In an age of cyberattacks and human trafficking, Russia’s “little green men” in Crimea, and the black-flag legions of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, it is clear that the security challenges facing the world are increasingly complex and varied. The NYU School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS) Center for Global Affairs (CGA) has long been dedicated to understanding and to predicting non-traditional and new security threats, as well as to exploring responses to these challenges. The Initiative for the Study of Emerging Threats (ISET) both reflects and extends this mission.
ISET is led by Dr. Mary Beth Altier, director of the transnational security concentration within CGA’s MS in Global Affairs (MSGA). The Initiative brings together research by faculty members, students, and affiliates of the program who consider what challenges may be lurking just over the horizon, and how we can best prepare for them.
Key themes that ISET addresses include:
- The changing face of war and its growing overlap with terrorism and insurgency
- Information warfare and subversion
- Cybercrime, cyberwar, and cyberterrorism
- Radicalization, recruitment, and rehabilitation of terrorists and foreign fighters
- Transnational crime, including the trafficking of drugs, people, and weapons; and financial crime and money laundering
- Corruption, especially as it impacts aid, development, and governance
- Energy, climate change, and resource scarcity
ISET publishes peer-reviewed articles and books, which are authored by faculty members, students, and affiliates on these themes; holds and publicizes public events; publishes timely responses and commentarieson breaking security news; and supports CGA’s mission in developing and disseminating the knowledge and the skills needed to address the challenges of the future through the practical education provided by the MS in Global Affairs.