Rebuild U.S.-Russia Relations and Prevent Nuclear War

Russia boasts the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. Strategic stability between the West and Russia has been shattered. The U.S. government, NGOs, and international organizations are in urgent need of experts with relevant professional training to promote a peaceful co-existence, prevent new conflicts, and deter the use of weapons of mass destruction.

The Middlebury Institute is one of the only places in the world where you can earn a master’s degree studying with the world’s leading experts in nonproliferation, while honing advanced Russian language skills and engaging in area studies.

It will take years to truly rebuild U.S.-Russia relations but you can contribute to restabilizing the situation and taking the initial, all-important steps to productive diplomacy.

Gain Essential Skills at a Critical Moment

As a student in Middlebury’s MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program, you can take Russian studies courses—taught in Russian—as part of your degree. This combination will prepare you to:

• Develop nuanced insights into Russian politics, history, and culture to analyze motives and decision-making for effective negotiation in high-stakes environments, including arms control agreements, counterterrorism efforts, and peacekeeping missions.
• Engage in strategic empathy to gain a better understanding of Russia
• Analyze and devise strategies to counter traditional and evolving military threats, including cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, and other asymmetric warfare.

Advance Global Security

The master’s program has a unique focus on addressing the existential threat posed by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as well as terrorism and financial crime. Russia’s historical and ongoing role in arms control agreements, such as the New START Treaty, makes it important to study Russian policies and intentions. For global security and stability, the world needs specialists in nonproliferation to develop effective policies and safeguards against state and non-state actors acquiring and deploying WMD capabilities.

You will have the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience as a paid graduate research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). CNS is the largest nongovernmental organization in the world devoted to curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction—and the only one focused on graduate education and research.

Build In-Demand Russian Expertise

Language learning at the Middlebury Institute is content-based. Your Russian studies courses will give you specialized vocabulary for global security through courses focused on Russian domestic and international politics, BRICS, Russia’s war in Ukraine, political discourse, and media in modern Russia.

Your coursework will help you launch a career in diplomacy or intelligence work. You will be positioned to understand primary sources, track developments in Russian media, analyze government communications, interpret strategic postures, and thus provide valuable and accurate insights into Russia’s objectives.

To help you boost your language skills, all students admitted to the MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies are guaranteed a full scholarship for a summer at the Middlebury Language Schools.

Work with Leading Experts

The Russian studies program is integrated with the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies, which brings renowned academics, diplomats, analysts, and journalists to the Middlebury Institute. Recent visiting experts include George Beebe, the former director of the CIA’s Russia analysis, Beishenbai Zhunosov, the former head of national security of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Vladimir Pozner, the host of the top-rated weekly current affairs program on Russia’s largest television network. You will get to apply your Russian language skills to high-level work with experts like these.

Reconnect the U.S., Russia, and China

China is a critical player on the world stage and in the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. The Monterey Trialogue fosters constructive exchange among American, Russian, and Chinese experts and ex-officials, overcoming the political, cultural, and linguistic barriers that have hindered the study of the full trilateral dynamic. At a time when even bilateral channels of communication have begun to break down, the Monterey Trialogue offers a new and necessary perspective on the defining geopolitical relationship of our time. It also provides experts from the three countries the increasingly rare opportunity to meet and share their different perspectives in person.

Students in our MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies program can choose Chinese (or a host of other languages) as their language of study, creating multiple pathways to engaging three of the world’s most significant military powers.

Leverage Strategic Empathy for Conflict Resolution

Strategic empathy—the ability to understand and anticipate the perspectives and intentions of adversaries—is critical for crafting effective foreign policy and reducing miscalculations that could lead to conflict. By fostering a deep comprehension of Russian perspectives, analysts and policymakers can devise strategies that manage tensions and promote stability.

Next Steps

• Get more info
• Explore our MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies
• Learn about Russian studies