MIT Security Studies Program

MIT Security Studies Program The MIT Security Studies Program is a graduate-level research and Educational Program based at the Center for International Studies at MIT.

The Security Studies Program (SSP) is a graduate-level research and educational program providing insightful analysis of national and international security issues. We are based under the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. What began in 1976 as the Defense and Arms Control Studies Program, has today become a renowned program with a

particular focus in four areas:

1) Understanding the vast geo-political shifts now underway in Asia;
2) Controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
3) Designing strategies to deal with fragile states and the volatile politics they often generate;
4) Assessing how U.S. national security policy can best address all these challenges. The expertise and work of our faculty, senior advisors and affiliates help educate and inform the public, media, government decision makers, organizations and the MIT community on issues of national and international interest. In addition to hosting graduate students based under MIT’s Department of Political Science, our program is home to three prestigious fellowships: the Grand Strategy, Security, and Statecraft Fellowship Program; the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship Program; and the Military Fellowship Program. Our graduate students and fellows have gone on to pursue careers in think tanks, government, academia and the private sector.

Congratulations to SSP’s PhD graduates! We are honored to celebrate the hard-earned achievements of doctors Nicholas Bla...
05/28/2026

Congratulations to SSP’s PhD graduates! We are honored to celebrate the hard-earned achievements of doctors Nicholas Blanchette, Wenyan Deng, Suzanne Freeman, Eleanor Freund, Eyal Hanfling, Wright Smith, Raymond Wang, and Diana Zhu. We look forward to your ongoing contributions to security studies and political science!

And congratulations to Raymond Wang for receiving the Lucien Pye Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis!

📸 1: Grad students and faculty (l-r): Barry Posen, Erik-Lin Greenberg, Nicholas Blanchette, Suzanne Freeman, Diana Zhu, Raymond Wang, Wenyan Deng, Eleanor Freund, Wright Smith, M. Taylor Fravel, Rich Nielsen, and Caitlin Talmadge.

📸 2: Erik Lin-Greenberg, left, and Eyal Hanfling

📸 3: Raymond Wang, left, receives Best Doctoral Thesis Award from Political Science Department Head David Singer.

A group of bipartisan experts, including Center for Nuclear Security Policy Director Vipin Narang, offer basic guidepost...
05/27/2026

A group of bipartisan experts, including Center for Nuclear Security Policy Director Vipin Narang, offer basic guideposts for the Pentagon to take into account as it proceeds with its close hold mini review of U.S. nuclear strategy in a new article in RealClearDefense.

Defining U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Policy for an Uncertain World It emerged last month in Congressional hearings that the Trump Pentagon is conducting a close hold mini review of U.S. nuclear strategy,

In a new paper, Stanton Nuclear Fellow Beenish Pervaiz examines the May 2025 crisis between India and Pakistan “to provi...
05/20/2026

In a new paper, Stanton Nuclear Fellow Beenish Pervaiz examines the May 2025 crisis between India and Pakistan “to provide a comparative analysis of why and how variations in crisis narratives matter for what could come next.”
Read more via the Stimson Center’s South Asian Voices.
https://southasianvoices.org/sec-f-pk-r-competing-narratives-05-18-2026/

MIT Center for International Studies recently held its final lunch of the semester to celebrate the work and expertise o...
05/19/2026

MIT Center for International Studies recently held its final lunch of the semester to celebrate the work and expertise of this year’s fellows, including the fellows at SSP and the Center for Nuclear Security Policy.

Thank you, fellows! We’re excited to see your continued contributions to security studies!

On April 15, SSP had the honor of presenting former Commander, US Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency/C...
05/15/2026

On April 15, SSP had the honor of presenting former Commander, US Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service General Timothy D. Haugh with the General James Doolittle Award. In a discussion with SSP Director M. Taylor Fravel, General Haugh spoke about a range of issues related to intelligence, cyber, emerging technologies, and national security.

Named after General James Doolittle, the Doolittle Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of US air power.

Learn more about the Doolittle Award: https://ssp.mit.edu/news/2026/2026-doolittle-award-recipient-general-timothy-d-haugh-former-commander-u-s-cyber-command

SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser speaks to Amherst College Professor Eleonora Mattiacci about his latest book “Retrench,...
05/14/2026

SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser speaks to Amherst College Professor Eleonora Mattiacci about his latest book “Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America’s Future Against a Rising China”.
🔖Bookmark now, 🎧listen later via New Books Network:
https://newbooksnetwork.com/retrench-defend-compete

In a new paper, Mariana Budjeryn examines the global nuclear order after the Cold War, specifically asking why “did only...
05/13/2026

In a new paper, Mariana Budjeryn examines the global nuclear order after the Cold War, specifically asking why “did only Russia emerge as the only possessor of Soviet nuclear weapons in the post-Soviet space?”
Read the full article via Journal of Strategic Studies:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2026.2659055

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