Tag Archives: In the news

Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower Ep 6: The Proliferation Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

In this episode of Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower, hosts Sarah and Hanna speak with Nicholas Miller, associate professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College. Their conversation focuses on the proliferation implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine one year on. With Professor Miller, they examine the evolving discourse around proliferation cascades over time and assess whether concerns about the emergence of such a cascade following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been exaggerated. In so doing, they discuss insights Professor Miller has derived from his work relating to the factors that drive or inhibit proliferation, the degree to which some appear to matter more than others, and the relationship between arms control and nonproliferation regimes. Toward the end of their discussion, they touch upon the concept of “nuclear learning” and speculate about the kinds of lessons policymakers globally might draw from the current crisis. At the conclusion of the conversation, Professor Miller offers his view on the interactions between the scholarly and policy communities, what they can gain from interacting with one another, and techniques and approaches to make these interactions more productive.

Discussion topics:

Implications of the war in Ukraine for nonproliferation
Should we be concerned about further proliferation in the Middle East?
Is the discourse around proliferation “cascades” different now than in the past?
Factors that slow proliferation
The link between arms control and proliferation
Could the demise of arms control empower advocates for nuclear weapons?
Concerns about Russia enabling nuclear proliferation
Lessons learned
Recommendations for bridging the gap between scholars and policymakers

The episode is also available on Spotify:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-06-one-year-on-the-proliferation-implications/id1607559445?i=1000600717078

Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower Ep 4: Nuclear Deterrence and the War in Ukraine – A Conversation with Jeffrey Lewis

In the 4th episode of Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower, hosts Sarah and Hanna are joined by Jeffrey Lewis, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Jeffrey is also the founder of Arms Control Wonk, the leading blog and podcast on arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation.

Today’s discussion topics include:

the implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s growing nuclear arsenal on the concept of nuclear deterrence;
the ways forward in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program;
the challenges to arms control posed by disinformation;
the reasons why individuals matter in all of this

And much more.

The podcast is also available on Spotify:

Art collaboration leads to new exhibits at the College and Institute

The Middlebury College Museum of Art and the Middlebury Institute’s Committee on Art in Public Places partnered to temporarily move Pre-Columbian pottery on display at the Institute to the College Museum of Art for study in Anthropology courses taught by Professor James Fitzsimmons.

The Middlebury College Museum of Art transferred the exhibit “Being There: Photographs by James P. Blair” for display at the Middlebury Institute’s Samson Center Reading Room.

The Middlebury community is encouraged to view the James P. Blair photos in the Samson Reading room on the Monterey campus and to stay tuned for an exhibit featuring the Pre-Columbian pieces at the Middlebury College Museum of Art.