Negotiations over a proposed deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program are coming to a head while a March 2015 study finds a clear majority of Americans – 61 percent – support an agreement that would limit Iran’s enrichment capacity and impose additional intrusive inspections in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. This included 61 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents.
Theresa Hitchens, the former director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), is joining CISSM as a senior research scholar after 5 years at the U.N. body. At CISSM, Hitchens will conduct research and outreach relating to space security, cyber security, and the governance of disruptive technologies.
Two University of Maryland School of Public Policy students, from two different backgrounds, came together to write an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, "Opportunity in a Shared Enemy," advocating for collaboration between Russia and the United States to stop ISIS. One student, Ekaterina Kudrina, is from Russia and is an ISKRAN postgraduate student visiting SPP for the semester.
A research group that includes CISSM scholar Kevin Jones was awarded a three-year grant by the Department of Defense’s Minerva Initiative to investigate the impact of development aid on conflict. The $2.5 million project, entitled “Aiding Resilience? The Impact of Foreign Assistance on the Dynamics of Intrastate Armed Conflict,” is being led by researchers at the University’s Center for International Development and Conflict (CIDCM).
CISSM and the Program for Public Consultation released the findings of a new study on American public opinion on Iran Negotiations, "Americans on Negotiations with Iran."
More than 60 percent of Americans favor making a deal with Iran that would limit Iran’s enrichment capacity and impose additional intrusive inspections in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. This includes 62 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of independents. This was the key finding of a new public opinion study released by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) at an event on Tuesday, July 15.
CISSM Director John Steinbruner and Graduate Fellow Ebrahim Mohseni participated in a March 2014 dialogue with Iranian religious leaders in Tehran.
The Deep Cuts Commission, which includes CISSM Senior Fellows Steve Fetter and Catherine Kelleher, released its inaugural report, "Preparing for Deep Cuts: Options for Enhancing Euro-Atlantic and International Security."
Last week, CISSM hosted Russian students from the Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies (ISKRAN) as part of its Collaborative Education and Cooperative Security Project. Read the complete trip report.
With support from the CISSM Target of Opportunity Fund, Graduate Fellow Nancy Hayden travelled to Burundi and Kenya to conduct field work as part of her research on the resiliency of actors and institutions in the face of civil conflict.
The Italian think tank, Lo Spazio della Politica, named CISSM Research Fellow Madiha Afzal one of its Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013.
CISSM co-hosted "Making History? Will Iran’s Domestic Politics Permit a Change in its Foreign Policy?" featuring CISSM Research Director Nancy Gallagher, NIAC President Trita Parsi, Scholar Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, and Prof. Shibley Telhami.
CISSM welcomes ISKRAN Fellow Korney Kozlov who is spending the fall at the School of Public Policy.
CISSM co-hosted "Attitudes from Tehran: Iranian Public Opinion and the Rowhani Presidency," an event featuring Iranian scholar Ebrahim Mohseni and CISSM Senior Research Scholar Steven Kull. View a video of the event.
The Department of Defense’s Minerva Initiative awarded a 3-year, $1.9 million research grant to a team of researchers led by Elisabeth Gilmore, CISSM research fellow and assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, to investigate how climate change could affect human well-being and lead to civil conflict with the goal of identifying interventions to mitigate these risks.