Book talk by Jane VaynmanAssistant Professor of Strategic Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Johns Hopkins University
Co-sponsors: Berkeley Institute of Security and Governance, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
Why do adversaries sometimes cooperate to restrain their military competition? Why do they design arms control agreements with intrusive verification in some cases but rely on minimal transparency in others? Amidst ongoing international competition, arms control remains rare despite potential mutual...
Maya Mikelson is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in International Relations and Methods. Her research interests include repression, conflict, militarization, interventions, and human rights. Before attending Berkeley, she earned a B.S. with High Honors in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her senior thesis examined how militarization is measured and the relationship between militarization and conflict, using a latent variable model. She was an APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Scholar in 2024.
My name is Elliott Suarez, and I participated in the IIS International Policy Research Discovery (IPRD) program this summer as a research assistant working on PAEMA’s Democratic Republic of Congo News Monitor. The DRC news monitor tracks ongoing events surrounding the DRC’s ongoing conflicts with armed groups in its eastern provinces, as well as ongoing political developments in relation to the nation’s democratic institutions. The DRC currently stands in conflict with the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a Rwandan-backed organization of militant groups...
Join IIS and Ethan Chorin, Founder and Director Red Sea Futures, for a lunchtime talk to discuss the intense competition between regional and global powers in the Red Sea. Over one fifth of the world’s trade passes through this critically important waterway.
April 13, 2026 |4:00 PM |Chevron Auditorium, International House 2299 Piedmont Ave
An evening with Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi) President, National Unity Platform (NUP), and Barbara Kyagulanyi in conversation with Prof. Martha Wilfahrt (UC Berkeley) and Prof. Shingirai Taodzera (UC Davis).
April 17, 2026| 12:30 – 2 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall Join IIS to learn how the State of California is navigating international cooperation and standing as a global leader during a period of global rupture. About Evan Reade:
Evan Reade ('79) is a career diplomat and national security professional with over three decades of service across the U.S. Department of State, the National Security Council, and the U.S. military. His foreign service postings span four continents, including assignments as Deputy Counselor for Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, First Secretary at...
February 26, 2026 | 12:30 - 2:00 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall
Nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s territory is now either contested or controlled by anti-junta resistance groups. Aung Kyaw Moe, Deputy Minister of Human Rights for Myanmar’s pro-democracy government-in-exile, will offer an analysis of Myanmar’s rapidly evolving conflict and political landscape, explaining the advance of resistance forces over the past year.
He will discuss the regime’s recent elections, widely considered a sham to entrench junta rule. What does the electoral process mean...
February 6, 2026 | 5:00 - 7:00 PM | 370 Dwinelle HallFilm Screening & DiscussionWhat happens when non-violent leaders are pushed to support armed struggle against a brutal regime in a forgotten war?
IIS is pleased to partner with the UC Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), Center for Southeast Asia Studies, and...
