News + Media

Taylor Fravel

Analysis + Opinion

April 25, 2022

China and India need to reimagine what is possible on the border

Nayanima BasuThe Print

According to Taylor Fravel, China is now attempting to strengthen ties with India and a number of other developing countries as they have also not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (unseen) review an honor guard at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. With Russia’s military failings in Ukraine mounting, no country is paying closer attention than China to how a smaller, outgunned force has badly bloodied what was thought to be one of the world’s strongest armies. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

In the News

April 20, 2022

China looks to learn from Russian failures in Ukraine

David RisingAssociated Press (AP)

Quoted: “The big question Xi and the PLA leadership must be asking in light of Russian operations in Ukraine is whether a military that has undergone extensive reform and modernization will be able to execute operations that are far more complex than those Russia has undertaken during its invasion of Ukraine,” said M Taylor Fravel, director of the security studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

US Iran flags

News Release

April 19, 2022

Republics of Myth, a new book by CIS scholars, offers insight into the US-Iran conflict

News ReleaseCenter for International Studies

From the coup d'état that overthrew Iran's legitimate premier Mohammad Mosaddeq to the hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq War, the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, post-9/11 antagonisms, and other points of conflict, the book illustrates anew the weight of historical narratives on present circumstances.

Imran Khan

Analysis + Opinion

April 14, 2022

The American conspiracy against Pakistan that never existed

Maham JavaidBoston Globe

It took Imran Khan more than 20 years to become the prime minister of Pakistan. On Sunday, after a mere three and a half years in office, he became the first Pakistani prime minister to be voted out by a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

Globe on a table, with someone on a laptop in the background

News@E40

April 11, 2022

CIS awards 17 summer study grants

Seventeen doctoral students in international affairs at MIT were awarded summer study grants. Each will receive up to $3,500. Eleanor Freund was awarded the third annual Guillemin prize.  “The awards were made to an outstanding cohort of MIT students from across the Institute. We're so pleased that the appeal of these grants has broadened and students are responding,” said John Tirman, CIS executive director and principal research scientist.

Erik Sand and Emily Holland

Analysis + Opinion

April 11, 2022

The latest round of sanctions on Russia

Erik Sand and Emily J Holland@ConvSix

Erik Sand PhD ’21, and research affiliate of CIS, discusses the impact of the latest round of sanctions on Russia. He is joined by his colleague Emily J Holland. Sand and Holland are assistant professors at the Naval War College.

Graphic picture of Putin with red handprint on face

Analysis + Opinion

April 10, 2022

Ukraine: Three divergent stands, three scenarios

Kunal SinghHindustan Times

The current war can end in three possible scenarios for Russian president Vladimir Putin. In each scenario, we will see that India and US interests are quite aligned.

A wall of gas masks.

Analysis + Opinion

April 7, 2022

The risk of Russian chemical weapons use

Doreen HorschigPolitical Violence at a Glance

Speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has or will use chemical weapons in Ukraine is growing. Russia’s efforts to block punishment for Syria’s use of chemical weapons confirms Putin’s sympathy for the weapons. And the Kremlin’s allegations of US chemical and biological weapons labs in Ukraine may end up serving as a pretense for Russia to use chemical weapons.

Picture of Putin

Analysis + Opinion

April 6, 2022

How the war complicates Biden's Iran diplomacy

John TirmanDAWN

One surprising aspect of the US-Russia relationship is how certain joint activities survived more general hostility, at least before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. One of those activities was diplomacy on the Iran nuclear program and efforts to restrain it, namely, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the nuclear deal signed in 2015 from which Trump withdrew in 2018.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Analysis + Opinion

April 6, 2022

The Falklands War at 40: A lesson for our time

Robert RalstonResponsible Statecraft

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), sparking the beginning of a three-month long war with Great Britain. At a time when Europe is at risk of military conflict with Russia over Ukraine it is worth looking back at the lessons we can draw from this 40-year-old conflict.

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