Putin and the Psychology of Nuclear Brinksmanship

Putin and the Psychology of Nuclear Brinksmanship

Speakers: Dr. Rose McDermott (Brown University); Dr. Paul Slovic (Brown University) Date: 28 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary The world has not experienced a global military conflict since World War II. Countries’ possession of nuclear weapons is frequently...
Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy

Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy

Speaker: Yana Gorokhovskaia (Freedom House) Date: 20 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary For fifty years, Freedom House has published its assessment of the state of democracy around the world. Freedom House categorizes countries and territories in to three groups...
The Minds and Actions of Devoted Actors and the Will to Fight: A Behavioral and Brain Studies Approach to War and Extreme Group Conflict

The Minds and Actions of Devoted Actors and the Will to Fight: A Behavioral and Brain Studies Approach to War and Extreme Group Conflict

Speaker: Dr. Scott Atran (University of Michigan) Date: 12 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary What drives warfighters to make costly sacrifices—including their lives—is a long-standing question that military and civilian leaders have tried to answer. Dr. Atran...
Russia’s Role in Global Nuclear Supply Chains

Russia’s Role in Global Nuclear Supply Chains

Speaker: Ms. Darya Dolzikova (RUSI) Date: 12 September 2023 Speaker Session Summary Ms. Dolzikova discussed how Russia’s civil nuclear sector has largely evaded the sanctions placed on the rest of the Russian economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in...
Double deterrence: Two challengers, one defender

Double deterrence: Two challengers, one defender

Author: Dr. Frank Zagare (University of Buffalo) Publication Preview During the cold war the conventional wisdom was that an all-out war between the United States and theSoviet Union was all but precluded. The key to this strategic nirvana was a carefully calibrated...