News + Media

	Analysis + Opinion August 17, 2020 Pandemic politics: Covid-19 and the US military In addressing relationship between the US military and the COVID-19 crisis, it is important to note that there are two key questions: how can the US military affect the current national crisis and how is the crisis affecting the military? The military has been involved in messaging, logistics and direct support of communities affected by the pandemic. At the same time, the realities of living with an infectious disease are challenging basic assumptions about military budgets, force readiness and training.
	News@E40 August 17, 2020 Lin-Greenberg receives leadership and best dissertation awards Erik Lin-Greenberg joined SSP on July 1st and was recently named to the 2020 National Security and Foreign Policy LGBTQIA+ Out Leadership List and just received the American Political Science Association's 2020 Merze Tate Award for his dissertation.
	In the News August 11, 2020 The Galwan Valley clash and China’s approach to sovereignty disputes ChinaPower Podcast Taylor 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.
	Analysis + Opinion August 10, 2020 Pandemic politics: Covid-19 and grand strategy As the world attempts to cope with and contain the COVID-19 pandemic, policy-makers and citizens alike are questioning the role of the state, its goals and the tools it uses. Lockdowns, overtaxed health care systems, mass unemployment, increasing mental health crises and supply chain disruptions plague the global system. Citizens wonder whether we will see a change in how states conduct themselves after the pandemic, both internationally and domestically.
	News@E40 August 10, 2020 Patricia Gercik memorial fund established A core group of Patricia Gercik's former students and friends has raised the initial seed funding required to establish and name a fund in Gercik's honor. Gifts to the Patricia Gercik Memorial Fund will provide supplemental stipends to students participating in the MIT-Japan program. Patricia Gercik (1944-2019), the visionary manager of the MIT Japan Program and of MISTI in its early years, passed away after a long illness at her home in Cambridge.
	Analysis + Opinion August 9, 2020 Beware of Latvians bearing gifts Harvey SapolskyThe National Interest There is no need for the United States to guard Europe against the Russians. The Europeans are rich, numerous, and fully capable of defending themselves. America must resist Latvians or Poles bearing gifts, argues Harvey Sapolsky.
	In the News August 7, 2020 Why the Beirut blast created a mushroom cloud Erik OlsenPopular Science Vipin 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.
	In the News August 6, 2020 Hiroshima's legacy 75 years later WBUR WBUR'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.
	Analysis + Opinion August 5, 2020 Pandemic politics: How the Future Strategy Forum amplifies the expertise of women Sara Plana and Rachel TecottInternational Affairs Blog In a new International Affairs blog published here, Sara Plana and Rachel Tecott reflect on the work of the Future Strategy Forum (FSF). The FSF amplifies the voices of national security experts from under-represented backgrounds.
	In the News August 4, 2020 New North Korea ICBM report suggests Pyongyang can hit US with nukes David BrennanNewsweek Vipin 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."