"National Security in a Time of Austerity," was the the seminar for senior congressional and executive branch staff held April 3-5, 2013, and hosted for the first time by SSP; A total of 97 faculty international research projects have received $1.99 million in funding from the 2012-2013 MISTI Global Seed Funds competition; The Center announced sixteen recipients of its summer study grants; Elizabeth Wood has been recognized for writing one of the top ten most read articles in Slavic journals for the year 2012; Rebecca Ochoa, from CIS Headquarters, received an Infinite Mile Award from SHASS; CIS audits UAV drone use.

Across political and social thinking, the idea that the state has the right to kill its own citizens is rarely contested. From Hobbes to Weber and Mbembe, it is explicit or implied that states decide the conditions under which citizens can, and indeed should, die in order to preserve sovereignty.

Cindy Williams, principal research scientist at the Security Studies Program, discusses with précis the budget deficit, including military spending, DOD personnel costs, sequestration, and President Obama's recently proposed budget.