Jan. 19, 2022

Minerva-funded Researchers Release Report on Escalation Management in Gray Zone Conflict and Crisis

A team of Minerva-funded researchers, led by Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Egle Murauskaite and Devin Ellis from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism released a report on a three-year Minerva Research Initiative study of escalation management in gray zone conflict and crisis.

Jan. 11, 2022

Parents at Risk: Minerva-funded researchers reveal hidden social media machinery that has allowed misinformation to thrive among mainstream users such as parents

In the recent study, “How Social Media Machinery Pulled Mainstream Parenting Communities Closer to Extremes and their Misinformation during COVID-19”, Minerva-funded researchers show how mainstream parenting communities on Facebook have been subject to a powerful, two-pronged misinformation machinery during the pandemic, that has pulled them closer to extreme communities and their misinformation.

Jan. 6, 2022

In Memory of Minerva-funded Researcher, Robert Jervis

Robert Jervis, Minerva-funded researcher and the Adlai E. Stevenson professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, died on December 9, 2021.

Nov. 12, 2021

The DoD Announced Awards of $20K each for the 2021-2022 Cohort of the Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Dissertation Fellows

The Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative is pleased to announce the 2021-2022 cohort of the Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Dissertation Fellows. In partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship program, over 115 applicants from 88 U.S. universities applied for this prestigious award. Those chosen for the Peace and Security Scholar Fellowship show great potential to advance the peacebuilding and security fields and to positively influence policy and practice.

Nov. 9, 2021

New publication "Transformation of alliances: Mapping Russia’s close relationships in the era of multivectorism"

Russia led a key Cold War alliance and is now at the forefront of debates about major power realignments. Yet Russia’s own conceptualization of alliances in the post-Soviet era has received scant attention. How do Russian policymakers and academics view Russia’s post-Cold War alliances: Are they obsolete, or are they still used for cultivating strategic relationships? We examine the Russian conceptualization of alliances through a systematic study of Russian policy documents and academic debates between 1991 and 2019.

Nov. 4, 2021

Minerva grant awardees were invited to speak to member countries of ReCAAP on Maritime Piracy

Minerva grant awardees were invited to speak to member countries of ReCAAP (The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia) on "The Root Causes of Maritime Piracy and What Can Be Done About It?".

Sept. 29, 2021

Minerva-funded researchers Mihaela Papa and Raj Verma New Publicaton in the Global Policy journal on India-China Conflict and BRICS.

The September 2021 issue of Global Policy includes a special section entitled 'India-China Conflict and BRICS: Business as Usual?' edited by Minerva-funded researchers Raj Verma and Mihaela Papa.

Sept. 16, 2021

Applications for USIP's 2022-2023 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.

Sept. 13, 2021

Steven Lobell discusses his Minerva-funded research in recent interview with UC San Diego

In the latest Alumni Confidential, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) dissertation fellow (1996-97) Steven Lobell, a professor of political science at the University of Utah and expert in U.S. grand strategy, international security, and great power competition talks about what the early years of academic life are (really) like, and why being an IGCC fellow helped him get a head start. He also shares emerging findings from his new Minerva-funded research on why some near crises escalate into full-blown conflict—and why others don’t—and how escalation can be avoided.

Aug. 16, 2021

Minerva-funded researchers reveal how contested waters have become maritime hot spots

In January, Nigerian-based pirates seized the MV Mozart, a large Liberian-flagged container ship heading to Cape Town, South Africa, from Lagos, Nigeria, as the ship sailed close to Sao Tome’s maritime border. Fifteen abducted officers and crew members were released in February after the shipping company paid a ransom, but one sailor died in the assault.