BERKELEY INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY
AND GOVERNANCE
ANNUAL REPORT
APRIL 2024
Founder’s Report
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2023 has been a whirlwind at BISG and I am pleased to present this report on important work our team has been doing to broaden the reach of UC Berkeley in national and international security, and to forge new paths for collaboration across industries. I am particularly proud of the partnerships we created in this year and the abundance of talent and opportunity we have been able to deliver to the UC Berkeley community and beyond.
As you’ll see in the report, we entered into a historic cooperative research and development agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), developed partnerships with National Taiwan University (NTU) and the Kiev School of Public Administration (KSPA) to tackle issues surrounding global resilience, and launched the Security in Politics D.C. Immersion week, a course curated to immerse students in the field of security studies in our nation’s capital.
This year, we plan to expand our reach by developing official partnerships with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as launch a Global Resilience Project to continue to tackle the most pressing security challenges of our time. I expect 2024 to be nothing short of challenging, impactful, and transformative for all of us, and I am excited to continue my work at BISG to shine a light of hope for continued progress in the fight for our shared values and democracy.
Yours very truly,
Table of Contents
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Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Signing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation 7
Memorandum of Understanding Signing with National Taiwan University 10
National Taiwan University Delegation Visits BISG 11
Security in Politics D.C. Immersion Week 14
August 2023 FBI Convening at UC Berkeley 19
Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity on Ukraine and Cyber Security 19
The Future of National Security; How to Build a More Resilient Society,” Panel at the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) 20
BISG AI Summit: Safeguarding the Development of Artificial Intelligence 21
Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (BRSL) 23
Research Area I - Defense Analysis and Strategy 23
Research Area II - Technology, Governance, and (Inter)national Security 23
Research Area III - Industrial Policy and Strategic Competition 24
Research Spotlight 1: Nuclear Arms Control 24
Research Spotlight 2: AI and International Security 25
Outreach Initiatives and Publications 25
“The Risk Calculus” Podcast 25
Secretary Napolitano Discusses Expansion of the U.S.-Mexico Border with the BBC 27
Focus Taiwan: BISG Founder Urges Public-Private Collaboration on Cybersecurity 27
Taipei Times: Napolitano Visits Taiwan for Cyber Security Expo 28
Kyodo News: Taiwan Vows to Deepen Global Partnership Against Cyber Threats 28
Bloomberg: The Rollback of Title 42 28
Wired: The US Wants China to Start Talking About AI Weapons 29
KQED: “Janet Napolitano on What Political Security Means in 2024” 29
Press Advance with Johanna Maska: How Do We Get Order at the Border? 29
“How an ‘Uncommon Table’ Can Help Bring Our Divided Nation Together” 31
“Trustworthy Disaster Response: Technology, Policy, and Society” 31
“Disinformation is Breaking Democracy. Berkeley is Exploring Solutions.” 32
“LAION and the Challenges of Preventing AI-Generated CSAM” 32
“Integrating the Art and Science of Wargaming” 32
“Why the Alarm Over Russia’s Use of Hypersonic Missiles in Ukraine is Misplaced” 33
“What Most People Get Wrong About the Iran Nuclear Deal” 33
“Orbital Hypersonic Delivery Systems Threaten Strategic Stability” 34
“Putting the Biden Administration’s “New Economic Statecraft” in Context” 34
“Confidence-Building Measures for Artificial Intelligence” 35
“Proliferate, Don’t Obliterate: How Responsive Launch Marginalizes Anti-Satellite Capabilities” 35
“Accelerating the Evolution of AI Export Controls” 36
“Securing Taiwan’s Satellite Infrastructure Against China’s Reach” 36
“Time to Act: Building the Technical and Institutional Foundations for AI Assurance” 36
“Confidence-Building Measures for Artificial Intelligence: Workshop Proceedings” 37
“Wargames as Data: Addressing the Wargamer’s Trilemma” 38
“Emerging Technology and Policy Co-Design Considerations for the Safe and Transparent Use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems” 38
“Evidence of the Unthinkable: Experimental Wargaming at the Nuclear Threshold” 38
“Saving Face in the Cyberspace: Responses to Public Cyber Intrusions in the Gulf” 39
“Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive: Assessing Cyber Conflict as an Intelligence Contest” 39
“Cyber Wargames as Synthetic Data” 40
Graduate Certificate in Security Policy (GCSP) 41
Signature Immersive MPA Security Policy Experience 43
Government Agency Partnership Initiative 44
Experiential Learning Initiative 44
Ms. Marie O’Neill Sciarrone 53
About BISG
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Who We Are
The Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance (BISG) supports research, curriculum, and convenings that bring students, academics, and leading political practitioners together to address critical global risks, to translate research and analysis into actionable solutions for policymakers, thought leaders and elected officials, and to train a diverse generation of security professionals for careers in public service.
The Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance is built on four pillars:
- Research and innovation on critical security issues impacting domestic and international security and democracy at large
- A transformative educational experience for UC Berkeley students who wish to focus their studies on security issues impacting society
- Security focused Executive Education offerings that are client centered and solution oriented for governments, private companies, and nonprofits.
- Public events and programming that fosters cross-cultural learning and understanding, builds professional and educational networks, and promotes discussion of critical security issues.
Under the esteemed stewardship of former UC President, former Secretary of Homeland Security and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, BISG leverages its extensive network to develop partnerships, programs, and initiatives under each pillar that will lead to advances in the following key research areas:
Resilience of Democratic Institutions - This track focuses on strengthening our democratic institutions, which rely on facts, truth, and a unifying social contract. It examines the increasing distrust in our democratic institutions amidst social polarization and how this trend threatens our future prosperity and global security. The Institute will develop practical and accessible approaches to bridging the emerging divide between the American people and the institutions that were established to serve and support them.
Cyber Security and Emergent Technology - This track studies cybersecurity, particularly as it affects critical infrastructure, as well as the security and political implications of emergent technologies such as AI, biometric-based technologies, cloud computing, and quantum computing. By bringing together leading technologists with social scientists, legal scholars, government leaders, ethicists, and policy practitioners, this track examines the risks, disruptions, and opportunities innovative technologies may present for democracy and democratic institutions.
Security Effects of Climate Change - Climate change is fundamentally a risk that is redefining politics in the United States and across the globe. From climate-induced migration to food, water and weather security, the earth’s evolving temperature is changing the nature of policy making, security and politics. BISG scholars analyze these risks and develop proposals for understanding and mitigating them at the global, national, and state levels.
Why UC Berkeley?
UC Berkeley is the pre-eminent public university in the world, with an unparalleled mix of innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and scholars on one campus. Where consultancies are typically leveraged to resolve challenges faced by governments or private industry, BISG offers a combination of both practitioner capacity attracted by Secretary Napolitano and academic scholarship available on campus at Berkeley to tackle real-world problems. By combining Berkeley scholarship with best in breed practitioners, BISG creates both academic programs and solution sets that benefits the greater mission of the campus, while also providing students with access to professional networks and transformative educational experiences that are unmatched by any other university.
Additionally, Berkeley’s location and proximity to the nation’s most esteemed entrepreneurs and innovators in Silicon Valley, and its west coast proximity to Asia, allow for unique and impactful partnerships. BISG will lead the way in developing strategic partnerships and initiatives to expand Berkeley’s footprint in security studies and underscores its reputation as the leading university focused on securing our nation and our world.
Partnerships
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Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Signing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Representatives from BISG and the FBI surround the FBI seal at the CRADA signing.
On April 27, 2023, BISG entered a historic Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the FBI, marking the first ever CRADA signed between the FBI and an academic institution. The FBI research partnership at BISG will strategically partner and engage with other entities on campus such as The CITRIS Policy Lab, the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, and the Center for Long Term Cybersecurity to create maximum impact in the following key research areas:
We are pleased to bring the unique, outspoken, and vibrant UC Berkeley lens to the FBI. In turn, the FBI will support fellows on the UC Berkeley campus to continue to develop relationships, collaborate across departments, and develop student opportunities for deeper engagement and prospective careers in public service.
Figure 1 (left):Executive Assistant Director (EAD) Robert Brown, Science and Technology, FBI shakes hands with Janet Napolitano after jointly signing the CRADA.(right)
Figure 2 (right): Janet Napolitano gives opening remarks at the FBI in Huntsville, AL before the CRADA signing with EAD Brown.
Taiwan Partnership
Figure 1 (top left): Janet Napolitano shakes hands with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Figure 2 (top right): Janet Napolitano speaking at the CYBERSEC 2023 conference, Taiwan’s largest annual cybersecurity event.
Figure 3 (center bottom): Janet Napolitano meets with Mr. Bill Chung, Director-General, National Immigration Agency.
In Taiwan, preparing for domestic security risks is a critical component of the political structure, a strong national economy, and general public safety. In partnership with the National Taiwan University (NTU), BISG will leverage its national security, academic and professional expertise to provide comprehensive training to government officials, academic and private sector leaders on disaster and security risk resiliency.
Led by world renowned practitioners and UC Berkeley academic researchers, the BISG-NTU partnership will focus on providing meaningful experiential learning and deep security policy engagement to leadership in Taiwan. Executive education courses on political risk and stability, cybersecurity, emergency mitigation and response will provide participants with tools and resources in addressing Taiwan’s complex national and global security concerns.
Participants will also participate in scenario-based tabletop exercises designed to simulate crisis events, developed by the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. These would be the same training courses that the Lab currently provides to U.S. military and government security officials, but designed to address Taiwan’s greatest natural disaster and geopolitical risks.
Memorandum of Understanding Signing with National Taiwan University
Janet Naplolitno signs BISG MOU with Dean of Social Sciences, Hungdah Su of NTU. This MOU promises future collaboration between BISG and NTU on joint programs and initiatives including convenings, workshops, public events, and student exchanges.
National Taiwan University Delegation Visits BISG
On Thursday, September 28th, BISG was privileged to host a cohort of National Taiwan University professors and scholars with expertise in political science, economics, social work, journalism, and national development to tour UC Berkeley’s facilities, learn about academic curriculum and research endeavors, and discuss national security with a cohort of UC Berkeley leadership. BISG invited academics, professors, and staff from BISG, the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (BRSL), the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP), and the UC Disaster Resilience Network (UC DRN).
Figure 1: BISG, BRSL, GSPP and UC DRN representatives with NTU Delegation in downtown Berkeley.
Ukraine Partnership
The United States partnership with Ukraine has never been more critical than it is today. BISG is leveraging its engagement with U.S. federal security officials and leading academics to deepen UC Berkeley’s engagement in Ukraine by creating custom education programs with the Kyiv School of Public Administration (KSPA) to train and prepare the civil service leaders that will strengthen and rebuild a resilient and democratic Ukraine.
Figure 1: Secretary Napolitano speaks at the Kyiv School of Public Affairs’ Kyiv Women’s Forum on July 3, 2023.
Ukraine’s historic resistance to Russia’s war against it has inspired communities around the world – the multi-pronged threats that Ukraine continues to face have underscored the importance of strengthening its public institutions, creating ongoing opportunities for convening on resilience and security topics, and strengthening U.S. government partnerships. With KSPA, BISG-Ukraine’s UC Berkeley-led program will build technological and diverse leadership capacity through targeted risk scenario training, immersive learnings with U.S. agencies, and economic growth strategies.
To kick off this partnership, On July 4, 2023, Secretary Janet Napolitano gave the keynote speech at the Women’s Leadership in Wartime Forum. This event was hosted by BISG’s partner the Kyiv School of Public Affairs (KSPA). Since this event BISG and KSPA are developing a “20 Speeches of Freedom” speaker series to continue to highlight public servants who believe in democratic values and a safer and more resilient global society.
Janet Napolitano (second on the left) with the Kyiv School of Public Administration’s Head of International Programs, Mykhailo “Misha” Bno-Airiyan, CEO, Anna Mishchenko, and Head of Research, Anatoliy Amelin (listed in order of appearance; left to right).
On September 19, 2023 executives from KSPA visited from Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with the faculty of BISG and GSPP. The delegates from KSPA included CEO, Anna Mishchenko, Head of International Programs, Michael Bno Airiyan, Head of Research, Anatoliy Amelin, and Chief Economist, Anton Gulidin. Together, the representatives from both KSPA and UC Berkeley collaborated to brainstorm future partnerships and projects regarding artificial intelligence (AI), education, and security. This work is part of BISG and KSPA’s broader collaboration on global resilience amidst the Russo-Ukrainian war.
In April 2024, BISG will travel to Ukraine to officially sign an MOU with KSPA, with plans to launch a first of its kind Women in Leadership course for Ukrainian women in the Fall of 2024 at UC Berkeley.
Figure 3: Mykhailo “Misha” Bno-Airiyan and Anna Mishchenko of the Kyiv School of Public Administration engage in conversation with Dean David C. Wilson of the Goldman School of Public Policy (listed in order of appearance; left to right).
Experiential Education
Security in Politics D.C. Immersion Week
Janet Napolitano and the Inaugural D.C. Immersion Week Cohort and Staff at Langley, Central Intelligence Agency HQ
In March 2023, the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance (BISG) offered 20 UC Berkeley students a once-in-a-lifetime experiential learning course in security studies. Led by Secretary Napolitano, the curriculum was curated to educate students about the operation and mission sets of government agencies and to help them understand how those agencies manage national and global security risks.
Figure 2 (left): DCIW students inspecting DHS electric police interceptor vehicles.
Figure 3 (right): John Adams (left), Rigel Robinson (right) at DHS headquarters on St.. Elizabeth’s Campus.
The course connected students to top ranking senior officials, policymakers, and academics across the FBI, the CIA, and DHS. Students gained insights from curated briefings, participated in a week of meetings, panels, and visits at agency headquarters. The content ranged from environmental sustainability, privacy and civil liberties, counterterrorism, and transnational crime. The week concluded with an all-day onsite crisis simulation exercise at the National War College where students took what they learned from the week and applied it to a real world scenario tabletop exercise navigating national and international security issues.
The Washington D.C. Immersion week is the first of its kind 3 unit course and travel seminar offered at the Goldman School of Public Policy, created by Secretary Napolitano and the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance (BISG).
The Immersion week courses emphasize experiential learning, collaboration with the private sector, agencies, and networking with prominent business leaders and policy experts. 17 of the 19 student participants in immersion week applied for employment to one or more of the national security agencies visited following the course and more than half indicated that they had grown their professional network substantially as a result of the course.
Figure 4: The D.C. Immersion Week Cohort at the National War College.
Figure 5 (left): Students meet with Rear Admiral JoAnne Burdian, US Coast Guard.
Figure 6 (right): Janet Napolitano speaking outside of DHS.
Figure 7 (left): Students learn about the challenges of emerging technology from Chief Jarred Pennington of DHS Federal Protective Service.
Figure 8 (right): Moonlight Monuments Tour ( Lincoln Memorial).
Across the week, students met with the following:
- Robert Brown, Executive Assistant Director, FBI Science and Technology
- Paul Abbate, Deputy Director, FBI
- Brian Turner, Associate Deputy Director of the FBI
- Katie Noyes, Section Chief, FBI Science and Technology
- Supervisory Special Agent Barbara Smith, FBI
- Office of General Counsel, CIA
- Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, NNSA
- Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief of Staff to the Office of the Deputy Secretary, DHS
- Matthew O’Neill, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Investigative Division, U.S. Secret Service
- RDML JoAnne Burdian, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, US Coast Guard, DHS
- Stephanie Dobitsch, Deputy Under Secretary, Intelligence Enterprise Operations, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, DHS
- Susan Hathaway, Senior Environmentalist, Office of Chief Readiness Support Officer, DHS
- Pete Pflugrath, Executive Vice President, Markets & Growth, LMI
- Marie O’Neill Sciarrone, Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Senior Director of Cybersecurity and Information Policy and current CEO and President of Tribal Tech as well as Cowan & Associates
Janet Napolitano and Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, NNSA, Jill Hruby, during D.C. Immersion Week.
The Uncommon Table
In addition to visiting various government agencies and private practices, students from the Security in Politics D.C. Immersion Week participated in the Uncommon Table, an initiative built by the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance and American University’s Sine Institute of Policy and Politics. Held at American University, the dinner brings together disparate voices and explores how we can create common ground to reconnect Americans to a renewed sense of trust in each other and our democracy.
Figure 10: Students and Faculty from UC Berkeley and American University collaborate in a discussion at the Uncommon Table Event. (Credit: Jeffrey Watts, American University Photography).
Events and Programming
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August 2023 FBI Convening at UC Berkeley
As a first effort under the new CRADA with the FBI, the Institute welcomed esteemed members of the agency to collaborate with members of the UC Berkeley community to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on national security and how to ensure data privacy for American citizens. Over the course of three days, participants engaged in workshops focused on topics ranging from third-party data access for research, to oversight of simulations, modeling, and wargaming. BISG looks forward to overseeing a few research projects resulting from this convening in addition to making strides towards mutually beneficial outcomes.
Figure 1: Members of the FBI Convening Delegation with Secretary Napolitano (Center) at California Memorial Stadium.
Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity on Ukraine and Cyber Security
On September 29, 2023, CLTC invited Secretary Janet Napolitano to moderate a panel at their Cyber Defending Taiwan: Lessons from Ukraine Conference. The panel, titled “Securing Freedom For Taiwan” focused on cybersecurity, and what private and public sectors should be doing in the present and future to secure Taiwan. Panelists included Deputy Director of Autonomy for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Ritwik Gupta, NTU Dean of Social Sciences, Hungdah Su, and Partner leading in Digital Defense and Information Security at Fortium Partners, Tim Mather.
Figure 1: Janet Napolitano moderates a panel hosted in partnership with the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity on securing freedom in the cybersphere featuring Deputy Director of Autonomy for the Defense Innovation Unit, Ritwik Gupta, National Taiwan University Dean of Social Sciences, Hungdah Su, and Partner leading in Digital Defense and Information Security at Fortium Partners, Tim Mather (listed in order of appearance; right to left).
The Future of National Security; How to Build a More Resilient Society,” Panel at the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP)
For GSPP’s 2023 first ever annual conference, BISG was honored to bring together the Assistant Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Mary Ellen Callahan, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI, Jeff Fields, and the Chief Technology Officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Nand Mulchandani, to discuss current and predicted threats to national security.
(Left to Right) Sec. Napolitano joined by Nand Mulchandani, Chief Technology Officer of the CIA, Mary Ellen Callahan, Assistant Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Department of Homeland Security, and Jeff Fields, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley on September 8, 2023.
BISG AI Summit: Safeguarding the Development of Artificial Intelligence
On January 22, 2024, BISG hosted a public panel, “Safeguarding the Development of Artificial Intelligence,” in partnership with Digimarc at the Banatao Auditorium on UC Berkeley’s campus. The panel featured a range of experts in their respective fields including the Hon. Janet Napolitano, CEO of Digimarc, Riley McCormack, Representative Jay Obernolte of California’s 23rd District, Dr. Hany Farid of Berkeley’s School for Information, Attorney General of New Mexico Raúl Torrez, and NBC News Correspondent Jacob Ward. Panelists engaged in a discussion regarding the challenges AI poses from the vantage points of business, government, and society, how to safeguard the development of AI, and how to regulate AI within the public and private sectors. The event hosted the largest turnout for a Goldman School of Public Policy event outside of graduation since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The event was live-streamed on YouTube and can be viewed on the BISG website.
Figure 1: Panelists for “Safeguarding the Development of Artificial” at the Banatao Auditorium at UC Berkeley on January 22, 2024. Listed from left to right: NBC News Correspondent, Jacob Ward, CEO of Digimarc, Riley McCormack, Attorney General of New Mexico Raúl Torrez, Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, Professor of Information and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Dr. Hany Farid, and Representative for California’s 23rd District to Washington, Jay Obernolte.
Before the start of the panel, the panelists met for a closed-door roundtable with representatives from various government officials and prominent members of the business community in media and AI. The groups represented at this discussion included Adobe, Amazon Web Services, the Brookings Institution, New America Foundation, NBC, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the CIA, Creative Artists Agency, and Getty Images. At this round table, participants discussed the potential threats and challenges posed by AI, potential solutions for these issues, and the implementation of those solutions.
Nand Mulchandani, Chief Innovation Officer of the CIA, Raul Torrez AG of New Mexico, and Jeff Fields Assistant Special Agent in Charge Counterintelligence FBI, have a conversation with Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse, following the public panel.
Following the public panel, the AI Summit participants finished their evening with a private dinner at the Berkeley culinary institution, Chez Panissse, hosted by its owner and Founder Alice Waters.
Berkeley Risk and Security Lab (BRSL)
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The Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, launched by Dr. Andrew Reddie in 2022 and housed under BISG, engages academics and policy experts across UC Berkeley, the country, and the globe with the big questions related to the future of national and international security. BRSL’s research portfolio is organized around three areas: Defense Analysis and Strategy; Technology, Governance, and (Inter)national Security; and Industrial Policy and Strategic Competition. The lab will bridge the gap between policymakers in Washington with scientists and engineers in Silicon Valley and nurture the next generation of researchers.
Research Area I - Defense Analysis and Strategy
In today’s constantly evolving geopolitical ecosystem, new analysis is needed as new conflicts and tensions emerge, modernization efforts evolve, and networks of allies and adversaries shift. The first BRSL research area is made up of four categories: alliance dynamics, competition analysis, systems and capabilities, and strategy and doctrine.
BRSL’s alliance dynamics work includes efforts to map out AUKUS’ bureaucratic implementation and a wargaming project examining alliance dynamics and alliance wedging strategies. BRSL’s competitor analysis seeks to provide assessments of adversary forces, posture, and politics, through projects that examine PLA bureaucratic politics and priorities, as well as work on Russian military capabilities and strategies. The systems and capabilities sub-category includes work on undersea sensing capabilities, plutonium pit production, the role of plutonium in (non) proliferation, and submarine sales and exchanges. Lastly, BRSL’s strategy and doctrine grouping includes projects on strategic breakout and radiation risks in conflict.
Research Area II - Technology, Governance, and (Inter)national Security
Amid continued uncertainty as to the viability of current efforts to create multilateral governance regimes to address emerging technologies via UN processes (e.g., the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons) and bilateral governance mechanisms (e.g. New START) after 2026, this research area examines the viability of future governance regimes to address the risks posed by emerging technologies—from nuclear weapons to applications of artificial intelligence systems. Specifically, this research area breaks into three
areas: arms control and risk reduction; technology governance; and technology safety and testing.
BRSL’s arms control and risk reduction sub-category includes projects on the future of arms control with Russia and China, on the different approaches states take when withdrawing from international arms control agreements, and on confidence-building measures between nuclear weapon states. In BRSL’s technology governance sub-category, they examine governance options for military and commercial AI, avenues for international AI governance, and cybersecurity norms.
Research Area III - Industrial Policy and Strategic Competition
As well as analyzing and creating model frameworks to manage the security risks outlined above, BRSL also examines the causes of the existential threats facing the United States and the globe. This includes government efforts to drive innovation in their respective economies, the role of the private sector in national security, and the variety of policy levers at the disposal of governments across the globe to shape their domestic markets and foster innovation.
BRSL’s four sub-categories for this research area are industrial policy, technology competition, the defense industrial base, and dual-purpose technology. These categories include projects on nuclear power industrial policy and competition, the role of the commercial space sector in conflict, and challenges and opportunities for the defense industrial base.
Research Spotlight 1: Nuclear Arms Control
BRSL’s nuclear arms control work (housed under Research Area II) was a major priority for 2023 and will continue to be a key area of focus for BRSL in the coming years. In October, BRSL hosted a workshop on the future of arms control, followed by a public event with Mallory Stewart, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS) at the U.S. Department of State. A report detailing those exchanges and sharing some of our research takeaways will be published in early 2023 and will include a series of recommendations for
next-generation arms control capacity building. Alongside that report publication, BRSL will release a short podcast series on the past, present, and future of arms control. Nuclear arms control is also this academic year’s focus for the Nuclear Policy Working Group, where students are working on an encyclopedia of arms control agreements and risk reduction mechanisms.
Research Spotlight 2: AI and International Security
BRSL’s work on AI and International Security (with projects under all three research areas) continues to be a major area of focus and interest for BRSL. BRSL’s February 2023 workshop with OpenAI focused on confidence-building measures (CBMs), a line of work that we continue to pursue, alongside work on AI governance writ large in Research Area II. In Research Area I, we have projects examining the integration of AI and autonomy in military systems. Lastly, in Research Area III, members of the BRSL team have published on the evolution of AI export control and on building technical and institutional foundations for AI assurance.
Outreach Initiatives and Publications
In addition to making strides in its research initiative, BRSL also launched a number of events and activities to keep students and world leaders engaged and educated in emerging security challenges. One way that BRSL was able to do this was through inviting students and world leaders to engage in wargames. BRSL held two wargaming sessions at the United Nations Institute of Disarmament Research in December 2023 with the aim of introducing new methods of analysis and problem exploration to the UN. Additionally, BRSL held three workshops focused on issues ranging from climate change to nuclear arms control. Partner organizations for these three workshops included the Geopolitics Team at Open AI, the United Nations Institute of Disarmament Research, and the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. BRSL also published 19 different journal articles in 2023.
“The Risk Calculus” Podcast
The Risk Calculus is a new podcast series from the UC Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. In Season One, join Professor Andrew Reddie for a deep dive into wargaming, an old way of thinking about risks that is being applied in new and exciting ways to some of today's most pressing questions, from the impact of emerging technologies on the future of war to possible escalation scenarios in the Taiwan Strait. In each episode of this five-part mini-series, Andrew is joined by guests working at the cutting edge of research and practice. These guests include Dr. Bethany Goldblum (Berkeley), Dr. John Emery (University of Oklahoma), Dr. Reid Pauly (Brown), Dr. Ellie Bartels (RAND), and Dr. Jackie Schneider (Stanford Hoover Institution). Tune in to learn more about the current renaissance in wargaming, and why variations on an old method may be among the most promising tools we have for rigorously evaluating emerging threats.
BISG in the News
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Secretary Napolitano Discusses Expansion of the U.S.-Mexico Border with the BBC
In conversation with the BBC, Secretary Napolitano comments on the Biden Administration’s approach to border security. Secretary Napolitano stresses that border security is not solvable by a fence or wall. She likens border security to a “three legged stool” supported by physical structures, technology, and man power. All three must be in balance to have a wholistic approach to border security. She calls for immigration policy reform in combination with this “three legged stool” approach. This can only be accomplished through bipartisan cooperation and compromise.
Figure 1: Sec. Napolitano speaks with a BBC news anchor on the topic of border security.
Focus Taiwan: BISG Founder Urges Public-Private Collaboration on Cybersecurity
Focus Taiwan, May 9, 2023 – BISG Founder and Faculty Director Janet Napolitano said governments should “enlist” the private sector and civil societies in promoting general readiness for cybersecurity threats.
An example of how collaboration between the public and private sectors could make cyber connections more secure, she said, was a DHS campaign that encouraged the public to provide tipoffs to law enforcement agencies.
She said the DHS received “a significant volume of tips” about signs of terrorism and terrorism-related activities under the campaign, known as “If You See Something, Say Something,” and that those pieces of information were often “actionable.”
No matter how strong an organizational defense may be, there may be an adversary who can break through it, and what is important is to “mitigate vulnerability to cyber risks,” Napolitano said.
Taipei Times: Napolitano Visits Taiwan for Cyber Security Expo
Taipei Times, May 10, 2023: Governments should work with the private sector and civic groups to bolster cybersecurity efforts, BISG Founder and Faculty Director Janet Napolitano said at a cybersecurity expo in Taipei this week. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (far left) said that her administration sees cybersecurity companies and experts, as well as civic groups, as “important partners” in the effort to enhance Taiwan’s cybersecurity and resilience to cyberattacks.
Figure 1: Sec. Napolitano meets President Tsai at the CYBERSEC 2023 Conference in Taipei.
Kyodo News: Taiwan Vows to Deepen Global Partnership Against Cyber Threats
“In the face of ubiquitous cybersecurity challenges, it is necessary to continuously strengthen the resilience and management mechanism,” said Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured) at the opening of CYBERSEC 2023, a three-day international conference and exhibition in Taipei.
At the event, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security [and BISG founding director] Janet Napolitano called for cooperation in mitigating the risks posed by cyber threats. “We all have a role to play, to keep our communities and our networks safe,” she said.
Bloomberg: The Rollback of Title 42
Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discusses Title 42 expiring and what the next steps are for the Biden Administration. Janet Napolitano speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg's "Balance of Power."
Wired: The US Wants China to Start Talking About AI Weapons
Andrew Reddie, an associate research professor of public policy [and Founder of the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab] at UC Berkeley who studies emerging military technologies, says it's possible the shared benefits of containing the risks of AI weapons could overcome the mistrust between the US and China. "There is a long history of adversarial cooperation in the pursuit of risk reduction that serves the interests of both countries in an agreement,” he says.
The US and China may use APEC to announce some sort of agreement to limit use of AI in certain military systems, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. Reddie says that any such compact would likely be symbolic and non-binding given the distance between the two sides.
KQED: “Janet Napolitano on What Political Security Means in 2024”
KQED published an interview on January 17, 2024, featuring Sec. Napolitano on the topic of what security means in the age of AI and rising doubts about the integrity of our elections. This interview follows the release of a new poll showing that California Democrats are split on immigration and border security, and a conversation with KQED’s immigration editor regarding how this split could affect the 2024 elections.
Figure 1: Sec. Napolitano with Scott Schafer of KQED at the KQED San Francisco offices on January 4, 2024.
Press Advance with Johanna Maska: How Do We Get Order at the Border?
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the crisis on the southern border just weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a bipartisan Senate border security package. Janet Napolitano, who served as the nation's third Homeland Security Secretary, had joined her Republican predecessor Michael Chertoff to warn the historic charges against Secretary Mayorkas are a misuse of Congressional impeachment authority and a dangerous precedent. On this week's episode, Johanna Maska speaks with Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, about the impeachment precedent, why we are seeing a significant increase of migrants on the border and if the Biden administration is doing enough. They also discuss the high cost of a college education and political polarization on campuses.
Publications
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“How an ‘Uncommon Table’ Can Help Bring Our Divided Nation Together”
by Amy K. Dacey and Janet Napolitano, The Hill, May 2023
American politics is rampant with political division, polarization, and culture wars. The Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance (BISG) joined forces with the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University to answer the following question: “What, if anything, can be done to bring us together so we can remain secure and competitive on the world stage?” By bringing together college students from UC Berkeley and American University, the BISG and the Sine Institute found that people can come together if they show each other grace and allow themselves open communication. Despite coming from differing backgrounds and holding conflicting opinions, the students were able to debate, collaborate, and compromise. The BISG and the Sine Institute encourage more open-minded discussions and learning about others across the aisle for the sake of strengthening American Democracy.
“Trustworthy Disaster Response: Technology, Policy, and Society”
by Ritwik Gupta, Shankar Sastry, and Janet Napolitano, October 2023
Natural disasters are increasingly common around the world and occur unexpectedly, leaving communities in distress and requiring swift and effective responses. As natural disasters such as fires, floods, and tornadoes unfold, the trust between citizens and their government, and trust among citizens themselves, is critical to shaping the outcomes of disaster response efforts.
Trust is multifaceted, encompassing both the reliance on societal structures and the confidence in the technologies and policies that facilitate disaster management. This paper explores the importance of trust in disaster response, examining the interplay between technology, policy, and society. By analyzing the agencies, technologies, and policies involved in disaster response, especially in multi-party settings such as joint agency responses, we aim to shed light on the uncertainties associated with their outputs and how they influence the actions of affected populations.
“Disinformation is Breaking Democracy. Berkeley is Exploring Solutions.”
By Edward Lempinen, November 30, 2023
One way to inoculate communities against disinformation, Berkeley scholars say, is to give people a strong voice in governing. That can help to keep them empowered and grounded in reliable information — and it can build trust. (Used with permission from Kate Sadowsky at UC Berkeley Possibility Lab)
In fields from computer science and journalism to public policy and national security, scholars are working to advance online information integrity.
“LAION and the Challenges of Preventing AI-Generated CSAM”
By Ritwik Gupta, January 2, 2024
Considering the technical nature of these models, particularly the way model weights might encapsulate actual CSAM, there is an urgent need to reassess how these are viewed under the law. Current legal frameworks need to evolve to address the nuances of both non-visual depictions of CSAM and synthetic CSAM, recognizing the potential of these models to harbor and perpetuate abuse. A concerted effort among governmental bodies, the private sector, and academia is imperative to guide the development of generative AI responsibly and ethically.
“Integrating the Art and Science of Wargaming”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie and Dr. Bethany Goldblum, March 2023
How can the United States deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan? Will Russia use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine? Do hypersonic weapons make the world less stable? Should military planners integrate decision support algorithms into nuclear command and control?
Though they address a wide range of issues in strategy, security, and foreign policy, each of these questions poses a common challenge for analysts and policymakers: In the absence of observational data, how can they make a prediction about the state of the world?
To address this challenge, policymakers often rely on inferences drawn from wargames—strategy and analytical games that simulate tactical, operational, and strategic aspects of conflict. While they are useful in studying potential conflicts, one must consider whether wargames are appropriate for drawing these sorts of inferences. Currently wargames are designed and executed predominantly as descriptive or correlational studies and thus are not suitable for uncovering the kinds of causal relationships required to inform these sorts of policy challenges. Wargamers can and should do better.
“Why the Alarm Over Russia’s Use of Hypersonic Missiles in Ukraine is Misplaced”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie and Dr. Bethany Goldblum, March 2023
Early in March, news outlets reported that almost a year after Russia first used Kinzhal (Kh-47M2) hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, Moscow had used six more of its hypersonic weapons as part of a particularly severe attack that also included Kh-22 anti-ship missiles, S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, and Iranian Shahed drones. Of note, Ukraine’s theater missile defense could not prevent the six Kinzhal missiles—among many of the other missile variants—from getting to their targets. The missile fusillade ultimately caused at least nine civilian deaths.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this attack led to a substantial increase in reporting about hypersonics, with coverage from the BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and NPR among other outlets. The alarmism captured in this reporting indicates the broader misunderstanding concerning the characteristics of hypersonic weapons that matter in both the Ukraine context and (as I wrote earlier in the Bulletin) the broader strategic context involving Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.
“What Most People Get Wrong About the Iran Nuclear Deal”
By Dr. Jane Darby Menton, May 2023
Although restoring the JCPOA has become increasingly implausible, understanding how it worked—and what has been lost—is essential for future global nonproliferation efforts.
Most discussions about the Iran deal focus on the wrong things. Critics argue that it was too permissive because it recognized Iran’s right to enrich uranium; too limited because it included sunset clauses; and too narrow because it failed to address other troubling activities, such as Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for violent groups in the Middle East. Defenders, meanwhile, emphasize that the deal allowed for unprecedented international monitoring and verification of Iran’s nuclear program. Both camps devote less attention to the agreement’s impact on Iran’s actual nuclear capabilities.
“The Paradox of Hiroshima”
By Dr. Jane Darby Menton, May 2023
Considering the technical nature of these models, particularly the way model weights might encapsulate actual CSAM, there is an urgent need to reassess how these are viewed under the law. Current legal frameworks need to evolve to address the nuances of both non-visual depictions of CSAM and synthetic CSAM, recognizing the potential of these models to harbor and perpetuate abuse. A concerted effort among governmental bodies, the private sector, and academia is imperative to guide the development of generative AI responsibly and ethically.
“Orbital Hypersonic Delivery Systems Threaten Strategic Stability”
By Ritwik Gupta, June 2023
Hypersonic glide vehicles alone do not pose a significant risk to strategic stability. Despite all the media hype about the Kinzhal “hypersonic missiles” that Russia has used to attack Ukraine (which are actually air-launched ballistic missiles, rather than hypersonic glide vehicles or cruise missiles), the reduced time-to-target and increased destructiveness of Kinzhals are negligible compared with conventional arsenals. However, when hypersonic glide vehicles are paired with fractional orbital bombardment systems, the strengths of both systems overcome the individual weaknesses that would otherwise make them a manageable threat.
The combo is called a fractional orbital hypersonic delivery system. It’s faster than an intercontinental ballistic missile, and more difficult to track.
“Putting the Biden Administration’s “New Economic Statecraft” in Context”
By Dr. Vinod K. Aggarwal and Dr. Andrew Reddie, August 2023
On Aug. 9, President Joe Biden declared (via executive order) a national emergency associated with the development of artificial intelligence, semiconductor, and quantum computing technology critical for “military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities” in “countries of concern” (read: China). The order itself mandates that U.S. firms disclose investments in China related to these markets (notifiable transactions) while seeking to restrict others entirely (prohibited transactions).
This represents just the latest salvo in what we have previously described as “new economic statecraft” in which governments use economic levers far beyond the use of sanctions to shape international relations in their favor.
The Biden administration’s turn toward the use of economic levers as part of a return to an era of strategic competition consists of a host of measures beyond the most recent executive order. These include domestic industrial policy measures, border restrictions on trade and investment, and efforts to build coalitions of the (un?)willing to restrict the export of chips and other high-tech equipment to China. At the same time, Chinese investment in U.S. technology companies is to be limited by an expanded set of protections via the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)—for fear of technology transfer across the Pacific.
“Confidence-Building Measures for Artificial Intelligence”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie, Dr. Sarah Shoker, and Leah Walker, September 2023
As foundation AI models grow in capability, sophistication, and accuracy, and as those models become more broadly deployed, they can impact international security and strategic stability. In the worst cases, these models can introduce or outright cause accidents, inadvertent escalation, unintentional conflict, weapon proliferation, and interference with human diplomacy. To counter these risks, this report examines ideas for confidence-building measures (CBMs) for artificial intelligence technologies that build from a workshop on the same topic involving key stakeholders from industry, government, and academia.
“Proliferate, Don’t Obliterate: How Responsive Launch Marginalizes Anti-Satellite Capabilities”
By Ritwik Gupta and Dr. Andrew Reddie, September 2023
Concern over the Kessler syndrome — in which destroying satellites creates an impenetrable field of debris that blocks all access to space — has generated considerable public opposition to anti-satellite weapons. Nevertheless, a number of countries, the People’s Republic of China foremost among them, continue to actively research, develop, and test both kinetic and nonkinetic anti-satellite capabilities. This has led to something of a miniature arms race, with geopolitical rivals rushing to field offensive anti-satellite capabilities alongside the defensive measures to counter them. The conventional wisdom appears to be that anti-satellite weapons represent a singular danger, as existing legal frameworks struggle to check this arms race.
But perhaps this is too pessimistic. There is good reason to believe that anti-satellite weapons will become increasingly marginal. The ongoing evolution and expansion of responsive launch systems will drastically shorten the timeline for replacing disabled satellites. This, in turn, reduces the impact of successful anti-satellite strikes.
“Accelerating the Evolution of AI Export Controls”
By Ritwik Gupta and Dr. Andrew Reddie, September 2023
While broad performance thresholds capture makers of high-end GPUs and mainstream chips, gaps exist where powerful AI accelerators that contribute important AI workloads can still be acquired by China. Closing this loophole requires deep analyses of machine learning workloads, China’s evolving AI needs and partnerships, and attempts to source advanced deep learning accelerator (DLA) technologies from industry and academia.
In the following, we explain the export control performance thresholds introduced in 2022 by the CHIPS and Science Act, detail how common, powerful machine learning models work in terms of computation, and analyze how the use of DLAs might enable adversaries to make effective use of these models within export control regulations.
“Securing Taiwan’s Satellite Infrastructure Against China’s Reach”
By Dr. Gil Baram, November 2023
The expansion of space-based technologies and the proliferation of interconnected systems have opened the door to a wide array of cyber threats. Malicious actors can exploit vulnerabilities within space systems—aiming to disrupt communication, compromise satellites, or even weaponize space assets. Additionally, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies introduces new dimensions of risk, including the potential for AI-driven cyberattacks or the exploitation of AI algorithms within space systems.
These challenges are even more acute during wartime, as revealed by the Russian cyberattack against the Viasat satellite communication network terminals on the first day of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan continues to loom, it is important to address the cyber threat China poses to Taiwan’s space-based infrastructure and how Taiwan is preparing to counter it.
“Time to Act: Building the Technical and Institutional Foundations for AI Assurance”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie and Joshua Wallin, November 2023
Over the past several years, analyses of potential future conflicts have stressed the growing role that autonomous systems will play across domains and functions. As these systems are integrated into global militaries, it is increasingly likely that accidents could lead to escalation (inadvertent or intentional) in the face of improperly tested and evaluated platforms. Collaboration with both allies and adversaries on testing and evaluation has the potential to reduce these accidents and the consequent escalation of conflicts, driving compliance with international law. Establishing international standards and norms about the employment of AI in safety-critical contexts is the prudent way forward for this collaboration.
Various governance efforts, from the current U.K. summit to various UN processes (e.g., in the UN General Assembly and First Committee) to U.S.-China Track 1 dialogues, offer states opportunities to address these risks. As governments across the globe struggle to address the new dangers posed by AI technologies—see most recently the White House’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence—and as various governance proposals—from the OECD AI Principles to the G7 Hiroshima Process—struggle to gain traction, we argue for a focus on how AI assurance might be achieved by leveraging existing international standards bodies, involving both governments and firms.
“Confidence-Building Measures for Artificial Intelligence: Workshop Proceedings”
By Sarah Shoker, Andrew Reddie, Sarah Barrington, Miles Brundage, Husanjot Chahal, Michael Depp, Bill Drexel, Ritwik Gupta, Marina Favaro, Jake Hecla, Alan Hickey, Margarita Konaev, Kirthi Kumar, Nathan Lambert, Andrew Lohn, Cullen O’Keefe, Nazneen Rajani, Michael Sellitto, Robert Trager, Leah Walker, Alexa Wehsener, Jessica Young, August 2023
Foundation models could eventually introduce several pathways for undermining state security: accidents, inadvertent escalation, unintentional conflict, the proliferation of weapons, and the interference with human diplomacy are just a few on a long list. The Confidence-Building Measures for Artificial Intelligence workshop hosted by the Geopolitics Team at OpenAI and the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab at the University of California brought together a multi stakeholder group to think through the tools and strategies to mitigate the potential risks introduced by foundation models to international security. Originating in the Cold War, confidence-building measures (CBMs) are actions that reduce hostility, prevent conflict escalation, and improve trust between parties. The flexibility of CBMs make them a key instrument for navigating the rapid changes in the foundation model landscape. Participants identified the following CBMs that directly apply to foundation models and which are further explained in this conference proceedings: 1. crisis hotlines 2. incident sharing 3. model, transparency, and system cards 4. content provenance and watermarks 5. collaborative red teaming and table-top exercises and 6. dataset and evaluation sharing. Because most foundation model developers are non-government entities, many CBMs will need to involve a wider stakeholder community. These measures can be implemented either by AI labs or by relevant government actors.
“Wargames as Data: Addressing the Wargamer’s Trilemma”
By Andrew W. Reddie, Ruby E. Booth, Bethany L. Goldblum, Kiran Lakkaraju, Jason Reinhardt, February 2023
Policymakers often want the very best data with which to make decisions--particularly when concerned with questions of national and international security. But what happens when this data is not available? In those instances, analysts have come to rely on synthetic data-generating processes--turning to modeling and simulation tools and survey experiments among other methods. In the cyber domain, where empirical data at the strategic level are limited, this is no different--cyber wargames are quickly becoming a principal method for both exploring and analyzing the security challenges posed by state and non-state actors in cyberspace. In this chapter, we examine the design decisions associated with this method.
“Emerging Technology and Policy Co-Design Considerations for the Safe and Transparent Use of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems”
By Ritwik Gupta, Alexander Bayen, Sarah Rohrschneider, Adrienne Fulk, Andrew Reddie, Sanjit A. Seshia, Shankar Sastry, Janet Napolitano, December 2022
The rapid technological growth observed in the sUAS sector over the past decade has been unprecedented and has left gaps in policies and regulations to adequately provide for a safe and trusted environment in which to operate these devices. The Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance at UC Berkeley, via a two-day workshop, analyzed these gaps by addressing the entire sUAS vertical. From human factors to autonomy, we recommend a series of steps that can be taken by partners in the academic, commercial, and government sectors to reduce policy gaps introduced in the wake of the growth of the sUAS industry.
“Evidence of the Unthinkable: Experimental Wargaming at the Nuclear Threshold”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie and Dr. Bethany Goldblum, October 2022
Ongoing nuclear modernization programs in Russia, China, and the USA have reopened longstanding debates among scholars concerning whether tailored nuclear weapons are likely to have destabilizing consequences for international security. Without data to adjudicate this debate, however, these discussions have remained entirely theoretical. In this article, we introduce an experimental wargaming platform, SIGNAL, to quantify the effect of tailored nuclear capabilities on the nuclear threshold in a simulated environment. We then compare these results with a survey experiment using scenarios related to military basing, cyber operations, and nuclear threats from the wargame environment. While the survey experiments suggest that the presence of tailored nuclear capabilities increases the likelihood of conflict escalation, this trend diminishes in the wargaming context. Across both data-generating processes, we find support for the proposition that lower-yield nuclear weapons are used as a substitute for their higher-yield counterparts. These results have consequences for recent and ongoing policy debates concerning strategic posture and the future of arms control. This work also makes methodological contributions to the design and application of experimental wargaming for social science research, particularly for scenarios where data are limited or non-existent.
“Saving Face in the Cyberspace: Responses to Public Cyber Intrusions in the Gulf”
By Dr. Gil Baram and Dr. Yehonatan Abramson, November 2023
How do states “save face” following a cyber intrusion directed at them? Recent scholarship demonstrates that the covert nature of cyber intrusions allows states to respond with restraint, avoiding escalation. But what happens when cyber intrusions become public and are highly visible? This article examines the rhetorical strategies employed by authoritarian Gulf states to mitigate the image-related costs associated with a public cyber intrusion. Drawing on the conceptual language of image-repair and crisis communication theories and employing discourse analysis of original data in Arabic, we identify three types of face-saving strategies: diminishing, self-complimenting, and accusing. Our findings indicate that intrusions involving leaking or faking information bring about unique “face-saving” strategies that do not only deal with the intrusion itself but also with the subsequent information crisis. Overall, the article identifies how states employ diverse rhetorical strategies—beyond attribution—to narrate cyber intrusions and keep cyber conflict contained.
“Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive: Assessing Cyber Conflict as an Intelligence Contest”
By Dr. Gil Baram, November 2023
Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive: Assessing Cyber Conflict as an Intelligence Contest comes at the perfect time for the cybersecurity community. It addresses the inadequacy of the term “cyber war” in capturing the complex dynamics between states and non-state actors in cyberspace. It offers a fresh perspective by examining offensive cyber operations through the framework of an intelligence contest. Its analysis sheds new light on the evolving nature of cyber conflict and its insights are valuable for scholars and practitioners alike.
Despite the increasing recognition of the impact of cybersecurity on global affairs, there is a lack of consensus on the scope, methodologies, and theories used to analyze this issue. To address that, each chapter offers a distinct viewpoint, shedding light on different aspects of offensive cyber operations and the value of the framework of “intelligence contest” as a theoretical lens.
Amy Zegart writes in the forward chapter that the editors of the book “ask contributors to answer a crucial question: Is cyberspace fundamentally an intelligence contest? If so, why? And if not, what is it?” These questions are at the heart of each of the book chapters. The core theoretical argument in favor of looking at cyber operations as an intelligence contest is in chapter 1 written by Josh Rovner. He uses historical examples to explain what an intelligence contest is and why this framework could be useful for understanding cyberspace competition. In an intelligence contest, rival intelligence services compete to steal information from one another, protect what they have acquired, and corrupt the other side's data and communications. The goal is to maintain an information advantage, and so cyberspace operations—like the Russian 2020 SolarWinds intrusion into the US governmental networks—could fit this framework.
“Cyber Wargames as Synthetic Data”
By Dr. Andrew Reddie et al., November 2023
Considering the technical nature of these models, particularly the way model weights might encapsulate actual CSAM, there is an urgent need to reassess how these are viewed under the law. Current legal frameworks need to evolve to address the nuances of both non-visual depictions of CSAM and synthetic CSAM, recognizing the potential of these models to harbor and perpetuate abuse. A concerted effort among governmental bodies, the private sector, and academia is imperative to guide the development of generative AI responsibly and ethically.
Graduate Certificate in Security Policy (GCSP)
Building on UC Berkeley’s strengths across multiple departments, the Graduate Certificate in Security Policy (GCSP) prepares masters students to think critically about security policy, focusing on the policy dimension of a wide range of security challenges, including international security, homeland security, cybersecurity, election security, and climate security. The certificate will equip students with the tools and knowledge necessary to engage security dilemmas emerging from, and related to, their domains of academic and professional specialization.
The Certificate in Security Policy is recommended for graduate students who:
- want to incorporate education in security affairs and public policy to their degree programs
- aspire to bridge the gap between advanced academic research and policy application in the arena of security policy
- aspire to careers in government agencies or government-based research, including at the National Labs
The GCSP is hosted by the Goldman School of Public Policy and administered by the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance. Students from any graduate program at UC Berkeley are eligible to pursue the certificate.
Program Benefits
The curriculum is designed to emphasize the transferability of academic research and education to practical purposes. For example, the Certificate’s core class, “Introduction to Security Policy” formulates student assignments as the kind of professional work product that students would be required to produce as policy analysts, advisors, and researchers. The core class concludes with a crisis simulation exercise that gives students “hands on” experience of managing a major crisis. And the core class features a series of guest presenters, including high-profile former public officials, who are able to share with students their experience of public leadership.
Taken as a whole, the curriculum offered as part of the GCSP is practical and practice-oriented, characteristics that will enhance the professional prospects of students who graduate from Berkeley with a Certificate in Security Policy.
BISG Security Policy Certificate awardees as of 12/29/2023
Upcoming Projects
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Global Resilience Project
As an extension of our new partnerships with Taiwan and Ukraine, BISG is launching The Global Resilience Project to bring together the very best thinkers from academia, government, communities, non-profits, philanthropy, and private industry to force multiply and transform our capacity to respond to current global crises and anticipate new ones. It will leverage the core competencies of Berkeley, and the entire University of California, to deliver products and solutions to policymakers, leaders in government, international partners, and the private sector to make the world safer, more prosperous and more resilient in the face of constant change.
TGRP will be guided by four defining principles that will help reshape the role of the country’s top public university in creating a shared understanding of global threats and opportunities, managing and catalyzing change effectively, and preparing tomorrow’s leaders.
TGRP Defining Principles
- Innovation – bold thinking, disruptive collaboration, collective action
- Expertise – lived experience, academic research, and new knowledge
- Rigor & Testing – developing and implementing a Berkeley Model for Resilience
- Understanding the Public – public engagement that demystifies differences, exemplifies common goals, and promotes impactful change through shared experiences
We are currently exploring partnerships with governments and organizations in South Korea, Qatar, and Europe that will broaden BISG’s reach and impact on international security and democracy.
Signature Immersive MPA Security Policy Experience
Under the academic direction of the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP), BISG will manage and oversee the MPA Security Policy Experience, a world class graduate program that will bridge the boundary between public policy and international security studies. Graduate students enrolled in the MPA for Security Studies will engage in security studies curriculum in Berkeley, Washington D.C., and an international location for a robust and rewarding 14-month program that will provide enrollees an environment for ground-breaking and collaborative work at the forefront of international security and public policy. This one year program is designed to benefit mid-career professionals in the public, private, and non profit sectors
The inaugural program will focus its international partnership in the Middle East with future potential partnerships in Asia and Europe.
Government Agency Partnership Initiative
BISG launched its partnership with the FBI in 2023 and will focus on developing similar partnerships with the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop research and academic initiatives that strengthen resilience and help each agency meet Science and Technology priorities. The initiative will foster relationships in each agency to develop programs around the following:
- Government supported Research and Development (R&D) - BISG will act as a tech transfer partner to accelerate the deployment of government supported Research and Development into the commercial marketplace to solve some of today’s most pressing national requirements and align agency objectives with entrepreneurship and the nation’s innovation sector.
- Gap Analysis - BISG will work in partnership with each agency to determine which security challenges should be met in areas such as AI, FinTech, lawful access, internet governance and privacy, connecting each agency with the engineers, scholars, and scientists on campus and across the UC system who can fast track the solving of these problems for the benefit of the American people.
- Talent recruitment - BISG will connect each agency with a diverse generation of UC students interested in public service careers focused on national security.
- Executive education and training for agency leadership and senior management.
Experiential Learning Initiative
With the success of the inaugural Security in Politics D.C. Immersion Week in DC, BISG
will create experiential immersion courses curated to immerse students in the field of security studies in additional locations like Taiwan, South Korea, and Qatar. The immersion courses will be designed for students to gain an understanding of security policy, how national and international security issues are mitigated and handled by security professionals across industries, and how security threats to our democracy and infrastructure can be better managed and addressed across sectors in Washington D.C. and abroad.
Through these immersive training courses students will learn about all aspects of government service in the field of security studies to help them determine how best to utilize their talents and skill sets for the betterment of our country and our global community. With the overwhelming global democracy and security crises taking place across regions in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, these immersive courses will create a pipeline for public service, encouraging students to choose government over Google and dedicate their careers and their immense talents to public service.
Leadership & Staff
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Janet Napolitano
Founder and Faculty Director
Janet Napolitano is a Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Founder and Faculty Director of the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance at UC Berkeley. She served as the twentieth president of the University of California, the nation’s largest public research university with ten campuses, five medical centers, three affiliated national laboratories, and a statewide agriculture and natural resources program.
Prior to joining the University of California, Professor Napolitano served as Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013. She is a former two-term Governor of Arizona, a former Attorney General of Arizona, and a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. Napolitano is the current President of the Truman Scholarship Foundation and serves as a board member for RAND Corporation, VIR Biotechnologies, Zoom, the International Rescue Committee, and the Council on Foreign Relations. She also serves on the Council of the American Law Institute, and the INTEL Government Affairs Advisory Committee. In 2022, President Biden appointed Napolitano to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. In 2019, Napolitano published How Safe Are We? Homeland Security Since 9/11. Professor Napolitano earned her B.S. degree, summa cum laude, in Political Science from Santa Clara University, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia. She is based in Berkeley, CA.
Adrienne Fulk
Executive Director
Adrienne Fulk is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Previously, she served as the Chief Administrative Officer at the University of California, Office of the President, Chief of Staff at UC Berkeley Executive Education, and Assistant Director of the MBA for Executives Program at the Haas School of Business. Prior to working for UC, Adrienne served as the senior aide to Nobel Peace Laureate and humanitarian Elie Wiesel. She has an MA in French Studies from New York University and a BA in English from UC Berkeley.
Angelina K. Soldatos
Assistant Director
Angelina K. Soldatos is the Assistant Director of the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Prior to joining UC, she worked as a political and impact industry consultant. She has extensive experience in government affairs, electoral strategy, and grassroots campaigns. Currently, Angelina is pursuing her MBA at UC Davis and holds a BA in Politics, Economics, Public Policy, and Law from Mills College.
Noah Kroloff
Chief Innovation Officer
Noah Kroloff is a seasoned executive with decades of senior management experience in both the public and private sectors. He serves as Chief Innovation Officer of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Security and Governance and as Principal and Co-Founder of GSIS, a strategic consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC.
Prior to joining the BISG leadership team and founding GSIS, Mr. Kroloff served in multiple leadership positions in state and federal government, including more than four years as Chief of Staff of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2009-2013. In that capacity, he oversaw 240,000 employees, a $60 billion budget and 22 federal agencies. He was the principal advisor to the Secretary on all operational and policy functions of the Department, supervised external affairs, managed DHS’s global footprint and was responsible for coordination between the agency and the White House and National Security Council. Mr. Kroloff also advised the Homeland Security nominee on the Obama-Biden transition team.
In state government, Mr. Kroloff served as Chief Policy Assistant and Deputy Chief of Staff to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano during her first and second terms in office. He left government to manage Governor Napolitano’s successful reelection effort in 2006, establishing new and still unbroken historical benchmarks by leading the first gubernatorial campaign in Arizona history to win every county and legislative district in the state.
Mr. Kroloff was also a speechwriter and Assistant to Arizona Attorney General Napolitano, served as an Aide to the New York State Assembly Speaker and taught junior-high school in the South Bronx as a Teach for America Corps member. He holds a BA from St. John’s College, a JD from Arizona State University College of Law and resides in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
Andrew Reddie
Director, Emerging Technologies and Cybersecurity
Dr. Andrew Reddie is the founder and faculty director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab and is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Cybersecurity at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information where he works on projects related to cybersecurity, nuclear weapons policy, wargaming, and emerging military technologies.
Andrew serves in faculty leadership roles at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Security and Governance, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, and the Berkeley APEC Study Center and is an affiliate at the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. He also serves as the UC Berkeley campus lead for the University of California’s Disaster Resilience Network. He is a Bridging the Gap fellow, a non-resident fellow at the Brute Krulak Center at Marine Corps University, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Previously, Andrew has served in roles at Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, and at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, and was previously a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow.
His work has appeared in Science, the Journal of Peace Research, the Journal of Cyber Policy, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists among other outlets and has been variously supported by the Founder’s Pledge Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, MacArthur Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science and Security Consortium.
Leah Walker
Assistant Director, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
Leah Walker is the Assistant Director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. Her main research focuses at BRSL include emerging defense technologies, nuclear and strategic weapons analysis, and techno-industrial policy and competition.
Prior to BRSL Leah was a Senior Defense Associate at the Institute for Security and Technology, where she conducted research and published on emerging technologies, nuclear crisis control, nuclear command, control, and communications, techno-industrial competition and policy, and media warfare and competition.
Jane Darby Menton
Research Scholar, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
Jane Darby Menton is a Research Scholar at the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, where she works on projects related to nuclear weapons, arms control, and the governance and regulation of emerging technologies. She read a PhD in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge as a Gates Scholar. Her thesis focused on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Prior to Cambridge, she worked as a journalist at Foreign Affairs and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. Jane Darby is a Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum Fellow. She has an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a BA in History and Global Affairs from Yale.
Ritwik Gupta
AI Policy Fellow
Ritwik Gupta is an AI Policy Fellow with the Berkeley Institute for Security and Governance. He is also a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley focused on AI for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response. His research on exploiting multi-modal satellites to understand building damage after disasters, shining a light on illegal fishing operations, and aiding first responders in evacuating in complex situations has been deployed worldwide by hundreds of agencies and governments such as CAL FIRE, the United Nations, the Red Cross, and more. In addition to his academic work, Ritwik serves as the Deputy Technical Director for Autonomy at the Defense Innovation Unit within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role, he works to bring innovative technologies and capabilities into the DoD to support complex mission needs. Prior to joining Berkeley, Ritwik was a principal investigator at Carnegie Mellon University for AI for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response.
Board of Advisors
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Ms. Heidi Avery
Heidi Avery is a career national security professional who previously served as a member of the White House National Security Council staff under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, including several years commissioned as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. Ms. Avery also served as Chief of Staff, National Counterterrorism Center, including in its original formation as the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. Ms. Avery has received numerous awards for her public service as a national security official including the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive.
Hon. Eduardo Bours
From 1992 to 1994, Eduardo Bours was President of the Consejo Nacional Agropecuario, CNA (the National Agricultural Council), the leading organization of Mexico’s agricultural sector. During his tenure, he coordinated, on behalf of the private sector, the negotiations for the agricultural chapter of the North America Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, with the United States and Canada.
From 1995 to 1997, he was the General Coordinator of the Unidad Coordinadora para el Acuerdo Bancario Empresarial, UCABE (the Coordinating Unit for the Banking and Business Agreement), a post created by the Mexican Federal Government and the Mexican Banking Association, to handle the financial restructuring of the largest Mexican companies that were in the middle of a crisis, helping in the salvage of more than 80 business groups, with an accumulated debt of 10 billion dollars.
From 1997 to 1999, he was the President of the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, CCE (the Business Council), the leading organization for Mexico’s private sector.
From 2000 to 2002, he was a Senator for his native State of Sonora, post that he left, in order to obtain the candidacy for the Governorship of the State of Sonora, also with the PRI political party.
In July 2003, he was elected Governor of the State of Sonora, a post he held from September 2003 until September 2009. Among his many successes, he increased citizen participation in his administration, as well as increasing both human and infrastructure investments by more than 100 percent.
He has the distinction of being named one of “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” at the Davos Economic Forum, in Switzerland. He has also been selected as one of the 100 men from the Mexican transition.
Ms. Sarah Chamberlain
Sarah Chamberlain’s passion for pragmatic politics and women’s engagement drives her to wear many hats. As President and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership, Sarah runs an organization that supports the governing wing of the Republican Party in Congress. She is the only woman in the country who’s the CEO of a major Republican organization. Additionally, as the President and Founder of the Women2Women National Conversation Tour, Sarah has become one of the most prominent national voices calling for women to raise their voices on issues that matter most to them while educating them on how decisions being made for the country are affecting their own lives.
Born in upstate New York, she received her undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Delaware and received her master’s degree from the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. From there, she came to Washington, D.C. to work for Republican Main Street Partnership and its founder Rep. Amory Houghton Jr., a former CEO of the Corning Glass Company and six-term member of Congress. Sarah has since built the Republican Main Street Partnership from the fledgling organization founded in 1997 into a thriving network of over 50 Members of Congress who share Sarah’s commitment to conservative, solution-oriented governing.
Sarah serves on the Board of Directors of the Women Campaign School at Yale University, is a National Capital Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and sits on the Wall Street Journal CEO Council. Her written work has been featured in the Washington Post, The Hill, U.S. News & World Report, and she is a contributor for Forbes. Sarah was chosen by CQ Roll Call as a 2017 Rising Star and was featured as one of Elle Magazine’s 10 Women in Washington in 2017.
Hon. Kevin Johnson
Kevin M. Johnson currently serves as the General Partner of the Black Capital Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in black and underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Prior to his role with Black Capital, Johnson served as the two-term mayor of Sacramento, where he led the effort to keep the Sacramento Kings from relocating by assembling a new ownership group, raising $535 million to purchase the team, and developing the Golden 1 Center. The new arena has catalyzed a $1.5 billion investment in the downtown core and was financed through innovative uses of public resources without raising taxes. He also served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Founding President of the African American Mayors Association.
Before taking public office, Johnson served as CEO of St. HOPE, a community development corporation focused on education and economic development in under-resourced communities. Prior to his business career, Johnson played 12 years in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns, garnering All-Star status three times.
Ms. Marie O’Neill Sciarrone
Marie O’Neill “Neill” Sciarrone is the CEO of Tribal Tech, LLC and its subsidiary, Cowan & Associates, Inc. Tribal Tech is an American Indian, SBA 8(m), woman-owned small business (WOSB) that provides management and technical services to federal, state, tribal and corporate clients.
Ms. Sciarrone is an executive leader and successful entrepreneur with over two decades of public and private sector technology, defense, and national security experience. She is Co-Founder and former President of Trinity Cyber, Inc., and previously served as a senior executive at BAE Systems, Inc. where she developed and evaluated growth strategies in emerging technologies for the U.S. corporate business, led strategy and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for their intelligence and security business, was a business development executive, and led the cyber and information sharing profit and loss (P&L) for a mid-sized technology firm, acquired by BAE.
Prior to her private sector career, Ms. Sciarrone was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Policy. In this capacity, she led the Administration’s efforts on cybersecurity, information sharing, and critical infrastructure policy. This included developing and implementing national policies and programs for critical homeland and national security issues. Ms. Sciarrone was the principal author and coordinator of both the U.S. Government’s cybersecurity and information sharing directives, policies, and national strategies. She also held key roles for the White House Homeland Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Commerce.
Ms. Sciarrone serves on multiple non-profit Boards including the Board of S2MARTS and the Silverado Strategic Council. She has been recognized as an inaugural Presidential Leadership Scholar and was named one of the “Top 10 Women Power Players in Cybersecurity” by SC magazine in 2015. Ms. Sciarrone is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
Mr. Pete Pflugrath
With more than 30 years’ experience delivering advanced research and development solutions and ready-to-field systems, Pete has supported defense, intelligence, law enforcement, and healthcare missions across the federal government. He established and managed a federal law enforcement agency’s largest biometric and forensic laboratory. As a logistics subject matter expert, he deployed in support of U.S. military operations to include Operation Desert Storm (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), and Operation Enduring Freedom (Bosnia). Pete’s work was recognized and awarded “Best Fielded Artificial Intelligence System in the Department of Defense (DoD)” by the National Defense Industrial Association and “Best Information Sharing Application in DoD” by the DoD Office of the Chief Information Officer.
Pete holds a bachelor’s in computer science from the College of William & Mary and a master’s in software engineering from George Mason University. He served for many years as co-chair of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation Technical Committee and served on various expert panels focused on technology and society.
Ms. Stephanie Schriock
Called a transformational leader, Stephanie Schriock has run: a major national organization that dramatically changed the American political landscape; successfully managed and advised countless high-stakes competitive political campaigns; and counseled CEOs, candidates and national, state and local office holders.
Most recently, Stephanie Schriock served for 11 years as President of EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics. During her tenure, EMILY’s List raised more than $460 million for the organization and its candidates and spent $160 million in independent expenditures. With Stephanie at the helm, EMILY’s List endorsed more than 1,800 women, elected nearly 1,000 up and down the ballot, and trained more than 14,000.
As the EMILY’s List President, Stephanie doubled – and then doubled twice again – the organization’s digital footprint. She expanded EMILY’s List’s state and local training programs, including its online Training Center, and the creation of Run to Win, its national recruitment and training campaign. Stephanie and Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List Vice President of Communications, recently authored the book Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World, which serves as a leadership guide for running for office or leading an organization.
Originally hailing from the mining town of Butte, Montana, Stephanie has been electing Democrats for more than 20 years. In 2004, she served as the national finance director for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, where she was at the center of the team that created the online fundraising model that ushered in the era of digital fundraising, laying the groundwork for the future campaigns of President Barack Obama, Secretary Hillary Clinton, and President Joe Biden’s presidential campaigns.
In 2006, Stephanie returned to her home state of Montana to serve as Senator Jon Tester’s campaign manager, and after helping Democrats take back the Senate, served as his chief of staff. In 2008, she joined Al Franken’s Senate campaign as his campaign manager, leading the campaign to Election Day and then solidifying her reputation as a major force in Democratic politics by successfully managing the eight-month recount and legal fight that followed. Called “one of the absolute stars of American politics now,” Stephanie has also been named by ELLE Magazine to its “10 Most Powerful Women in Washington” list.
Hon. Greg Walden
As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for 20 of his 22 years in the House, he led legislative efforts in telecommunications and spectrum issues; energy grid security and reliability; confronting the opioids epidemic and expanding access to affordable health care.
His colleagues twice elected him to lead the National Republican Congressional Committee, the national campaign arm of the U.S. House GOP, where under his leadership House Republicans attained their largest back-to-back majorities in history.
Before his election to Congress, Walden served eight years in the Oregon House and Senate, where his state House GOP colleagues twice elected him Majority Leader.
Walden and his wife, Mylene, owned and operated radio stations in Oregon for more than two decades. He served on the local community hospital board and on the board of a community bank.
He is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism.
Currently, he and his wife own MSW Communications, and he serves on advisory boards working on innovative solutions to climate change, and advancements in health care. Recently he was named chairman of Alpine Advisors, a Washington, D.C. based strategy consulting firm.
Hon. Douglas B. Wilson
Doug Wilson’s 40-year career in foreign policy, national security, politics and communications strategy has spanned both the public and private sectors. As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs during President Obama’s first term, he headed the largest government communications operation in the world. He played a key role in the repeal of “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” legislation, and has three times been awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Pentagon’s highest civilian honor.
A native of Tucson, Arizona and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Mr. Wilson previously served as Board Member and Executive Vice President of the Howard Gilman Foundation, overseeing the development and implementation of the Foundation’s domestic and international policy programs at White Oak. He is a co-founder of the White Oak collaborative on veteran and military family issues.
Mr. Wilson is also the former President of The Leaders Project, the decade-long global successor generation leadership initiative which he co-founded in 2001 with former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen. The series included seminal successor-generation leadership conferences on India, Russia, the Pacific Rim, Pakistan, Europe, Islamic societies, women as leaders of change, public diplomacy, international development assistance and military families.
Doug has been a senior communications strategist for Microsoft and Boeing; a US foreign service officer in Italy and the UK; the national political director of the Democratic Leadership Council; Congressional Director at the US Information Agency; senior foreign policy advisor to presidential candidates Gary Hart and Pete Buttigieg; and led the 1996 Democratic presidential campaign victory in Arizona, the first time Democrats had won that state since Truman in 1948. He is the co-founder of Vets’ Community Connections, a national initiative to involve more Americans from all walks of life in veteran and military family community reintegration.
Annual Report 2024 |
