CTEC in the News: December 11, 2020
Welcome back to this week’s CTEC in the News! We have a few things to cover before we pause to celebrate the holidays. CTEC in the News will return in January, with a new writer - this is my final semester at MIIS, and I graduate tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a pleasure working for CTEC over the last year, and writing these posts. I look forward to seeing what CTEC does next!
Now that we’ve gotten that out of they way, here’s what we’ve been up to during finals week:
Michael Donnelly Fellowship
On Tuesday we announced that Skyler Stokes, MANPTS ’22, will be joining us in the spring as CTEC’s first Michael Donnelly Research Fellow. She has worked previously at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Stimson Center, and the office of then-Senator Kamala Harris, and currently works as an intern at NSI.
Going into this fellowship, she is excited for the opportunity to conduct independent research on a topic of her own choice - an opportunity she noted was rare for someone at this stage in their career. She stated that although she didn’t know Michael personally, after hearing stories of his character from those who did she’s grateful to have the opportunity to throw that same energy and passion into her research at CTEC.
This fellowship is open to applicants each fall and spring. More details on what the fellowship entails can be found on our website.
If you’d like to contribute to the fellowship fund and provide more MIIS students with this opportunity, go to our donation site and designate your gift for the Michael Donnelly Research Fellowship.
Newsletter
The first issue of our newsletter went live on Wednesday, featuring pieces from 3 of our staff. CTEC Digital Research Lead Alex Newhouse broke down the Proud Boys’ internal strife, and how it may impact the future of the extremist movement. Fellow Julie Huynh discussed the continuing threat posed by IS, focusing on the events of the Vienna attack last month. Finally, I discussed the trending Stop The Steal conspiracy movement, how it’s developed since the election, and how it may impact national politics in the near future.
Take a look here to read the 3 pieces. If you like what you see, make sure to subscribe so future issues come to your inbox!
Counterterrorism Policy
Finally, CTEC Director Jason Blazakis wrote an op-ed for The Hill this week on the counterterrorism challenges the incoming Biden administration will face, both domestically and abroad, as well as the strengths of its foreign policy and national security teams. He emphasized how imperative it is that the incoming administration adopt the principles of transparency, accountability, oversight, and regional and multilateral cooperation in their approach to mitigating terror and extremism.
That’s all we have for now! Take care everyone, and have a safe and happy holiday season!
-Anna Phillips, MAIPD/MANPTS ‘20