Seminars / Reading Group

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PACS Seminar Series

The Fall 2025 PACS seminar series will meet in person in Uris G-08 from 12:00 PM-1:15 PM on Thursdays, unless otherwise noted. Authors will lead a discussion of their works by delivering a formal talk followed by a Q&A. All events are in-person only unless otherwise noted. 

Readings for the seminars can be accessed here (Cornell Net ID required).

Fall 2025

September 4 – CLARK HALL, 700
Jok Madut Jok, Syracuse University; Kaija E. Schilde, Boston University; Zheng Wang, Seton Hall University; Diego Chaves-Gonzalez
Panel: Peace, Security, and U.S. Presence in the World

September 11 – CLARK HALL, 700
Michael David-Fox, Georgetown University
Crucibles of Power: Smolensk under Stalinist and Nazi Rule

September 18
Herb Lin, Stanford University
CANCELED - AI and the Nuclear Enterprise

September 25
David Cortright, Cornell University
The New Arms Race and How to Stop It

October 2
Michael Brenes, Yale University
How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy

October 9 – VIRTUAL. Register for the virtual talk here: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e7JrE2rEQE6HO8G1l42Utw
Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Center for Middle East and Global Order (CMEG) and the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
An Islamic Emperor Without Clothes: From Iran's Revolutionary Process to the Unraveling of the "Axis of Resistance" - Challenging Long-Held Assumptions about the Islamic Republic

October 16
Ashley Leeds, Rice University
A Separate Peace? Withdrawal Bargains and Civil War Intervention

October 23
Nicolas Rost, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
Why Do Donors Neglect Some Humanitarian Emergencies?

October 30
Ipek Sener, Harvard University
Let Activists Protest and Speak: How Peaceful Actors Curb Militant Support

November 6
Josefina Alvarez, Kroc Institute, Notre Dame
Monitoring and Accompanying Peacebuilding Processes in Post-Accord Contexts: The Case of Colombia

November 13
Tom Armbruster, U.S. Ambassador (ret.)
Diplomatic Chain Reactions

November 20 – VIRTUAL
Anselm Vogler, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg
The Production of Climate Mobility Futures: Comparative Insights from National Security Strategies