MIT Security Studies Program

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 Task & Purpose:

The US would need at least 1,200 troops to take Kharg Island, experts say To hold the island, U.S. troops would need to dig in as protection against Iranian missile attacks, a retired senior defense official said.

SSP Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks to WBUR 90.9 FM Here & Now 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 the The Brookings Institution.
Read on:

The end of the American way of war? | Brookings The Iran war has demonstrated that U.S. forward-deployed forces in the Middle East no longer enjoy sanctuary from attack.

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 RUSI - Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

Congratulations, Phil Haun!

Haun’s book introduces a theory of tactical air power to explain air power effectiveness in modern warfare with a particular focus on the Vietnam War as the first and largest modern air war. Available from Cambridge University Press: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/tactical-air-power-and-the-vietnam-war/B8A7BB9BEBB692CEEB642868C82DC083 -information

Phil Haun is a professor at the US Naval War College. The Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History is awarded on an annual basis for the best English language writing in the discipline.

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.

Spotlight: Dr Mariana Budjeryn—Senior researcher at MIT’s Center for Nuclear Security Policy As part of a SIPRI talk on the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl di...

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 90.9 FM Here & Now on the latest turn of events.
🎧

Iran stops peace talks with U.S. to protest Israel's continued bombardment of Lebanon Israel announced it’s expanding attacks in Lebanon, targeting the outskirts of Beirut.

SSP Senior Fellow Charles Glaser addresses US-China security concerns at a recent talk for Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
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. 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 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.

Trump’s Nuclear Review 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,