Newsletters

The widespread emergence of deepfakes—images and audio-visual elements created for purposes such as expression, play, or experimentation—raises key questions around ethics and policy. This Intelligence Project conference discussed ways to navigate these issues. 

The Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom, Intelligence Project, and Applied History Project organized a day-long conference in October to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis and to discuss what we’ve learned from the CMC. Managing the Atom’s Mariana Budjeryn discusses the relevance of those lessons for today’s conflict in Ukraine.

Hundreds of students and others from the greater Harvard community took part in Belfer Center study groups this fall. Focusing on Middle East reform, use and abuse of intelligence, and the origin and potential for the CHIPS and Science Act, these fall groups provided an opportunity for generally small groups to interact over a period of weeks with Belfer Center and visiting experts.

The war in Ukraine was a wake-up call regarding the ability of non-state actors, such as Bellingcat, to glean valuable information from open-source data. On November 1, 2022, the Intelligence Project hosted a highly praised virtual discussion with private sector experts who tackle national security problems using publicly-available data and artificial intelligence.

If you woke up to news of a massive cyber or Pearl Harbor-type attack on the U.S., you would want to know that a solid national security structure and plan was in place. On May 11, the Intelligence Project and Applied History Project hosted a conference to imagine a new National Security Act to replace the current act of 1947.

To mark Earth Day 2021, a number of Belfer Center climate, security, and intelligence experts took part in two conferences that identified and discussed the impacts of climate change not only on the environment and well-being of the world’s people, but also on international security and political stability throughout the world.

In late September, more than 600 participants from across Harvard and the national security community convened for a two-day conference focused on building a more diverse and capable United States Intelligence Community (IC). Co-hosted by the Belfer Center’s Intelligence and Cyber Projects, the conference took place over two consecutive mornings and served as a kick-off to a year-long initiative focused on highlighting workforce diversity in the IC as a mission critical element to US national security.

The Belfer Center’s commitment to the Middle East transcends study of a contentious part of the world, writes Belfer Center Director Ash Carter. Our higher purpose, he says, is fostering real engagement with diverse populations. In a region where human connection—both between and within borders—remains wanting, the Center understands that there’s no substitute for direct conversation with those who make the Middle East their home.

The Geopolitics of Energy project is pleased to welcome Adnan Amin as a Senior Fellow this year. Ambassador Marcie Ries, a career diplomat with nearly four decades of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service, served in Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Susan M. (Sue) Gordon was Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence until August 2019.

The Belfer Center is pleased to welcome Paul Kolbe as the Center’s new Intelligence Project Director. Kolbe will build on the work of the former director Rolf Mowatt-Larssen to advance policy-relevant knowledge in intelligence areas and help prepare future leaders in the field. The Intelligence Project is home to an elite roster of former senior intelligence officials and hosts rising stars from intelligence and national security organizations around the world.