And that’s a wrap on the 2026 Summer Wargaming Institute! Thank you, to all of our presenters and participants who came from near and afar, thanks to our hosts at the MIT Endicott House, and a very special thanks to Elena Capuzzo for putting this event together!

Former SSP Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow Florian Galleri presents a new piece in the Washington Quarterly, “French Nuclear Ambiguity at a Crossroads”. Check it out: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0163660X.2026.2684807 @twqgw.bsky.social

Center for Nuclear Security Policy’s Matthew Sharp provides new analysis for @thebulletin.org. ⚛️Take a look: https://thebulletin.org/2026/06/three-key-moments-helped-build-the-nuclear-order-time-to-revisit/#post-heading

SSP Senior Fellow Kelly M. Greenhill coauthored a chapter in the recently published Oxford Handbook of Human Security. 🔖Bookmark Organized Forced Migration and Human Security: academic.oup.com/edited-volum...

This past semester, SSP’s Richard Nielsen, associate professor of political science, joined a cohort of scholars from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) to form the inaugural SHASS Faculty Fellows Program. Learn more from MIT News: news.mit.edu/2026/buildin...

SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser and George Washington University professor of political science Alexander B. Downs “argue that the current debate between nuclear coercionists and pessimists is misleading because it fails to adequately incorporate strategic selection.” 📓https://bit.ly/4avm8MR

Wargaming Lab Co-director Erik Lin-Greenberg scores another award for his latest book “The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft”: the American Political Science Association Foreign Policy Section 2026 Best Book Award. Congratulations, Professor Lin-Greenberg! @apsa.bsky.social

We are pleased to announce that SSP Research Affiliate Fiona Cunningham has been awarded the 2026 Peter Katzenstein Book Prize for her book “Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security”. 🏆Congratulations, Fiona! 📘 @fiona-cunningham.bsky.social

On June 6, the Security Studies Program celebrated its 50th anniversary with a full day of festivities, friendship, and food. Alumni from across the country and around the globe joined us at the MIT Media Lab to catch up with colleagues and share memories of what makes SSP so special.

An operation to take Kharg Island could be difficult due the island’s terrain and civilian population while leaving US forces vulnerable to Iranian attacks, says MIT professor of political science Caitlin Talmadge. Read more via @taskandpurpose.com: https://bit.ly/4uy2kzs @proftalmadge.bsky.social

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks to @wbur.org about tensions around the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. 🎧 https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/06/11/iran-us-strikes-ceasefire

MIT professor of political science Caitlin Talmadge, along with coauthor Mara Karlin, provide expert analyses and offer policy recommendations in their latest research piece for @brookings.edu. 📖: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-the-american-way-of-war/ @proftalmadge.bsky.social

Thanks for celebrating SSP's 50th anniversary with us, @jkertzer.bsky.social!

We are pleased to announced that SSP Affiliate Phil Haun’s recent book, “Tactical Airpower and the Vietnam War”, has been shortlisted for the 2025 Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History by the Royal United Services Institute (@rusi.bsky.social). Congratulations, Phil Haun!

Mariana Budjeryn, Center for Nuclear Security Policy Senior Researcher, talks about the Chornobyl disaster, Russia’s current occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and current nuclear security challenges. @mbudjeryn.bsky.social @sipri.org

Iran's semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency reports that Iran is stopping talks with the U.S. to protest the continued bombardment of Lebanon. SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks with @wbur.org on the latest turn of events. 🎧 https://wbur.fm/49wBEaP

SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser addresses US-China security concerns at a recent talk for @fsi.stanford.edu. Full talk: https://youtu.be/GzGd1w92U1w?si=AiDK26EYAtmD12LN

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.

A group of bipartisan experts, including faculty member 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 Real Clear Defense. www.realcleardefense.com/articles/202...

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.” Via @stimsoncenter.bsky.social southasianvoices.org/sec-f-pk-r-c...

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. Learn more about the Doolittle Award: https://bit.ly/4eV4bdL

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 @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social: https://bit.ly/3R8egtU

In a new paper, @mbudjeryn.bsky.social 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://bit.ly/4dkt3Jr

SSP Director @fravel.bsky.social speaks with @npr.org about China’s expanding nuclear program. “What [China] worried about was that the U.S. was developing what's known as conventional long-range strike weapons that could be used to attack China's nuclear forces,” Fravel says.

On Hegseth’s ongoing, high-profile military shakeup, SSP’s Barry Posen asks, “Is he purging not just perfectly competent people, but highly competent people, the people you would want in your foxhole?” www.salon.com/2026/05/01/r... Read more via @salon.com

⏰Reminder: @mbudjeryn.bsky.social, Center for Nuclear Security Policy Senior Researcher, joins a panel of experts to explore Chernobyl’s enduring legacy. Hosted by @carnegieendowment.org. In person and online: https://bit.ly/4cVdzLw 🗓️May 7, 2026 🕘9:00-10:15am ET 📍1779 Mass Ave, DC

Thank you, Heidi Urben, for your important discussion on assessing internal accountability in the US military during this week’s Wednesday Seminar. Seminars will return in the fall. Meanwhile, catch up on the conversation with our archived seminars: https://bit.ly/4dl4yvN @heidiurben.bsky.social

Center for Nuclear Security Policy Senior Researcher @mbudjeryn.bsky.social joins a panel of experts to explore Chernobyl’s enduring legacy. Hosted by @carnegieendowment.org. Register now for this in-person and online discussion. 🗓️5/7/26 🕘9-10:15am ET 📍1779 Mass Ave, DC https://bit.ly/4cVdzLw

Join us tomorrow for the final Wednesday Seminar of the semester, in which @heidiurben.bsky.social will discuss internal accountability in the US military. 📡Bookmark the livestream* https://youtube.com/live/yegx7ekZT8A?feature=share *this livestream will not be recorded

Congratulations to the Security Studies Program Phd students Kathryn Dura, Christine Liu, and Tyler Sagerstrom on receiving MIT Center for International Studies PhD Student Research Grants! Learn more about their grants and research topics: cis.mit.edu/news/cis-awa...

40 years after the Chornobyl disaster, Center for Nuclear Security Policy Senior Researcher @mbudjeryn.bsky.social reflects on the impact of peaceful and weaponized nuclear energy in Ukraine’s history in “Atoms for Peace and Atoms for War”. Via Baltic Worlds balticworlds.com/atoms-for-pe...

Join us for the final Wednesday Seminar of the semester, in which @heidiurben.bsky.social will discuss internal accountability in the US military. 📡Bookmark the livestream https://youtube.com/live/yegx7ekZT8A?feature=share

Thank you, Joshua Kertzer, for your lively discussion “Advisers in Foreign Policy” during this week’s Wednesday Seminar.
There are only two seminars left in the semester! @jkertzer.bsky.social

In the penultimate Wednesday Seminar of the semester, Caleb Pomeroy will discuss how rising power increases leaders' expectations of security. 🗓️4/22 at noon ET 📍MIT community can join in person at E40-496 📡Bookmark the livestream https://youtube.com/live/jrqCTSDsVTQ?feature=share

🥗Spend your lunchtime with us! In tomorrow’s Wednesday Seminar, @jkertzer.bsky.social explores the role of advisers in foreign policy, highlighting the systematically different counsel offered by hawkish and dovish advisers. Livestreaming: https://bit.ly/4dXZaAH *This talk will not be recorded.

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh thinks that the US may be ready to walk away from the war, despite not having met its strategic goals. 🎧Listen to the full interview with @wbur.org https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/04/08/trump-iran-ceasefire

Center for Nuclear Security Policy Senior Researcher @mbudjeryn.bsky.social discusses the impasse in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in this @tvpworld.bsky.social interview. Full interview: https://youtu.be/UdLTd_dwjJU?si=aY8Y-KfTEzUTQ6XD

In our upcoming Wednesday Seminar, @jkertzer.bsky.social explores the role of advisers in foreign policy, highlighting the systematically different counsel offered by hawkish and dovish advisers. 📡Bookmark the livestream* https://bit.ly/4dXZaAH *This talk will be livestreamed but not recorded.

“AI is an extraordinary tool—but it’s not a genie to which humans can delegate judgment,” writes Joel Brenner, SSP Senior Research Fellow. Read Brenner’s full commentary, “Myth of the AI Oracle” via @lawfaremedia.org https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/myth-of-the-ai-oracle

Thank you, Rachel Myrick, for your informative discussion “Polarization and International Politics” at last week’s Wednesday Seminar. And special thanks to Caitlin Talmadge for guest hosting. Only three more seminars remaining for the semester! @rachelmyrick.bsky.social @proftalmadge.bsky.social

Congratulations to SSP PhD student Daniel Cebul on receiving the Smith Richardson Foundation’s World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship!

Mariana Budjeryn’s 2022 book, “Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine”, is now available in a Polish translation. @mbudjeryn.bsky.social, a senior researcher at the MIT’s Center for Nuclear Security Policy, examines the nuclear legacy...

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh says this is the biggest use of oil as a weapon, even more so than previous wars in the Middle East. Watch the full discussion via @aljazeera.com: www.aljazeera.com/video/inside...

“New Delhi still counts the United States as its most important—if less reliable—partner, motivating it to play the best hand it is dealt while placing smaller bets elsewhere,” writes SSP Affiliate Sameer Lalwani for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Read more: https://bit.ly/4shioEJ

Congratulations to SSP Affiliate Francis Gavin for receiving the 2026 Lionel Gelber Prize for his book “Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy”!

One month into the war with Iran, both sides are losing, says Jim Walsh, SSP Senior Research Associate, speaking to @wbur.org Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan. 🎧Listen to the full segment: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/03/27/iran-war-one-month

🥪Spend your lunchtime with us! In tomorrow’s Wednesday Seminar, Rachel Myrick will discuss her research, arguing that polarization reshapes the nature of constraints on democratic leaders. Livestream*: https://bit.ly/4tbWL9A *This livestream will not be recorded. @rachelmyrick.bsky.social

In their latest paper published by American Political Science Review, Stanton Fellow Joshua Byun and co-author Hyunku Kwon asks, “How can governments in racially divided societies protect vulnerable populations from political violence after large-scale internal conflict?” https://bit.ly/4bIcebS

n our upcoming Wednesday Seminar, @rachelmyrick.bsky.social will discuss her research, arguing that polarization reshapes the nature of constraints on democratic leaders, which in turn erodes the advantages democracies have in foreign affairs. Learn more: ssp.mit.edu/events/2026/...

@proftalmadge.bsky.social says that Iran is probably already thinking about deterring the next war, "part of the way you deter the next round is to teach more powerful adversaries that they don’t control when the dance stops, once the music starts.” @brookings.edu www.brookings.edu/articles/why...