US-Iranian Strategic Competition Post-Soleimani: Buffers and Drivers of Escalation

January 2020 No Comments

“US-Iranian Strategic Competition Post-Soleimani: Buffers and Drivers of Escalation” Speaker: Ben Taleblu, B. (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Date: 28 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Behnam Ben Taleblu (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. Mr. Ben Taleblu began his presentation by stating that those who saw a vector […]

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Blood and Robots: How Remotely Piloted Vehicles and Related Technologies Affect the Politics of Violence

January 2020 No Comments

“Blood and Robots: How Remotely Piloted Vehicles and Related Technologies Affect the Politics of Violence“ Speaker: Gartzke, E. (University of California, San Diego) Date: 17 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Erik Gartzke (University of California, San Diego) as a part of its SMA DHS CAOE Speaker Series. Dr. Gartzke’s presentation focused on emerging technologies and how they […]

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Hypersonic Weapons and Strategic Stability

January 2020 No Comments

“Hypersonic Weapons and Strategic Stability” Speaker: Wilkening, D. (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Date: 15 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Dean Wilkening (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory) as a part of its SMA STRATCOM Academic Alliance Speaker Series. During his brief, Dr. Wilkening spoke about hypersonic weapons, crisis instability, and arms race instability. He began […]

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Iraqi Stability and the Impacts of Recent US-Iranian Tensions

January 2020 No Comments

“Iraqi Stability and the Impacts of Recent US-Iranian Tensions“ Speaker: van den Toorn (Iraq Fund for Higher Education (IFHE)) Date: 14 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Ms. Christine van den Toorn (Iraq Fund for Higher Education (IFHE)) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. Ms. van den Toorn’s presentation focused on Iraqi stability and […]

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Antecedents of Organizational Sophistication in Violent Non-State Actors in the USCENTCOM AOR

January 2020 No Comments

“Antecedents of Organizational Sophistication in Violent Non-State Actors in the USCENTCOM AOR” Speaker: Logan, M. (University of Nebraska, Omaha) Date: 10 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Michael Logan (University of Nebraska, Omaha) as a part of its SMA DHS CAOE Speaker Series. Mr. Logan’s presentation focused on his dissertation, wherein he measured the organizational sophistication of 280 […]

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Are They “Ticking Time Bombs?” Children and Terrorism

January 2020 No Comments

Speaker: Dr. Mia Bloom (Georgia State University) Date: 9 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Mia Bloom (Georgia State University) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. During her brief, Dr. Bloom spoke about the roles of women and children in terrorist networks. She explained that each terrorist group’s methods of exploiting women and […]

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Russian “Trojan Horses” and Fellow Travelers: Destabilization in German-speaking and East Central Europe (GS-ECE)

January 2020 No Comments

“Russian ‘Trojan Horses’ and Fellow Travelers: Destabilization in German-speaking and East Central Europe (GS-ECE)“ Speaker: Dorondo, D. (Western Carolina University) Date: 7 January 2020 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. David Dorondo (Western Carolina University) as a part of its Future of Global Competition & Conflict Speaker Series. Dr. Dorondo began by stating that “Trojan Horses” and “fellow […]

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The Drivers of Grievance and Unrest in the World’s Populations: Understanding Instability, Terrorism, and Migration

December 2019 No Comments

Speaker: Dr. Lawrence Kuznar (NSI, Inc.) Date: 20 December 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Lawrence Kuznar (NSI, Inc.) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM Speaker Series. During his presentation, Dr. Kuznar discussed his team’s findings regarding the drivers of grievance and unrest among the world’s populations, particularly as they relate to […]

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Don’t Believe Your Eyes (Or Ears): The Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deepfakes

December 2019 No Comments

“Don’t Believe Your Eyes (Or Ears): The Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deepfakes” Speaker: Littell, J. (Duke University) Date: 17 December 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by CPT Joseph Littell (Duke University) as a part of its SMA General Speaker Series. CPT Littell’s brief focused on deepfakes, visual and audio manipulation, forgery, and data poisoning. To begin, […]

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Contextualizing the Gray Rhino: The Central American “Cycle of Violence” as a Catalyst to Migration

December 2019 No Comments

“Contextualizing the Gray Rhino: The Central American ‘Cycle of Violence’ as a Catalyst to Migration“ Speaker: Cooley, S. (Oklahoma State University) Date: 13 December 2019 Speaker Session Preview SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Skye Cooley (Oklahoma State University) as a part of its SMA DHS CAOE Speaker Series. During his presentation, Dr. Cooley discussed his and his colleague, Dr. […]

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