Events

Putin’s war in Ukraine, Russian election meddling, deep-cover Russian “illegal” spies in the West, disinformation, overhead spy balloons, and assassinations—subjects that all make regular news headlines. When they do so, however, those headlines frequently lack their proper, long-term, context.

To bring historical perspective to these national security issues at the frontline of contemporary geopolitics, join the Belfer Center’s Intelligence Project for the launch of Calder Walton’s book, SPIES. The Epic Intelligence War between East and West, being published on June 6.

Described by Fiona Hill as “essential reading” and a “masterclass in twentieth century and contemporary history,” and by Christopher Andrew as a “masterpiece,” SPIES explores the clandestine struggle that has been raging between Russia and Western powers for a hundred years and counting. Its conclusions, however, go further than Russia in the past: they relate to the current unfolding intelligence conflict between China and the West. Chinese intelligence has taken up the mantle of the KGB— but taken espionage to new levels.

Calder Walton will present the principal findings of his book, followed by a  Question & Answer session with incoming Intelligence Project Director incoming Project Director Mark Pascale and Intelligence Project Fellows including Beth Sanner, Norman T. Roule, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Kristin Wood, and Jeff Fields.

This virtual event will take place on June 5 at 4:00PM EST. Calder Walton’s remarks will be on the record, but the Q&A will be under Chatham House rules. It will be open to the public, but registration is required. RSVP at the link below:

Speaker: Apekshya Prasai, Gender & Security Predoctoral Fellow, International Security Program

When organizing insurgency, all rebels face gendered choices. Insurgents operate in, recruit from, and depend on communities where half the population is female.  This seminar seeks to describe and explain the differentially gendered approaches insurgents adopt to organizing violence.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwqcemrpjsvG9GQejHVwaRw0GWln_pX8n0g

EVENT SUMMARY

This event is about the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), which received newly appropriated funding through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. The NSTC is intended to be the central hub for research and engineering within the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. This event will feature four guest speakers who will discuss key implementation strategies for the NSTC to achieve its goals of extending U.S. leadership in foundational technologies and reducing the time and cost to prototype innovative ideas.

GUEST SPEAKERS

• Susie Armstrong, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Qualcomm; Member, Industrial Advisory Committee, Department of Commerce
• Dev Shenoy, Principal Director for Microelectronics, Department of Defense 
• Gregg Bartlett, Chief Technology Office, GlobalFoundries
• Jim Cable, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chairman, Finwave Semiconductor

The event will be hosted by Frank Doyle, Dean of Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School invites you to join us for an event featuring His Excellency Saeed Al Nazari, Secretary General of the Great Arab Minds Initiative, hosted by MEI Faculty Chair Professor Tarek Masoud.

Speaker: Michael Falcone, Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy, International Security Program

This presentation will examine how today's model of superpowers as science-powers stemmed from highly contingent historical processes — a whole paradigm of global competition that emerged from a specific set of transatlantic personal networks and rivalries in the 1940s. It will also explore how the United States built its high-tech identity by siphoning other countries' intellectual property and state-science models, much as it charges China with doing today. Finally, it will deconstruct what scholars and policymakers alike really refer to when use the fuzzy concepts of nations being "ahead" or "behind" their technological rivals.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpdOisqT4iGNB1X9jxHKY-xh-B5Vc-QmgP

In 2020, Joe Biden ran for president on the most ambitious climate action platform of any major presidential candidate in U.S. history. Since taking office, Biden’s administration has delivered several significant climate victories, including passing the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Despite these advances, further efforts will be required to meet the United States’ ambitious climate commitments: a 50 percent reduction in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030, 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035, and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050. 

Please join us for a conversation with Nat Keohane (PhD 2001), President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and former Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate under President Barack Obama. Keohane will discuss the opportunities and challenges of building on recent progress in U.S. climate policy, as well as the actions that must be taken in the United States and globally to get on track for net zero by mid-century. Professor Henry Lee, Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, will moderate the conversation.

This event is part of Harvard Climate Action Week, which gathers climate leaders and experts in pursuit of durable, effective, and equitable solutions to the climate change challenges confronting humanity. See here for more information and additional ways to participate.

Please join the Belfer Center’s Defense Project and the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI) for a panel discussion on “Chinese Gray Zone Activities in the Western Hemisphere” on Tuesday, May 9th at 3:30 PM in the Allison Dining Room. 

In an increasingly complex global security environment, understanding and addressing the challenges posed by Chinese gray zone activities in the Western Hemisphere has become a pressing issue. On behalf of the Belfer Center's Defense Project and the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI), we are honored to host a panel discussion with esteemed experts such as Assistant Secretary Melissa Dalton, Admiral (USN ret.) Craig Faller, and Dr. Ryan Berg, moderated by Guido Torres, and hosted by Jessica Sweet, to explore this critical topic.

Please RSVP here. 

The Technology and Public Purpose Summit 2023 convenes experts and explorers to discuss how we can build a future where public purpose drives innovation.

The summit is in-person only. RSVP is required. 

Speaker: Moritz Sebastian Graefrath,  Grand Strategy, Security, & Statecraft Fellow, International Security Program

Differing beliefs about how great powers react to the emergence of power vacuums in international politics play a central role in the current debate on U.S. grand strategy: on the one hand, those who believe that power vacuums are inevitably filled by adversaries seeking to expand their influence abroad tend to call for a more involved grand strategy; on the other hand, those who are more sanguine about the possible consequences of creating power vacuums tend to support calls for the United States to withdraw from some of its international commitments.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcoc-CprDMqGNUDYFVtQDRONPhLlXED9kwn

Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for a Director’s Lunch with Jason Matheny, President and Chief Executive Officer of RAND Corporation, for a conversation on “U.S.-China Tech Rivalry,” on Monday, May 1st from 12:15-1:30 PM in the Belfer Library (L369). This session will be moderated by HKS Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Graham Allison.

The Biden administration has taken major steps to advance American competitiveness in the competition with China over emerging technologies, from the CHIPS Act to restrictions on Chinese tech companies. We will hear about the future of the U.S.-China tech rivalry from the perspective of Matheny, who led White House policy on technology and national security at the National Security Council. 

This event is off the record and will be in-person for HUID holders only. Space is limited for this event, so please only RSVP if you plan to attend.