Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations to former Managing the Atom Stanton Fellow Sébastien Phillippe, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship (the "genius grant")! Amazing work, from disarmament verification to remarkable work assessing past consequences of nuclear testing and potential consequences of nuclear war.

Sébastien Philippe

Exposing past harms and potential risks from building, testing, and storing launch-ready nuclear weapons.

www.macfound.org

3 1

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 8d

🚨Belfer Center Fellowship applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open!

Supporting academic & professional tracks, our fellowships are open to doctoral candidates, recent Ph.D. recipients, and practitioners from the public and private sectors.

More info: www.belfercenter.org/fellowships

2

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

High North News @highnorthnews.bsky.social · 11d

"Just a year and a half ago, #Greenland's foreign policy strategy was basically one big invitation to the #US for cooperation. Then #Trump destroyed the trust and interest from Greenland," says Ulrik Pram Gad, Senior Researcher @diis.dk.

#Arctic @fridtjofnanseninst.bsky.social

Denmark, Greenland and Iceland's Reactions To Trump

Oslo (High North News): "Just a year and a half ago, Greenland's foreign policy strategy was basically one big invitation to the US for cooperation. Then Trump destroyed the trust and interest from Gr...

bit.ly

1 1 4

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 15d

🚨 JUST IN: President Donald Trump has an opportunity to avoid the dangers of an unrestrained nuclear arms competition—something he has repeatedly warned about. Will he seize it?

Latest by Matt Bunn (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social) in @thebulletin.org

#nuclearweapons #nukesky #Trump #Putin #China

Putin just gave Trump the opportunity to maintain nuclear restraint. Will he seize it?

Extending New START will also give time for Trump to work with Russia and China on future arms control accords.

thebulletin.org

2 9 5

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 17d

Important WaPo story on the challenges of reprocessing, quoting me and others: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Trump’s nuclear ‘renaissance’ rests on risky plan for radioactive waste

The administration goes all-in on recycling spent fuel, despite a history of spectacular mishaps, including an unintentional atom bomb.

www.washingtonpost.com

3 6 13

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 17d

🛰️What counts as a "novel space activity?" Why do these activities matter for industry and policy? And how does a new Executive Order, released by the White House in August, aim to close these regulatory gaps?

Read a new Belfer Center explainer by space experts: www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...

Explainer: Novel Space Activities in the Executive Order on Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry

Research and insight to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels.

www.belfercenter.org

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 17d

The bipartisan Task Force asks a critical question: How should the United States confront nuclear proliferation in the 21st century?

Read the full report here: www.belfercenter.org/preventing-e...

Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security

This report summarizes the deliberations of the Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security, convened by Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Carnegie ...

www.belfercenter.org

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 17d

New: The Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security today published its final report urging the U.S. to strengthen its strategy to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and safeguard national security.

Convened by the @carnegieendowment.org, @nti.org and the Belfer Center.

1 4 1

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 21d

💡New, by Rabia Akhtar, Associate of the Belfer Center's Managing the Atom Project - what does the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan yesterday actually mean for the global nuclear security landscape?

Beyond the Hype: Pakistan-Saudi Defense Pact Is Not a Saudi Nuclear Umbrella

Rabia Akhtar, Associate with Managing the Atom, writes about the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Riyadh, September 2025.

www.belfercenter.org

1

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 22d

@ivodaalder.bsky.social, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO (2009–2013), former President and CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and host of the World Review podcast, brings distinguished diplomatic leadership, policy acumen, and institutional insight to the Belfer Center.

Ivo H. Daalder Joins the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as Senior Fellow

The Belfer Center is pleased to announce that Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and President and CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, has joined the Center as a Senio...

www.belfercenter.org

1 4

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · 22d

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce that Ambassador Ivo Daalder has joined the Center as a Senior Fellow.

1 1 1

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Dr. Syra Madad, DHSc, MSc, MCP, CHEP @syramadad.bsky.social · Sep 9

Public Health in Peril: Why Recent CDC Resignations Matter to Us All

www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...

Public Health in Peril: Why Recent CDC Resignations Matter to Us All

Syra Madad writes that the departure of five top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a seismic blow to public health credibility, and a rebuke of political interferenc...

www.belfercenter.org

2 5

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · Sep 2

Political anxieties have piled up and put an end to an era of public optimism, writes International Relations Professor @stephenwalt.bsky.social for @foreignpolicy.com.

How Fear Killed Liberalism

Political anxieties have piled up and put an end to an era of public optimism.

foreignpolicy.com

2

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · Aug 28

The World Bank has ended its ban on funding nuclear energy projects.

Marina Lorenzini of @belfercenter.bsky.social writes on what to expect next. ⬇️

The World Bank can now fund nuclear energy projects: Here’s what’s next

After ending its ban on funding nuclear energy projects, the World Bank will infuse nuclear expertise into its teams of economists and country experts.

thebulletin.org

1 7 10

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Jacqueline L. Hazelton @drjlhazelton.bsky.social · Aug 23

Read this great new piece on China in International Security! direct.mit.edu/isec/article... @daveckang.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @intsecurity.bsky.social

What Does China Want?

Abstract. The conventional wisdom is that China is a rising hegemon eager to replace the United States, dominate international institutions, and re-create the liberal international order in its own im...

direct.mit.edu

4 4

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · Aug 18

Read the article in full here: direct.mit.edu/isec/article...

Thanks to @mitpress.bsky.social for the open access, from Monday 18 August through Sunday 24 August.

Social Cohesion and Community Displacement in Armed Conflict

Abstract. What are the origins of conflict-related population displacement? Why do some communities in conflict zones suffer mass casualties while others evade conflict violence? Whether civilians mig...

direct.mit.edu

1

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · Aug 18

The essay by Daniel Arnon, Richard J. McAlexander, and Michael Rubin is free in celebration of its dual award wins:
- International Studies Association’s Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration section, 2025, and
- American Political Science Association’s Middle East and North Africa section, 2024.

1 2 2

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · Aug 18

🚨 New: Open access for one week only: Social Cohesion and Community Displacement in Armed Conflict, an award-winning article published by the International Security Journal.

1 3 4

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Polar Observer @polarobs.bsky.social · Aug 6

Explainer: The Northwest Passage’s Shipping Potential, Legal Status, and What’s at Stake #Arctic via @belfercenter.bsky.social

www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...

Explainer: The Northwest Passage’s Shipping Potential, Legal Status, and What’s at Stake

With climate change accelerating and global interest in transiting the Passage rising, the unresolved debate over the Northwest Passage's legal status could have geopolitical implications for North Am...

www.belfercenter.org

2 2

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Land and Climate Review @landclimate.bsky.social · Aug 8

As attacks on the National Climate Assessments continue, read analysis from Obama's former Science Advisor John Holdren @woodwellclimate.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social :

“Trump has no right to terminate NCAs without consulting Congress... This information is essential.."

bit.ly/47rrUy6

4 2

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Rabia Akhtar @rabsaa.bsky.social · Jul 21

The world does not need more deterrence posturing. It needs strategic humility. In this piece for @belfercenter.bsky.social, I reflect on the Nobel Laureate Declaration and its urgent call to recalibrate how we think about nuclear risk.
www.belfercenter.org/research-ana...

Remember Your Humanity: Why the Nobel Laureate Declaration Is a Call for Strategic Recalibration

Marking the 80th anniversary of the Trinity test, Nobel Peace Laureates and experts issued a powerful declaration urging urgent global action to reduce nuclear risks amid rising geopolitical instabili...

www.belfercenter.org

1 1

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The Debate - France 24 @f24debate.france24.com · Jul 14

🗨️"Pleasing #Trump isn’t #Putin's priority. Putin has no reason to stop."

👉 @belfercenter.bsky.social‘s @mbudjeryn.bsky.social ‬

➡️Full show: f24.my/BJVm.x

@en.france24.com #Trump #Ukraine

4 6

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Jacqueline L. Hazelton @drjlhazelton.bsky.social · Jun 24

Live now. The Realist Debate Over How to Respond to China. With @stephenwalt.bsky.social @belfercenter.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dartmouthdickey.bsky.social @dartmouthartsci.bsky.social international-security.simplecast.com/episodes/7-t...

7 – The Realist Debate over How to Respond to China | The International Security Podcast

Will China make a bid for regional hegemony in East Asia, and can it succeed? In the modern era, only the United States has achieved regional hegemony—all other attempts have met catastrophic failure....

international-security.simplecast.com

4 5

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs @belfercenter.bsky.social · Jun 19

Professor Matthew Bunn, Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Principal Investigator of the Project on Managing the Atom, comments on the Israel-Iran conflict.

Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · Jun 19

Again, preventive war is illegal under international law. Governments sometimes conclude it is in their interest to violate international law. But surely, the illegality of preventive strikes should be part of the discussion.

Reposted by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · Jun 12

My colleague Assaf Zoran's assessment a year ago of the high risks and limited benefits of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities remains valid.
thebulletin.org/2024/04/the-...

The enormous risks and uncertain benefits of an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities

As Israel weighs how to respond to Iran’s attack, targeting its nuclear facilities might be strategically disadvantageous.

thebulletin.org

1 8 15