Newsletter
April 2025
Welcome to the April edition. As always, do reach out for any additional information about anything mentioned below.
New fellow
Dr. Jamie Shea joins as Non-Resident Senior Fellow
For 38 years Jamie Shea CMG was an international public servant and a member of the International Staff of NATO. His last post was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, and earlier roles included Director of Policy Planning in the Private Office of the Secretary General and Spokesman of NATO. He is currently Professor at the College of Europe in Natolin, a Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe, and a Senior Advisor with the European Policy Centre. In 2020 he received the honour of Companion of St. Michael and St. George.
Research news
Ready for Launch: A Space Cybersecurity Road Map for Trump 2.0
Lauryn Williams published an article for Lawfare in cooperation with Brookings on a possible space cybersecurity road map for the second Trump administration. She discusses the increasing commercialisation of the space sector, how its biggest vulnerability is cybersecurity, and the benefits of connecting government with private industry.
Dr. Jon McCandless on the significance of gallium in the semiconductor industry
Jon McCandless was interviewed by Basim Ali for a spotlight on his work in the semiconductor industry. He spoke on the importance of gallium in electronics and the perils of relying on Chinese supply chains.
Soldiering and Silences: Witnessing Child Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan
Caroline Kennedy-Pipe co-authored an article with Martin Thorp in Parameters investigating the impacts on United Kingdom veterans who witnessed child sexual assault in Afghanistan.
Embracing Drone Diversity: Five Challenges to Western Military Adaptation in Drone Warfare
Dominika Kunertova authored a report for the King's College London Freeman Air and Space Institute, showing that procurement practices, public-private partnerships, drone safety, drone defence, and AI-enabled autonomy are the main challenges for Western militaries building diverse drone capabilities.
Digital Dilemmas: Policy Challenges in the Tech Era
James Patton Rogers wrote the foreword to the Cornell Policy Review's Spring 2025 special issue, discussing the institute's work and the potential risks and benefits that technological advancement brings.
Community updates
Spoke at TEDx Cornell about the potential of Bitcoin to provide financial empowerment to Gen Z.
Caroline Kennedy-Pipe
Elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, recognising excellence and wider contribution to the social sciences for public benefit.
James Patton Rogers
Quoted by the BBC on how North Korea's development of more advanced drones is linked to its strengthening defence relationship with Russia.
Featured by the Associated Press and PBS on how general public support for TikTok suggests there will likely be no legal challenges to Trump's extension of the temporary block on banning it.
Spoke on a webinar for ITSPmagazine on the future of space systems and cybersecurity.
Spoke at the US Forces Japan Commander's Conference on the implications of emerging technologies for regional security order-building.
Featured by CNN explaining how single-use plastics harm the environment through sheer volume and energy-intensive production.
Wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail on Canada's need to develop a nuclear arsenal in light of American withdrawal from security arrangements.
Spoke with ABC News on the White House visit by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and how imprisoning deportees in CECOT benefits both leaders.
Discussed the purposes of Chinese military drills around Taiwan, proposing they intimidate Taiwan, provide practice, and allow potential cover for an invasion.
Told the Los Angeles Times how US drone strikes on Mexican soil could damage relations and do more harm than good in fighting drug cartels.
James Patton Rogers
Presented to the State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council on threats and challenges in the drone age, focusing on fixed-wing drones reaching violent non-state actors.
Presented research and ran a threat simulation at the US Military Academy at West Point's Combatting Terrorism Center.
Quoted by the Associated Press on her view that no one has standing to sue to prevent the executive order extending the block on banning TikTok.
Wrote an op-ed in Fortune on the risks of new tariffs to US economic growth, drawing parallels with post-war protectionist policies in Latin America.
James Patton Rogers
Presented to the Joint Staff's Strategic Multilayer Assessment Office on great power competition, strategic infrastructure development, and growing military operations in the Arctic.
Quoted by the Associated Press on how tariffs will likely harm low-income families most, since they spend a larger share of income on essential goods.
Courses
Fall 2025: PUBPOL 2120 Disruptive and Emerging Technologies
An overview of critical technology policy challenges, with a focus on Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and their impact on international peace and security.
eCornell Country Risk Analysis Certificate Program
A certificate programme developed by James Patton Rogers, helping professionals hone their analysis skills and navigate the complex dynamics of the current international landscape.
Upcoming events
Expert Panel: The Future of Policy and Governance
Gustavo Flores-Macías and Amelia Arsenault discuss democracy, technology, energy, and elections on a panel for the Cornell Policy Review Symposium.
Geopolitics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Automata, Oracles, and Grey Cardinals
Bounding War: The Institutional Logic of Prohibitions on Militarized Bargaining
Past events
New Technologies and Geopolitics: Alliances in a Time of Disinformation and Divergence
The institute and the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies welcomed speakers from the US Army Eisenhower College Series Program. Chaired by James Patton Rogers, the discussion focused on the value of alliances in a new geopolitical era.
Technology Theft, History, and National Security
The team sat down with Dr. Kate Epstein, Associate Professor at Rutgers University-Camden, to discuss technology theft and espionage and its role in developing the global national security industry.
Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State
Co-hosted with the Reppy Institute, a talk by Kate Epstein on the historical relationship between intellectual property, national security, and world superpowers.
Discussion with Foreign Service Officer Ranissa Adityavarman
An internal coffee conversation with the Cornell MPA alum and career Foreign Service Officer, Desk Officer for the United Kingdom and Ireland at the State Department, on diplomacy and navigating career exploration in uncertain times.
Nonhuman Witnessing: War, Data and Ecology after the End of the World
A virtual lecture with Dr. Michael Richardson on human witnessing and the implications of artificial intelligence in warfare, introducing a case study of the MQ-9 Reaper drone's Agile Condor AI targeting pod. Special recognition to Junior Fellow Kayla Schechter for coordinating the event.