Columbia Institute of Global Politics

Columbia Institute of Global Politics Connecting leaders & scholars, driving policy change, tackling the world's biggest challenges.

Sarah O’Connell MIA ’26 just graduated from Columbia | SIPA and wrapped up her year as an IGP Student Scholar. We asked ...
06/04/2026

Sarah O’Connell MIA ’26 just graduated from Columbia | SIPA and wrapped up her year as an IGP Student Scholar. We asked her about her scholar experience during the 2025-26 school year:

🌐 What’s a memorable moment from the past year as an IGP student scholar?
I have two. The first was the media training workshop I attended with Karine Jean-Pierre. It was such an incredibly personalized and beneficial experience for me, and the fact that Karine was so generous with her time and feedback meant a lot. At the end of the workshop she reminded us to not lose sight of our original aspirations. Those words really stuck with me as I navigated my next steps and helped me hold on to my clarity of mission.

Next is all the IGP office hours. I am especially grateful to Avril Haines and Mary Kay Henry for their time and advice. Through Mary Kay I was also able to participate in the Workers and Democracy Group discussions, a series of meetings where we went over texts and heard from labor rights activists on how to build coalitions. I hope to keep participating in these conversations and take back what I’ve learned to my own community.

🌐 How do you think being a part of IGP will help you in your future career?
What has been most invaluable about this experience is getting to learn from people who are working on the same policy issues I am. Coming to SIPA with several years of work experience, I knew what I wanted to do next, but I didn’t know how to get there or where to start. IGP helped serve as that bridge and made my goals achievable. I formed connections and mentorships that I will hold onto as I begin the next chapter of my career.

🌐 What lessons/skills did you learn through the IGP student scholars program?
Being a part of IGP gave me the chance to conduct research, to receive actionable guidance and career advice from experts, and to learn from other student scholars, all of whom are going on to do amazing things. IGP also allowed us to build our skills and to test them through simulations and negotiating exercises led by people who have lived these experiences.

🌐 What’s next for Sarah? After graduation, she will be working as a seasonal fellow at GovAI in DC, researching emerging security threats from AI and cyber.

Last month, Carnegie Distinguished Fellow Secretary and Affiliated Faculty Member Ambassador Victoria Nuland teamed up...
06/03/2026

Last month, Carnegie Distinguished Fellow Secretary and Affiliated Faculty Member Ambassador Victoria Nuland teamed up to debate against the University of Chicago’s John Mearsheimer and Harvard Kennedy School’s Stephen Walt in the on foreign wars. Together, they argued against the motion “Be it resolved, don’t go hunting monsters.”

The process of selecting the next Secretary General of the is about to unfold. Last month, welcomed to lead a simulat...
05/19/2026

The process of selecting the next Secretary General of the is about to unfold. Last month, welcomed to lead a simulation of the UNSG election with our Student Scholars. Jeremić is president of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly and a former candidate for secretary-general.

The simulation recreated the rules and procedures that will soon take place at United Nations Headquarters. Students either role-played candidates or representatives from UNSC member states. Each participant was provided with candidate profiles, as well as a confidential briefing package outlining their assigned member state’s position.

After repeated rounds of voting and discussions between the P5 and the candidates, a secretary-general was ultimately elected: María Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly, with 13 votes in favor, two abstentions, and no votes against.

On Wednesday, May 20, two members of the Columbia IGP team will participate in The Munk Debate on foreign wars. Arguing ...
05/19/2026

On Wednesday, May 20, two members of the Columbia IGP team will participate in The Munk Debate on foreign wars.

Arguing against the motion, “Be it Resolved, don't go hunting monsters” is IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow, Secretary Mike Pompeo and IGP Faculty Advisory Board Member and Columbia | SIPA Professor, Ambassador Victoria Nuland. They will debate against the University of Chicago’s John Mearsheimer and Harvard Kennedy School’s Stephen Walt.

Get info on ticketing and livestream via The Munk Debates: https://munkdebates.com/debates/foreign-wars-debate/

05/18/2026

President Trump’s summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14-15 marks the first presidential visit to China since 2017. The meeting raises critical questions about what the summit will deliver, what it will defer, and what it means for the future of US-China relations.

Join Columbia SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics for a Rapid Response webinar on Trump’s trip to Beijing and the evolution of US-China relations under the second Trump administration.

A panel of leading experts will take stock of the summit and situate it within the broader currents shaping the relationship: trade and economic relations, energy security amid the war with Iran, the prospects for peace and security across the Taiwan Strait, and other pressing issues.

Speakers:

Thomas J. Christensen, James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations and IGP Affiliated Faculty Member at Columbia SIPA; Pritzker Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Erica Downs, Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA

Julian Gewirtz, IGP Senior Research Scholar at Columbia SIPA; former Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the US National Security Council; author of Never Turn Back

Matt Turpin, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution; former Director for China at the US National Security Council

Zongyuan Liu (moderator), IGP Senior Research Scholar at Columbia SIPA; author of Sovereign Funds

Celebrity deepfakes are being used in scams all over the world, costing victims billions of dollars and sowing greater p...
05/14/2026

Celebrity deepfakes are being used in scams all over the world, costing victims billions of dollars and sowing greater public distrust.

New research from Columbia | SIPA on AI deepfakes & financial fraud and the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s forthcoming work on Medicare scams targeting older Americans show a broader pattern: scammers are using social media advertising and platform targeting tools to reach vulnerable people.

Last month, AI experts, practitioners, and lawmakers joined us to discuss the growing threat of AI-enabled scams and platform-driven fraud. Panelists connected the research findings to ongoing policy developments in New York, where state lawmakers have introduced legislation to protect users from platform-enabled fraud and prevent AI-generated content from being misused in scams, deep fakes, and other impersonation schemes.

Thank you to our speakers for joining us and sharing their insights:
🌐 New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores
🌐 New York State Senator Leroy Comrie
🌐 Rebecca Damon, SAG-AFTRA
🌐 Dr. Alice Marwick, Data & Society Research Institute
🌐 Sarah O'Quinn, Center for Countering Digital Hate
🌐 Dr. Anya Schiffrin, Columbia SIPA / Columbia IGP
🌐 Imran Ahmed, Founder and CEO, Center for Countering Digital Hate

05/13/2026

“Young people are uniquely positioned to play key roles in both peacebuilding and peacemaking.”

Columbia | SIPA student Anoushka Joshi MPA ’27 during this year’s State of the World Conference: The UN We Must Aspire To.

Watch the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDI1Z9fIghM

NEWS: The Columbia Institute of Global Politics and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy Task Force on th...
05/12/2026

NEWS: The Columbia Institute of Global Politics and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy Task Force on the Future of Foreign Assistance is focused on assessing the strategic rationale for US foreign assistance, reframing policy objectives, and developing actionable recommendations for a new era of global competition.

The task force is led by Secretary Jacob J. Lew, Alice Albright, David M. Satterfield, and Sonali Korde and brings together senior leaders and subject matter experts representing a broad ideological spectrum.

Read more: https://igp.sipa.columbia.edu/news/columbia-sipas-institute-global-politics-and-rice-universitys-baker-institute-public-policy

Columbia | SIPA Columbia University Rice University

Career Chat 💬 with Columbia IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow, Alice Albright MIA ’85! As a Columbia | SIPA alum with ov...
05/08/2026

Career Chat 💬 with Columbia IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow, Alice Albright MIA ’85!

As a Columbia | SIPA alum with over 30 years of international experience in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors – working across international development, global health, education, and innovative finance – Alice had a wealth of experience and advice to share with these students.

Child marriage is not only a human rights violation—it’s also an economic issue. New analysis from the Center for Global...
05/06/2026

Child marriage is not only a human rights violation—it’s also an economic issue. New analysis from the Center for Global Development featured in Columbia IGP’s report, Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage, reveals that the costs of inaction on child marriage amount to up to $175 billion per year.

Center for Global Development, Columbia IGP, and the World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab recently hosted an event to explore this new research and the concrete actions that countries, funders, and communities can take to end child marriage.

IGP Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative Director Rachel Vogelstein moderated the dynamic discussion featuring voices from across the international development community: Mustapha Alkali, Laxman Belbase, Anju Malhotra, and Kakenya Ntaiya. With remarks from Rachel Glennerster, Kehinde Ajayi, and Rachael Pierotti.

Read the report here:https://igp.sipa.columbia.edu/sites/igp/files/2026-03/Accelerating%20Efforts%20to%20End%20Child%20Marriage.pdf

Address

420 West 118th Street
New York, NY
10027

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Columbia Institute of Global Politics posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Columbia Institute of Global Politics:

Shortcuts

Share

Category