Blog

Senior PhD Research Fellow Polina Beliakova presented her dissertation research at the CSS Research and Policy Seminar on November 5.

By Patrick Maxwell

The complexity of contemporary civil wars—especially those in which a multiplicity of armed actors compete for control or resources—makes it difficult for standard foreign military interventions to increase security and improve stability. Contemporary civil wars often feature interconnected local and national agendas; unfortunately, the processes aimed at ending civil wars tend to focus on high-level actors, while ignoring the local-level dynamics that fuel national-level conflict. In such contexts, how can external actors conducting peacekeeping or so-called peace enforcement efforts ensure the safety of civilian communities and contribute to peace and security?

By Brett Northfield

CSS hosted Eric Rosenbach, co-director of the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, on October 25 for the first Engaging Practitioners lecture of the fall semester. Rosenbach previously served as the Pentagon’s chief of staff and before that as assistant secretary of defense for global security, responsible for leading the department’s cyber activities and other key areas of defense policy.

By Xiaodon Liang

Under the direction of Prof. Monica Toft and research lead Dr. Sidita Kushi, the Center for Strategic Studies’ first major research program, The Intervention Project (TIP), has entered its first phase. Last Thursday, Kushi gave a presentation to CSS staff and fellows of the research so far, which has entailed assessing the existing literature on U.S. interventions and constructing a working definition of the phenomenon.

We welcomed Fletcher students back for the academic year at an open house on September 17. The event introduced new and returning graduate students to the center’s recent work and our agenda for the coming year.

CSS Director Monica Toft kicked off the event by thanking the 40 students, representing all of The Fletcher School’s resident degrees and Tufts University’s undergraduate program, for attending the afternoon session. She presented her newest work on migration and demographics, a volume co-edited with Isabelle Côté and Matthew I. Mitchell entitled People Changing Places: New Perspectives on Demography, Migration, Conflict, and the State. Demographic change is a subtle and underappreciated factor driving conflict and tensions in all parts of the world, and she encouraged students to pay more attention to the long-neglected field. Demographics are critical for understanding power between and within states, shifting balances, and political violence and war. She noted that demographers were studying the effects of immigration on political stability many years before they hit the front pages of newspapers in Europe and the United States.

by Monica Duffy Toft

Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends of CSS,

It’s hard to believe that the start of the academic year is already upon us: students are back, books have been ordered, syllabi have been distributed, and fellows have arrived. The Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) begins its second year with excitement and enthusiasm as we continue our mission to train the next generation of scholars and practitioners in strategy and national security policy.

Three new postdoctoral fellows—Nils Hagerdal (PhD Harvard), Sidita Kushi (PhD Northeastern), and Megan McBride (PhD Brown)—have joined CSS, while others—Rita Konaev, Burak Kadercan, and Sarah Detzner—have left to begin another phase of their careers. Professor Thomas Cavanna will continue teaching at Fletcher on US foreign policy and researching his book on US-China relations, and postdoctoral fellow Karim Elkady will continue his research on critical cases of US state-building interventions. Our postdoctoral fellows are joined by eight PhD fellows, some of whom are returning—Polina Beliakova, Zoltan Feher, Meg Guliford, David Kampf, and Xiaodon Liang—while others are new to CSS—Neha Ansari, Lydia Sizer, and Colin Steele. In addition to working on their dissertations, the fellows will be helping me and program manager Anna Ronell to advance the research and activities of the center.

by Karim Elkady

Without U.S. political engagement with Iraq’s domestic politics, the military and security gains that Iraq, the United States, and their international partners in Operation Inherent Resolve have achieved will diminish. During a press briefing in Baghdad on July 24, 2018, Brigadier General Frederic Parisot, the director of Civil-Military Operations for Operation Inherent Resolve responded to a question about post-ISIS stabilization in Iraq and Syria. He said “we – the Coalition – (will) fail to defeat Daesh if stabilization is not successful.” Instead of waging another war against Iran, the United States should finish the job in Iraq. More than fifteen years ago, the United States invaded Iraq, changed its regime and occupied it with the purpose of transforming it into a stable democratic state; yet up to this day Iraq suffers from political instability and turmoil.