Security / Defense

Research Interest

Dinah Lawan

PhD Student
Political Science

Dinah Lawan is a PhD student in Political Science in the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. She studies political violence, with a focus on civilian agency in armed conflict, examining insurgent violence, its impacts on communities, and how civilians self-organize to protect themselves in the absence of state protection. Her work focuses specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa, and her dissertation examines northeastern Nigeria, exploring how ordinary civilians have protected themselves and their communities through over a...

Chloé Choi

Undergraduate Student
Political Science

Chloé Choi is a Political Science major at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Research Apprentice with the Institute of International Studies (IIS), where she researches human rights, security, and international and regional diplomacy in Myanmar. She is particularly interested in how domestic political institutions interact with regional and international actors, especially in contexts of conflict and political instability. Originally from Washington State, Chloé hopes to use research to better understand the experiences of communities affected by conflict and the broader...

Carlos Schmidt-Padilla

Assistant Professor
Goldman School of Public Policy

Carlos Schmidt-Padilla is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. His research examines how crime, human capital, and migration shape development and political order across Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

Andrew Reddie

Associate Research Professor
Goldman School of Public Policy

Andrew Reddie is an Associate Research Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. He works on projects related to cybersecurity, nuclear weapons policy, wargaming, and emerging military technologies. He is also the founder and faculty director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab.

Andrew serves in faculty leadership roles at UC Berkeley’s Center for Security in Politics, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, and the Berkeley APEC Study Center and is an affiliate at the University of California’s Institute on Global...

Foreign Policy

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Conflict & Fragility

Daniel J. Sargent

Associate Professor
History
Goldman School of Public Policy
Daniel J. Sargent is associate professor at the University of California, where he is jointly appointed in the Department of History and the Goldman School of Public Policy. He is a historian who specializes in U.S. foreign policy and the history of international relations. His research has explored how states and decision makers adapt to long-term changes in their international environments, including the historical advance of globalization. He is presently interested in how the United States has strived, over the long arc of its history, to constitute and sustain international order,...

Upcoming events at Berkeley Risk and Security Lab

March 20, 2026

The Berkeley Risk and Security Lab has several events coming up that may be of interest to members of the IIS community:

BRSL Webinar: Military AI Governance

Date: April 2, 2026

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 am PT

Location: Zoom

Register to attend.

The U.S. War on Iran has drawn widespread attention to the influence of AI and data science tools on military choices previously left to human judgement. At...

Rupture: The U.S. and the Fate of World Order Speaker Series - Rupture #2: Security

February 19, 2026

March 5, 2026 | 12:30 - 2 pm (lunch talk) | 223 Philosophy Hall

Register

IIS Spring 2026 Speaker Series

Rupture: The U.S. and the Fate of World Order

Rupture #2: Security
What are the prospects for American security when strong alliances are shaken?

The bedrock of American foreign policy and national security -...

Sébastien Malo

Ph.D. Student
Environmental Science, Policy, & Management

Sébastien Malo is pursuing a PhD in climate policy. His research focuses on the intersection of the international political economy of decarbonization and international security.