Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The Belfer Center
Named after	Robert A. Belfer
Formation	1973
Type	Think tank
Headquarters	79 John F. Kennedy Street
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Director	Meghan O'Sullivan
Parent organization	Harvard Kennedy School
Website	belfercenter.org

The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

From 2017 until his death in October 2022, the center was led by director Ash Carter, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and co-director Eric Rosenbach, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense. Its current executive director is Natalie Colbert. The current director is Meghan O'Sullivan.

About

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of Harvard Kennedy School's research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy.

History

1970s

During the Cold War, Harvard biochemist Paul M. Doty was deeply concerned about the tense relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Doty collaborated with Soviet scientists who shared his worries about the potential for nuclear escalation. In the early 1970s, Doty recognized a significant gap in academic offerings—universities were not providing courses on arms control and international security, crucial for preparing future experts in these fields. Motivated by this, Doty envisioned a program at Harvard dedicated to research and education in arms control and related issues at the intersection of science and international affairs.

In 1973, Doty subsequently founded the Belfer Center as the Program for Science and International Affairs within Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Following a grant from the Ford Foundation soon after, the program was re-established as the Center for Science and International Affairs, becoming the first permanent research center at the newly formed School of Government.

1980s

Throughout the early 1980s, the Belfer Center intensified its focus on arms control and disarmament, with a growing emphasis on the militarization of space. Its researchers also delved into the security implications of competition over energy resources, highlighted by a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored workshop on energy and security. Additionally, they began exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by technological advancements.

1990s

The Belfer Center played a pivotal role in efforts to dismantle and secure the hazardous nuclear, chemical, and biological remnants of the Soviet Union. The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act, a direct result of its work, became one of the most significant national security initiatives since World War II. Belfer supported the transition to a cooperative security order in the post-Cold War era, strengthened institutions within newly independent states, and worked to prevent nuclear terrorism.

In 1997, following further endowment, the center was renamed as the Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in honor of Robert A. Belfer, founder of Belco Oil & Gas Corporation.

2000s

Following the September 11th attacks, they became an immediate resource for terrorism-related information and analysis for policymakers and journalists. Belfer Center experts were appointed to high-level security positions in the U.S. government and played leading roles on the 9/11 Commission.

2010s

In 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Ash Carter the 25th U.S. Secretary of Defense. A leading voice in national and international security, Secretary Carter spent his career at the Belfer Center and in public service, where he leveraged his expertise at the intersection of science and technology, global strategy, and policy. His appointment underscored the center's significant influence on U.S. defense and security policy.

2020s

Drawing on their historical focus on mitigating global security threats through rigorous research and policy recommendations, the Belfer Center emerged as a necessary voice in shaping the understanding of the war in Ukraine. In October 2022, they hosted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking one of his first U.S. engagements following the Russian invasion, further underscoring its pivotal role in global affairs.

In 2023, the Belfer Center celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Board of Directors

The Belfer Center Board of Directors benefits from the experience of Harvard-affiliated scholars and senior-level staff, who guide their activities and mission to advance research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world.

Current Members

• Graham Allison, Former Director, Belfer Center, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
• Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Pierre Keller Visiting Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
• Lotem Bassan-Nygate, Assistant Professor of Public Policy
• Linda Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Matthew Bunn, James R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Nicholas Burns, Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School (on leave)
• Albert Carnesale, Chancellor Emeritus, UCLA and former Harvard University Provost
• Erica Chenoweth, Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment, Harvard Kennedy School
• William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development, Harvard Kennedy School
• Dara Cohen, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• John M. Deutch, Emeritus Institute Professor, MIT and former Director of Central Intelligence
• Karen Dynan, Professor of Practice, Department of Economics, Harvard University
• Jason Furman, Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard University
• Jeffrey Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth, Harvard Kennedy School
• Kelly Gallagher, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, Fletcher School, Tufts University
• Nancy Gibbs, Lombard Director, Shorenstein Center and Visiting Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Susan Hockfield, Professor of Neuroscience and President Emerita, MIT
• John P. Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security, Harvard Kennedy School
• Robert Lawrence, Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment, Harvard Kennedy School
• Henry Lee, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Jennifer Lerner, Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School
• Fredrick Logevall, Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
• Zoe Marks, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Tarek Masoud, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
• J. Michael McQuade, Director of the Program on Emerging Technology, Scientific Advancement & Global Policy
• Steven Miller, Director, International Security Program, Harvard Kennedy School; Editor-in-Chief, International Security
• Rana Mitter, S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
• Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Harvard Kennedy School
• Joseph Nye, University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University
• Meghan O'Sullivan, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
• Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Practice, Harvard Law School (on leave)
• Carmen Reinhart, Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System, Harvard Kennedy School (on leave)
• Meg Rithmire, F. Warren McFarlan Associate Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy, Harvard Business School
• Eric Rosenbach, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Anthony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
• Dan Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University
• Robert Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy & Economic Development, Harvard Kennedy School
• Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard Kennedy School; President Emeritus, Harvard University
• Roya Talibova, Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman Assistant Professor of International Relations
• Stephen Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Former Members

• Lewis M. Branscomb, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Corporate Management
• Ashton B. Carter, Chair of International Relations, Security & Science faculty, physicist, who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Defense (until his death in October 2022)

International Council

The Belfer Center has an international advisory board of prestigious senior business leaders and former government officials who care deeply about - and financially support - its mission to advance research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world.

Former Members

• Michael Chertoff, Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
• Gregory C. Carr, Boston Technology Founder
• Tim Collins, Ripplewood Holdings Founder
• Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems
• Nathaniel Rothschild, 5th Baron Rothschild, Atticus Capital Co-chairman
• Stephen Biddle, theorist setting U.S. counterinsurgency policy
• Pierpaolo Barbieri, Author, Founder of Ualá
• Paul Volcker, Former United States Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Controversies

In 2012, the Stanton Foundation provided funds for a paid Wikipedian in residence at the Belfer Center. This became controversial due to links between the Belfer Center and the Stanton Foundation (the directors of each are a married couple) and public concerns about conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia. The center is organized into subgroups with specific areas of focus.

A 2021 investigative report by student group Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard found that many of the center's climate initiatives were funded in part by fossil fuel companies, and that the center had allegedly taken several steps to cover up that fact.

External links

• Official website