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News
ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for Proposals Competition - CYBER-SECURITY RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE 
The Cyber-Security Research Roundtable, a two-year interdisciplinary, collaborative research roundtable on cybersecurity jointly funded by IUP's John P. Murtha Institute for Homeland Security and the University of Pittsburgh's Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies and the Center for National Preparedness is seeking proposals for research on the licit and illicit use of the cyberecosystem for illicit purposes. The roundtable is a group of technical, policy, national security, and regional scholars from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie-Mellon University, CERT/CMU's Software Engineering Institute, the Pittsburgh chapter of the World Affairs Council, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, as well as recognized experts working in the private sector, searching for a response to mitigate terrorists' (and other organizations') use of the Internet to recruit, solicit funds, plan logistics, and effect command and control eventually leading to a strategy for responding to any organization's illicit Internet activities. The research has resulted in a model depicting the commonalities of a target and its different organizational threats as the basis for areas of intervention by the target to reduce its risks. The attached call for proposals is intended to further this search for commonalities across the universe of organizations that use the internet for illicit purposes to threaten other entities, particularly the United States. See the attached Call for Proposals PDF for details of the competition, deadlines for proposals and completed research, and monetary awards to support the research.
» Click here for "Call for Proposals Competition" details.  "The Invisible Tide: Towards an International Strategy to Deal with Drug Trafficking Through West Africa" - James Cockayne and Phil Williams
A tide of money, influence, and power, born from the drug trafficking, is sweeping the West Africa region. The international community is only just beginning to grasp the scale of this problem. It has no clear strategy for responding or even for containing the risks the invisible tide poses for human, national, and international security in West Africa—and beyond.. read more » GSPIA's PhD Candidates Published in Princeton's Journal of Public and International Affairs Brandon M. Boylan and Colin P. Clarke, both third-year PhD candidates at GSPIA studying foreign and security policy, recently had work published by Princeton University's Journal of Public and International Affairs. read more » Gormley Quoted in Washington Post Professor Dennis M. Gormley was recently quoted in the Washington Post in an article by R. Jeffrey Smith and Stella Kim entitled "S. Korean Launch Raises Questions." To view this article please click the following link. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/17/AR2009081702913.html  New Ridgway Fellows Announced
GSPIA's Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies is pleased to announce that Toby Taylor and Roxanne Ruminski have been selected as the recipients of the Ridgway Fellowship for the Fall 2009 semester. read more »  Criminals, Militias, and Insurgents: Organized Crime in Iraq - Authored by Dr. Phil Williams
Dr. Williams looks in detail at major criminal activities, including the theft, diversion, and smuggling of oil, the kidnapping of both Iraqis and foreigners, extortion, car theft, and the theft and smuggling of antiquities. He also considers the critical role played by corruption in facilitating and strengthening organized crime and shows how al-Qaeda in Iraq, Jaish-al-Mahdi, and the Sunni tribes used criminal activities to fund their campaigns of political violence. read more » 2009 Fred C. Bruhns Memorial Award Recipients Three GSPIA students received the Fred C. Bruhns Memorial Award for summer internships in the Middle East. This year’s recipients were Ramzi Asmar, Wallied Shirzoi and Jeffrey Dexter. Professor Fred C. Bruhns, GSPIA 1965-1985, and E. Maxine Bruhns lived in Beirut, Lebanon and Jerusalem, Jordan from 1952-54, while Fred researched Palestinian refugee attitudes and Maxine completed her Master’s Degree at the American University of Beirut. In memory of her husband, Maxine, Director of the Nationality Rooms Program, has offered scholarships for study in the Middle East for students with knowledge of Arabic or Farsi. This year the Matthew B. Ridgway Center supplemented travel awards to Syria and Qatar.  Ridgway Launches New Journal
The University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School for Public and International Affairs in conjunction with the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies is proud to present the inaugural volume of The Bunker, a journal that deals with past and current issues in international security studies. The journal is intended to be an outlet that provides current MA and PhD students the opportunity to publish their original research. In the first edition of The Bunker we have essays that deal with a wide range of issues pertinent to security studies. This variety is crucial given the ever-changing nature of the field. It is hoped that the journal becomes an intellectual forum for the scholarly exchange of ideas. Any comments or recommendations you have would be most appreciated. Please direct your comments to brizzi@gspia.pitt.edu. Click here to access PDF version of "The Bunker."  GSPIA Students Selected to Attend Premier Workshop at Columbia University
Chad Serena (GSPIA 4th year PhD Candidate) and Sharad Joshi (GSPIA PhD '06) were accepted into and will be attending the 13th Summer Workshop on Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy (SWAMOS) sponsored by Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. The workshop is conducted at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and will take place July 5-24. read more »  International Leaders Visit Pitt - Discuss Role of European Union and NATO
The Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, European Union Center of Excellence, and European Studies Center hosted the forum, "The European Union and NATO in the 21st Century: Security Collaborators or Competitors?" on April 7. read more » |
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