Oct. 6, 2023

New Peer-Reviewed Article, "Leadership and performance in informal institutions: the internal dynamics of BRICS" from Minerva's Rising Power Alliances Project Team

How does leadership affect the performance of informal institutions? Leadership in BRICS is particularly puzzling: this informal institution rapidly grows despite the disparate interests of its members, some of which are in longstanding conflict. This article examines how three forms of leadership – intellectual, entrepreneurial, and structural – affect institutional performance using BRICS cooperation data.

Sept. 27, 2023

Does the BRI Increase China’s Influence?

"Observers claim that the BRI’s goals are twofold. First, China seeks to expand trade, especially as its domestic growth slackens. Second, through support for infrastructure projects, the Chinese government aims to bolster its soft power and exert political influence over recipient countries."

Sept. 25, 2023

Making the Nation Safer Through Social Science

With security issues tied to human behavior, cutting edge psychological science can be an indispensable tool for effective policy.

Sept. 7, 2023

Registration for Minerva-USIP's 2024-2025 Peace Scholar Competition is Now Open!

In collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace, Minerva offers several programs for researchers at US universities working on topics related to peace, conflict, security, and stability. Currently, the program awards up to 18 scholarships per year, and awards support both research and writing stages of work on dissertations.

Aug. 30, 2023

Developing a BRICS policy could help re-imagine U.S. foreign policy

Minerva-funded research team at Tufts University has been working on a multiyear Rising Power Alliances project that has analyzed the evolution of BRICS and the group’s relationship with the U.S. What they have found is that the common portrayal of BRICS as a China-dominated group primarily pursuing anti-U.S. agendas is misplaced.

Aug. 29, 2023

Reflections on Minerva-funded Researchers' Empirical Studies of Conflict Project

Minerva-funded researchers, Eli Berman and Jacob Shapiro of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) support a global community of scholars who bring tools from cutting-edge social science to bear on critical national security questions.

Aug. 28, 2023

DECUR Funding Opportunity is Now Open!

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is interested in receiving applications for Minerva’s DECUR Partnership. The DECUR Partnership aims to develop collaborative basic research partnerships between PME Institutions and Civilian Research Universities by supporting fundamental scientific research that improves the capacity of security-related basic social science research and education.

Aug. 11, 2023

DOD Selects 2023-2024 Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Dissertation Fellows

The Department of Defense today announced the 21 awardees of the 2023-2024 Minerva-U.S. Institute of Peace’s “Peace and Security Dissertation Fellowship,” providing fellowships of up to $20,000 to doctoral candidates who show great potential to advance policy and practice in the peacebuilding and security fields. To view the full

Aug. 11, 2023

Minerva and Economic and Social Research Council Notice of Funding Opportunity

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is interested in receiving proposals for the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative Pilot Program (BARI), which is jointly sponsored by the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI). The

July 25, 2023

Minerva-funded White Paper: Defense Implications for US and NATO Polymakers and their Staffs

Steven E. Lobell of the University of Utah is the Principle Investigator of the Minerva-supported team whose work has resulted in a paper prepared for the “Near Crisis Project: Why What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You” workshop, in partnership with the Atlantic Council, Washington, DC, January 27, 2023.