News + Media

	News@E40 August 27, 2020 Donald L M Blackmer, Professor of Political Science Emeritus at MIT, dead at 91 Donald L M Blackmer, Professor of Political Science Emeritus at MIT, died on August 14, 2020. He was an esteemed scholar and an extraordinary steward of institutions and people.
	News@E40 August 27, 2020 In memory of Donald L M Blackmer, 1929-2020 Tributes to Donald L M Blackmer from his colleagues and students are featured here. The photo left is of Blackmer and Astrid Tuminez (PhD '96) in New Hampshire, September 2018.
	In the News August 27, 2020 China fires missiles into South China Sea as US sanctions Beijing Jesse JohnsonThe Japan Times Vipin 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.”
	In the News August 27, 2020 China fires missiles into South China Sea, sending US a message Steven Lee Myers and Keith BradsherThe New York Times M 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.”
	In the News August 26, 2020 America’s invasion of Iraq fuelled militant Islam Morgan DuchesneyThe Star John 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.”
	In the News August 18, 2020 Fostering friendships and films from across the globe MISTIMIT News What 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.
	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.
	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.
	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.