Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Name	Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Established	1973
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Parent institution	Harvard Kennedy School
Notable people	John F. Kennedy School of Government; Paul A. Volcker; Graham Allison; Ashton B. Carter; Eliezer Yudkowsky

Contents

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School specializing in analysis of nuclear proliferation, climate change, cybersecurity, and technology policy. Founded in the early 1970s, the Center has hosted scholars, former officials, and practitioners from institutions such as the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, National Security Council, World Bank, and United Nations. Its work has influenced policy debates involving figures and entities like Henry Kissinger, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Margaret Thatcher, and Angela Merkel.

History

The Center was created amid debates following events like the Yom Kippur War, the Vietnam War, and the Oil Crisis of 1973 with early associations to the John F. Kennedy School of Government and donors linked to the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Over decades it has engaged scholars from the RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Council on Foreign Relations, and Hoover Institution. Directors and affiliates have included figures connected to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and advisory roles for administrations such as Nixon administration, Clinton administration, George W. Bush administration, and Trump administration. The Center’s evolution paralleled policy shifts after the Soviet Union dissolution, the September 11 attacks, and the Paris Agreement negotiations.

The Center’s mission emphasizes applied research bridging academia and policy communities such as United States Congress, European Commission, NATO, World Health Organization, and International Atomic Energy Agency. Core research areas include nuclear weapons policy intersecting with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, arms control and deterrence studies; climate and energy policy engaging Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations; cybersecurity and emerging technologies in conversation with National Institute of Standards and Technology, DARPA, Microsoft, and Google; and regional security questions involving China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The Center supports interdisciplinary collaborations with faculties from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and Stanford University.

Administratively housed within the Harvard Kennedy School, the Center comprises research programs, policy labs, fellows, and visiting scholars drawn from U.S. State Department, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and private sector firms like Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen Hamilton. Leadership has included former government officials and scholars such as Graham Allison, Ashton B. Carter, and directors who worked with commissions like the 9/11 Commission and advisory boards to the President of the United States. Governance involves boards and trustees with members from the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, Atlantic Council, and philanthropies like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The Center runs flagship programs such as those on nuclear security, climate science and policy, cyber policy, and technology foresight, often in partnership with initiatives like the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Arms Control Association, International Crisis Group, and Chatham House. Educational initiatives include executive programs linked to the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education offerings, seminars attended by alumni from the Foreign Service Institute, Presidential Management Fellows Program, and international delegations from European External Action Service. Notable initiatives have convened panels featuring participants from International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, G7, and G20 to address transnational risks.

Scholars affiliated with the Center publish in outlets and venues including monographs cited alongside works from John Mearsheimer, Joseph Nye, Kenneth Waltz, and Samuel Huntington, as well as articles in journals linked to Foreign Affairs, International Security, Nature, and Science. The Center’s policy memos and briefings have been used in testimony before committees of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives and cited in reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and think tanks such as Center for Strategic and International Studies and Heritage Foundation. Research outputs have informed negotiations like the Iran nuclear deal talks and multilateral responses to crises involving Syria and Ukraine.

Funding and partnerships have involved academic, governmental, corporate, and philanthropic entities including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, multinational firms, and federal grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Collaborations extend to policy institutes like Brookings Institution, German Marshall Fund, Asia Society, and universities including Columbia University and Princeton University. Advisory relationships span international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme and bilateral channels including the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

Category:Harvard Kennedy School Category:Think tanks based in the United States