Middlebury Students Explore East Asian Geopolitics Through Immersive Field Research
From Beijing to Tokyo, Middlebury researchers analyze the security, trade, and cultural historical tensions shaping the future of East Asian relations.
News Stories
1918 Items
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How Hamas Monetized the Gaza War
| by Amir Tadros
The merged challenge of terrorist financing and reputational laundering is difficult terrain for governments and the private sector to navigate. Amir Tadros’s (CTEC Graduate Researcher) paper confronts that gap head-on, arguing that Hamas’s wartime narrative production functions not as atmospheric context but as core raise-phase infrastructure within the terrorist financing lifecycle. It is an original and overdue contribution, and Tadros traces how a deliberately engineered information environment activates donor networks, legitimizes sham charities, and normalizes aid diversion—all before a single dollar enters the formal financial system where existing tools can reach it.
Hamas has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State since 1997. Yet, efforts to truly counter the group’s financing only began in a robust way after its deadly October 7, 2023 attack. Much work remains in countering Hamas’s manipulation, and Tadros’s paper provides a partial roadmap to do so.
Jason Blazakis - CTEC Executive DirectorThe Charities of Hamas – Designations History and Policy Recommendations
| by Jason M. Blazakis
It has now been more than two years since Hamas’s deadly attack in Israel. As someone who worked for more than a decade in the United States Government (USG) as head of the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau’s Office of Counterterrorism Finance and Designations CT/CTFD, I wanted to reflect on the financial methods, with a specific examination of charities1, that Hamas has used to finance itself.
From Monterey to the World: Students Use Practica to Make Real-World Contributions to their Professional Sectors
From Monterey to the global stage, Middlebury Institute students are putting their skills to work this spring. Through applied research and practicum courses, our students are collaborating with organizations making a tangible difference worldwide while finishing their degrees.
J-Term 2026: Global Courses Across Three Continents
Where Classrooms Meet the World — January Global Courses Across Three Continents
Each January, Middlebury Institute (MIIS) students step beyond Monterey’s classrooms into immersive global courses that translate theory into lived experience. Supported by the Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation and MIIS Experiential Learning Funds, the 2026 Winter Term brought nearly forty students to South Africa, Czechia/Austria, and Bhutan — three distinct contexts united by a shared pedagogical model: experiential learning grounded in partnership, practice, and reflection.
Middlebury Institute Hosts First West Coast Edition of the International Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies made history this November by hosting the first-ever West Coast edition of the International Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, the Atlantic Council’s flagship cyber policy competition.
From Nepal to New York City, Students Complete Practicum Projects This Fall
| by Julia Tucker
Almost 50 Middlebury Institute students are practicum this semester spending their time and gaining invaluable skills in locations all over the globe from Alaska to Kenya.
Field Work: Alum Launches Web Platform to Expand Accessibility in Localization
| by Angela Izi Nkusi
For their practicum, Emilia Primavera developed LinguaInclusa, a web platform with resources for localization teams to make content and products more accessible to people with disabilities.
Experiential Learning Trip Provides Valuable Experience Navigating Trade and Diplomacy Challenges
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Applied research projects in Thailand and Vietnam helped Marisa Jones get published and launch her career in international trade.
Sharing the Risk of Climate Impacts: insurance for infrastructure in the State of Maine
| by Rachel Christopherson; Charles Colgan
Investigating the feasibility of a public infrastructure insurance facility is now being undertaken by Dr. Colgan, Director of Research at the Center for the Blue Economy, following up on the climate vulnerability and infrastructure adaptation studies undertaken by the Center around the U.S. over the past decade.