MIT Security Studies Program

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.

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.
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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.

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,