and external audience: ExpertsSnehesh Alex PhilipThe PrintM Taylor Fravel quoted: “While I don’t think this alone would lead China to create an incident with India, I do think it helps to explain the scope, scale, and posture of China’s response,” he said. “In many issues this spring, China has sought to signal its resolve, especially when sovereignty is involved — Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.” |
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In the NewsMay 28, 2020Robert Art retires as director of the Seminar XXI ProgramMichelle EnglishMIT NewsRobert Art is stepping down as director of the Seminar XXI Program, a post-graduate education program in the national security arena that has inspired graduates to apply the compelling insights of social science to the most pressing challenges of our times. |
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In the NewsMay 28, 2020Amid a pandemic, China picks a border fight with IndiaSadanand DhumeWall Street JournalM Taylor Fravel quoted: M Taylor Fravel, a political scientist and China expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says "putting the border dispute in a box" has been "the great success of the India-China relationship." No soldier has died on the boundary since 1975. |
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In the NewsMay 27, 2020Far from being weakened by coronavirus, China pursues sovereignty claims on all frontsAnna Fifield and Joanna Slater The Washington PostM Taylor Fravel quoted: The recent flare-up along the “line of actual control,” which has marked the unofficial border between China and India since they fought a war in 1962, prompted a response from President Trump. “We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute,” he tweeted Wednesday. |
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In the NewsMay 27, 2020Changing balance across LAC trigger for stand-off, says China expert Taylor FravelAnanth KrishnanThe HinduThe spark for the current stand-off with China, with the ongoing face-off situations in the Galwan River valley, Pangong Lake and other areas, is the increasing infrastructure competition along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), says M Taylor Fravel. |
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In the NewsMay 24, 2020Two years after Trump summit, Kim vows to boost North Korea’s nuclear deterrentSimon DenyerThe Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: MIT professor Vipin Narang called the statement “alarming.” “I have no idea what this means but I am sure we won’t like it,” he tweeted. |
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In the NewsMay 22, 2020US pulls out of open skies treatyJeremy HobsonWBUR Here & NowThe United States is pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, the third major security accord the Trump Administration has scuttled. Host Jeremy Hobson speaks with security analyst Jim Walsh to explain the situation and talk about the potential consequences. |
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In the NewsMay 21, 2020The ‘us and them’ pandemic shows America is still impervious to black painMichele L Norris The Washington PostEvan Lieberman quoted: “It is not difficult to imagine that if covid-19 comes to be understood as a ‘Black’ epidemic,” he wrote, “this will create false impressions for many white Americans — in the United States’ racially polarized and effectively segregated society — that the virus is ‘not our problem,’ leading to decreased demand for and compliance with public health directives.” |
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In the NewsMay 21, 2020Sara Plana receives inaugural Jeanne Guillemin PrizeMichelle EnglishMIT NewsThe prize, which provides financial support to women working toward a PhD in international affairs, will be applied toward her research into proxy warfare. |
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In the NewsMay 19, 2020Intervention or restraint: Ruger and Posen debate Kristol and FlournoyJacob HeilbrunnThe National InterestOn the American Public Television program “The Whole Truth,” hosted by historian and author David Eisenhower, a panel of leading foreign policy figures, including William Ruger, Michele Flournoy, William Kristol and Barry Posen, recently debated America’s purpose. |
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In the NewsMay 18, 2020Former inspector general: Trump is attacking the ‘institution’ of oversightLawrence O'DonnellMSNBCJoel Brenner, who served as Inspector General of the National Security Agency under President Bush, tells Lawrence O’Donnell the firing of several inspectors general shows President Trump believes all government officials owe him “personal loyalty.” |
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In the NewsMay 18, 2020Trump’s ‘highly unusual’ politicization of government watchdogsYamiche AlcindorPBS News HourPresident Trump has fired three inspectors general recently, including State Department watchdog Steve Linick on Friday. Yamiche Alcindor talks to Joel Brenner, a former national security inspector general and director of national intelligence, about how politicizing the IG role is “all wrong.” |
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In the NewsMay 15, 2020Inspectors general: oversight, authority, and removal with Joel BrennerNational Security Law TodayJoel Brenner discusses the Inspectors General role during the Covid-19 crisis and Trump's removal on National Security Law Today. |
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In the NewsMay 11, 2020National security is in the eye of the beholderBrad GlossermanJapan TimesRichard Samuels quoted: MIT Professor Richard Samuels describes this as the belief that societies must “organize to defend the wealth of individuals they comprise” — their skills, productive relationships, firms and R&D centers that create their wealth — and argues that this logic has long prevailed in Japan. |
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In the NewsMay 8, 2020Trump wages a war on watchdogs as coronavirus elevates their importanceLiz GoodwinThe Boston GlobeJoel Brenner quoted: “It absolutely sends a chill through the whole community,” said Joel Brenner, former inspector general of the National Security Agency. “It’s a very clear message. The president doesn’t want any inspector general issuing any report critical of the administration and any inspector general who does it has to understand that he or she is likely to be out of a job.” |
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In the NewsMay 4, 2020MIT Africa's Ari Jacobovits helps produce Covid-19 hackathonAri Jacobovits, managing director of the MIT Africa program, helped organize a hackathon on Covid-19 with collectives from around the world—drawing from universities, industry, government, and NGOs, among others. CIS research affiliate Claude Grunitsky covered the story in his publication True Africa. |
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In the NewsMay 1, 2020China's modern military strategy in historical perspectiveNCUSCR PodcastIn an interview with NCUSCR President Steve Orlins, Taylor Fravel discusses his motivations for and key discoveries from writing, "Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949." |
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In the NewsApril 30, 2020Outsiders consider possibility of chaos in North KoreaFoster KlugAP NewsVipin Narang quoted: “The million-dollar question is: When do you invoke the OPLAN and what indicators do you rely on to do so? Because one country’s ‘securing the country’ operation can look to the other nation like an ‘invasion plan.’ And then all hell can break loose,” said Vipin Narang, a North Korea nuclear specialist at MIT. |
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In the NewsApril 29, 2020Where is Kim Jong Un?WBUR Here and NowNorth Korea hasn't reported a single case of Covid-19 and the pandemic coincides with the absence of the country's leader, Kim Jon Un. Jim Walsh offers insight into the situation. |
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In the NewsApril 28, 2020'War and disease travel together': Why the pandemic push for a global cease-fire is gaining groundDeirdre ShesgreenUSA TodayBarry Posen quoted: "The disease caused by the coronavirus is weakening all of the great and middle powers more or less equally," he said. He said with no country likely to gain a meaningful military advantage from the pandemic, "the odds of a war between major powers will go down, not up." |
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In the NewsApril 28, 2020Will the Covid-19 pandemic change national security?Peter DizikesMIT NewsAs the Covid-19 pandemic continues to inflict huge damage around the world, international affairs experts are increasingly wondering: Will the virus make countries reconsider their national security strategies? |
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In the NewsApril 28, 2020Low-yield warhead eliminates need for nuclear buildup, state saysDan LeoneDefense DailyVipin Narang quoted: “What can the low yield [submarine launched ballistic missile] do that our current low yield nuclear systems cannot?” Vipin Narang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology mused on Twitter. “Range and penetrate into downtown Moscow. Which doesn’t seem all that restrained.” |
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In the NewsApril 23, 2020The rumors of Kim Jong Un’s “grave” illness, explainedAlex WardVoxVipin Narang quoted: “What if he is technically ‘alive’ or there is litigation amongst potential successors as for whether he is alive or dead? Who can legally issue orders? What if there are contravening orders?” said Vipin Narang, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program. |
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In the NewsApril 21, 2020Why the confusion about Kim Jong Un's health actually makes senseJoshua BerlingerCNNVipin Narang quoted: "States want the public and others to know just enough. They want to be transparent about the capability, but kind of opaque about the procedures and the actual line of deployment to enhance deterrence," he said. |
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In the NewsApril 6, 2020A forum for female voices in international securityLeda ZimmermanDepartment of Political ScienceThe Future Strategy Forum emerged from the efforts of Sara Plana and Rachel Tecott as co-chairs of a Boston-based organization of graduate students, Women in International Politics and Security. This group was funded by the MIT Center for International Studies and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. |
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In the NewsApril 2, 20203 Questions: Fotini Christia on new deal-making in AfghanistanMichelle EnglishMIT NewsIt is unclear what a negotiated settlement could look like between the Afghan government and the Taliban given the latter’s clear desire to head the state. Whether the Taliban can commit to power sharing is a highly doubtful proposition as many expect it to get militarily emboldened as soon as the US withdraws and to become the de facto ruling power. |
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In the NewsMarch 27, 2020North Korea seen expanding rocket launch facility it once promised to dismantleGeoff BrumfielNPRVipin Narang quoted: "It's hard to know what it is, but they're clearly reactivating it and preparing for personnel to be there, which suggests that they may want to start using it again," Narang says. "Maybe they want to test a satellite launch vehicle; maybe they want to test an ICBM; maybe they want to test an engine." |
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In the NewsMarch 25, 2020America’s allies are becoming a nuclear-proliferation threatPete McKenzieDefense OneVipin Narang quoted: “The concern is that it’s not a genuine negotiating position, that it’s demanded as an excuse to eventually pull out of South Korea,” Narang said. “There’s a deep enough thread in Trump’s thinking and rhetoric to suggest that he genuinely believes that American [nuclear] assurance and conventional deployments to these allies are a waste of money.” |
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In the NewsMarch 15, 2020The Japanese intelligence community & espionageTony VegaJapan Station: A Podcast by Japankyo.comOn this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Richard Samuels digs into the world of Japanese spycraft and the history of Japan's intelligence community. |
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In the NewsMarch 13, 2020MIT’s response to Covid-19MITMIT is tracking the Covid-19 (coronavirus) situation daily, offering ongoing updates and guidance. This website offers the latest updates and information on what the Institute is doing. |
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In the NewsMarch 10, 2020Why do banking crises occur?Peter DizikesMIT NewsIn a new book, political scientist David Singer finds two key factors connected to financial-sector collapses around the globe. |
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In the NewsMarch 8, 2020N Korea fires projectiles, after 'momentous' retaliation threatAFPVipin Narang quoted: Vipin Narang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology added: "Kim continues to test, improve and operationalise his force." |
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In the NewsFebruary 26, 2020It all adds up: MIT-AfricaLaura Carter, School of ScienceMIT NewsHazel Sive, faculty director for MISTI-Africa and director of the MIT-Africa Initiative, visited the Uganda program. “This is a fantastic contribution by the MIT Mathematics Department. Our students ran an outstanding program for the best high school math talent in Uganda. The Ugandan students were exceptional, and we hope some will be attracted to apply to MIT. ” |
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In the NewsFebruary 24, 2020What Trump's visit means for India?India TodayVipin Narang and other local experts were interviewed and commented on President's Trump trip to India and what it means for India and for Modi. |
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In the NewsFebruary 24, 2020Beyond the spectacle: What global think tanks think about NaMoste TrumpRahul KanwalIndia TodayVipin Narang quoted: Trump's India visit appeals to his "vanity", says Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at the MIT. "I think at a higher level for President Trump, this is a vanity exercise. I think he loves the idea of being adulated in the crowds," Narang said. |
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In the NewsFebruary 24, 2020Dreaming big in a small countryMIT NewsThe MISTI Global Startup Labs (GSL) program, now in its 20th year, has expanded its partnerships to include Uruguayan institutions to promote entrepreneurship and data science across Latin America. |
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In the NewsFebruary 22, 2020Huge rally will highlight Trump’s visit to IndiaEli Stokols, Shashank BengaliLos Angeles TimesVipin Narang quoted: “For Trump to get up and go all the way to India … it’s a pretty big deal and a validation for Modi in the face of this withering international criticism,” said Vipin Narang, an associate political science professor at MIT. “There’s a lot of focus on the lack of deliverables, but for Modi, the trip itself is the deliverable.” |
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In the NewsFebruary 20, 2020A road map for artificial intelligence policyPeter DizikesMIT NewsIn a Starr Forum talk, Luis Videgaray, director of MIT’s AI Policy for the World Project, outlines key facets of regulating new technologies. |
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In the NewsFebruary 18, 2020Fact-checking Tom Cotton's claims about the coronavirusTara SubramaniamCNNVipin Narang quoted: "the thing that weighs against the claim is that it's a terrible bioweapon. If you were engineering a bioweapon this would have the absolute opposite of the characteristics you would want." Cotton's other hypotheses were more plausible, Narang said. "If the claim is that there were bats at the facility that may have had the novel coronavirus and there was a lapse in security and protocol, it's possible but it doesn't sound like there was anything intentional," Narang said. "Unless there's strong evidence to the contrary that should be the operating assumption." |
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In the NewsFebruary 17, 2020Tom Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that was already debunkedPaulina Firozi The Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: After Cotton’s Sunday remarks, Narang said, “These kinds of conspiracy theories are unhelpful. I don’t think it’s particularly helpful, and it’s borderline irresponsible to — and it’s without evidence, so at this point it’s a conspiracy theory — peddle it,” he said. “Cotton should spend more time funding the agencies in the United States that can help contain and combat the virus rather than trying to assign blame.” |
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In the NewsFebruary 10, 2020Might technology tip the scales?Leda ZimmermanDepartment of Political ScienceBenjamin Chang, a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science, is using his understanding of computer science to explore the impacts of artificial intelligence on military power, with a focus on US and China. |
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In the NewsFebruary 10, 2020The 2 most controversial national security items in Trump’s new budgetAlex WardVoxVipin Narang quoted: Experts are split on whether a nuclear modernization program, which gained steam in the Obama years, is a good idea. “If you’re going to have the force, make sure it’s safe, secure, and reliable,” says Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at MIT. “Some, not all, of the force and the delivery platforms are decades old.” He added that “it just can’t sit and rot.” |
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In the NewsFebruary 6, 2020China's 'grand gestures,' propaganda aim to calm fears about coronavirusElizabeth ShimUnited Press International (UPI)Grad student Kacie Miura quoted: In building the new hospitals, the Chinese government could have had other objectives aside from treating sick patients. Authorities allow the construction to be viewed live online, creating a spectacle and an image of a government "in control of the situation and capable of accomplishing monumental tasks," Miura said. |
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In the NewsFebruary 4, 2020US military deploys new type of nuclear weapon seen as key to countering RussiaRyan Browne, Barbara Starr and Zachary CohenCNNVipin Narang quoted: The real difference is the ability to threaten "and penetrate targets deep in adversary territory that current aircraft deliverable low yield nuclear weapons cannot reach," according to Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT. |
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In the NewsFebruary 3, 2020Beyond Harvard prof's arrest, increased scrutiny over research conflicts sparks 'a whole lot of anxiety'Carrie JungWBURJoel Brenner quoted: "The FBI and other counterintelligence officials have been warning of these problems for at least 20 years now," he said. "The academic community has been very skeptical." |
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In the NewsJanuary 29, 2020Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus to weapons researchAdam Taylor The Washington PostVipin Narang quoted: Vipin Narang, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a message on Twitter that a good bioweapon “in theory has high lethality but low, not [high], communicability” and that spreading such ideas would be “incredibly irresponsible.” |
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In the NewsJanuary 24, 2020Saudi Arabia 'planned to spy on Khashoggi's fiancee in UK'Stephanie Kirchgaessner The GuardianHala Aldosari quoted: “Saudi Arabia is trying to put a lid on the whole [Khashoggi] thing, so it is understandable that they would try to make sure that Hatice’s voice and advocacy is limited,” said Hala Aldosari, a Saudi activist and fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “All sorts of unlawful behaviour continues, nothing has changed.” |
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In the NewsJanuary 22, 2020Who is Mohammad bin Salman?NowThisHala Aldosari is featured on the first international podcast of Who Is. This epidsode explores the 34-year-old trillionaire in charge of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, and the story of a monarchy that is using its wealth to secure its global legitimacy and expand its influence. |
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In the NewsJanuary 22, 2020Study: State-level adoption of renewable energy standards saves money and livesNancy W Stauffer MIT NewsMIT researchers review renewable energy and carbon pricing policies as states consider repealing or relaxing renewable portfolio standards. Emil Dimanchev SM ’18, a senior research associate at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, had his outreach relating to the Ohio testimony supported by the Policy Lab at the MIT Center for International Studies. |
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In the NewsJanuary 21, 2020Saudi Arabia runs squalid, abusive jails for women disowned by their male guardians — a forgotten chapter in its rush to champion women’s rightsBill BostockBusiness InsiderHala Aldosari quoted: “How women are treated is very much determined by the staff,” she said. “It’s worse when they bring low-skilled people in to work with women left with no supervision. Because of the gender division and lack of transparency they abuse power, and there’s no way for the women to address the issues.” |
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In the NewsJanuary 19, 2020Spies being left exposed in the digital ageBen MacintyreThe TimesJoel Brenner quoted: Everyone leaves digital footprints, whether intentionally or otherwise. Joel Brenner, a former top counterintelligence official, told Yahoo: “It’s extremely difficult now to run cover operations when so much is known and can be known about almost everybody.” |
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In the NewsJanuary 14, 2020Iran nuclear deal continues to unravelTonya MosleyWBUR Here and NowIran suspended all limits on its production of enriched uranium required by the deal after the American drone strike that killed Iran's top military commander this month. Jim Walsh discusses the implications. |
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In the NewsJanuary 13, 2020How exiled Saudi Arabian activists are quietly building a resistance movementTy JoplinAl BawabaAl Bawaba spoke with Hala Aldosari, a Saudi human rights activist who stands on the vanguard of digitally organizing a resistance movement to the Saudi regime while in exile. |
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In the NewsJanuary 8, 2020What's the path forward on Iran?Tiziana Dearing, Jamie BolognaWBUR Radio BostonNow a senior research fellow at CIS, Joel Brenner—former inspector general of the National Security Agency and head of US counterintelligence in the Obama administration—joins us to make sense of where we are with Iran and what happens next. |
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In the NewsJanuary 8, 2020Trump’s inaccurate statements about the conflict with IranLinda QiuThe New York TimesJim Walsh quoted: Mr Trump’s claim blaming the nuclear accord for Iranian aggression rather than his withdrawal from it is “almost an inverted reality,” said Jim Walsh, a research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program and an expert on nuclear issues and the Middle East. |
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In the NewsJanuary 8, 2020After Iran strikes back, President Trump indicates a de-escalationJim BraudeWGBH Greater BostonJim Walsh, a senior research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program, joined Jim Braude to discuss the events of the last week and what else may be on the horizon in US-Iran relations. |
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In the NewsJanuary 8, 2020How an Iranian cyberattack might startMarketplaceDavid Edelman quoted: Iran has promised retaliation following the US killing of its top commander, and one form that could take is cyberattacks. Iran is not considered the most sophisticated cyber actor, but David Edelman said it has attacked and been the target of attacks, so it has an unusual amount of experience with hacking. |
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In the NewsJanuary 7, 2020Jeanne Guillemin, biological warfare expert and senior advisor at MIT, dies at 76Michelle EnglishMIT NewsJeanne Guillemin was described by The New York Times as a “scientific sleuth” and the Washington Post as a “pioneering researcher” in obituaries that lauded her groundbreaking work in biological warfare — a field where men had long outnumbered their female colleagues. |
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In the NewsJanuary 6, 2020Iran drives another stake into the heart of the nuclear dealTim ListerCNNVipin Narang quoted: Vipin Narang, Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT, points out that despite Iran's announcement that it won't abide by enrichment levels and quantities set by the JCPOA, "it is still quite far from having enough enriched uranium for a bomb, let alone a functional arsenal because...of the JCPOA." |
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In the NewsJanuary 5, 2020Iraqi parliament votes to expel US troops from countryFox NewsSenior Research Associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program Dr Jim Walsh on the US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Soleimani. |
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In the NewsJanuary 4, 2020Did the killing of Qassim Suleimani deter Iranian attacks, or encourage them?Amanda TaubThe New York TimesVipin Narang quoted: “He was a monster, no question,” said Vipin Narang, an MIT political scientist who has studied efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear program. “But there’s a consequentialist argument as well.” Dr Narang said the deterrence argument “assumes a unitary, rational actor.” While he said that could apply to Iran, which may want to avoid war, it may not apply, say, to Hezbollah, which Iran backs in Lebanon. |
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In the NewsJanuary 3, 2020Oil prices surge after US attack kills senior Iran military chiefAl JazeeraJohn Tirman quoted: "Certainly Iran is going to retaliate in some way - retaliations will come, as they have in the past, in what we call an asymmetrical way. They're not going to confront the US directly but they will perhaps attack Saudi tankers again, maybe Saudi oil refineries again," John Tirman told Al Jazeera. "The fact is that Iran will come back and hit US assets or the assets of US allies in the region, and they will do so repeatedly over a period of time," Tirman said. |
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In the NewsJanuary 3, 2020Qassem Soleimani long targeted the United StatesSean Philip CotterBoston HeraldJim Walsh quoted: “Soleimani was a central figure in Iran — he was Iran’s military representative to the Middle East,” Jim Walsh, an expert on terrorism and the Middle East at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Herald. “There was sort of a cult of personality about him, and people thought of him as being talented.” |
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In the NewsJanuary 3, 2020Qassem Soleimani, top Iranian general, killed in US airstrike in BaghdadPeter O'Dowd WBUR Here & NowPeter O'Dowd speaks with security analyst Jim Walsh about the US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, which is expected to have larger repercussions. |
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In the NewsJanuary 1, 2020A look at the national security challenges facing the US in 2020Robin YoungWBUR Here & NowRobin Young speaks with security analyst Jim Walsh about the stalled nuclear talks with North Korea and the US embassy protests in Baghdad. |
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In the NewsJanuary 1, 2020North Korea signals end of nuclear-test suspension, promises 'new' weaponAlexander SmithNBC NewsVipin Narang, a politics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who focuses on nuclear weapons, tweeted the potential to negotiate on this issue is "the door we should urgently push on." |
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In the NewsJanuary 1, 2020George W Bush slips in and out of town as Poodle napsNick WelshSanta Barbara IndependentJohn Tirman interview and research heavily referenced in piece about mortality rates and cost of war. |