Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies

Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies PIIRS is Princeton University’s center for research, learning and dialogue on world cultures and g

Established in 2003, the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) is Princeton University’s international and regional studies center — promoting research, learning and dialogue on world cultures and issues of global importance. The Institute provides funding and support for a wide range of programs and activities aimed at advancing understanding of international issues i

n global, comparative, societal and cultural perspectives and at fostering sustained interdisciplinary conversation in international and regional studies among Princeton faculty and students. Throughout the year, PIIRS organizes hundreds of lectures, conferences and workshops aimed at strengthening the study of cultures, economies, politics and societies throughout the world. The Institute serves as a point of integration and joint activity across of the University’s international and regional studies programs. A number of PIIRS programs offer Princeton students the opportunity to earn an undergraduate certificate and develop expertise on a particular world region or global topic. PIIRS offers the popular Global Seminar Program (six-week experiential learning courses taught by Princeton faculty in various locations around the world) and an Undergraduate Fellows Program that funds students’ summer research abroad for their senior thesis. PIIRS provides funding to Princeton doctoral students for field research and language study abroad and supports an interdisciplinary group of advanced doctoral students through its Graduate Fellows Program. Through its Research Communities initiative, PIIRS provides funding to groups of Princeton faculty in support of research, teaching and scholarly dialogue around a broad theme that cuts across disciplines and world regions. It also provides funding and support for research centers (such as its Center on Contemporary China) and numerous other research initiatives that serve to improve understanding of world cultures and promote knowledge about issues of global concern. PIIRS is the sponsoring institution for World Politics, one of the world’s premier journals in international relations and comparative politics. It operates several programs for visiting scholars, including the Fung Global Fellows Program, which brings six exceptional, early-career faculty from abroad to Princeton for a year of research, writing and collaboration around a common theme. PIIRS activities are open to all Princeton faculty and students. The Institute counts among its faculty associates more than 180 scholars from more than 25 departments in Princeton and is governed by an Executive Committee drawn from its faculty associates.

Congratulations to Princeton’s Class of 2026! PIIRS celebrated seniors who earned minors and certificates in African Stu...
05/29/2026

Congratulations to Princeton’s Class of 2026! PIIRS celebrated seniors who earned minors and certificates in African Studies; Contemporary European Politics and Society; Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies; South Asian Studies; and Translation and Intercultural Communication.

Program directors and PIIRS staff also awarded senior thesis prizes to: Uma Fox (South Asian studies), Navani Rachumallu (South Asian studies), Brian Mhando (African studies), Mia Sampson (African studies) and Anne Xu (Translation).

📸: Adena Stevens

PIIRS event is this Friday! Join us at 3:30 p.m. in Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room A71 for “America, Qu...
05/20/2026

PIIRS event is this Friday! Join us at 3:30 p.m. in Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room A71 for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in an Uncertain World.” At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world felt more open or more urgent. As the United States reconsiders its commitments to allies, institutions and the international order it helped build, the consequences are far-reaching and uncertain. Join Princeton faculty and alumni for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where America is headed and what it means for the rest of the world.

In the meantime, learn more about our panelists. Zaid Al-Ali is an independent scholar and a lawyer. He specializes in constitutional negotiations, peace negotiations and commercial arbitration. His primary field of academic interest is comparative constitutional law and constitutional negotiations in Arab-majority countries. He is widely considered to be among the leading experts on Iraq, on Arab constitutions, and on conflict dynamics in the Arab region. He has published widely on comparative constitutional law and on Iraq.

PIIRS event is this Friday! Join us at 3:30 p.m. in Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room A71 for “America, Qu...
05/19/2026

PIIRS event is this Friday! Join us at 3:30 p.m. in Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room A71 for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in an Uncertain World.” At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world felt more open or more urgent. As the United States reconsiders its commitments to allies, institutions and the international order it helped build, the consequences are far-reaching and uncertain. Join Princeton faculty and alumni for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where America is headed and what it means for the rest of the world.

In the meantime, learn more about our panelists. Rory Truex ‘07 is an associate professor in Princeton’s Department of Politics and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. His research focuses on Chinese politics and theories of authoritarian rule. His book “Making Autocracy Work: Representation and Responsiveness in Modern China” investigates the nature of representation in authoritarian systems, specifically the politics surrounding China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), and argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is engineering a system of “representation within bounds” in the NPC, fostering information revelation but silencing political activism. He is currently working on a new set of projects on repression, human rights, and dissent in contemporary China.

Ready for ? Join PIIRS on Friday, May 22 at 3:30 p.m. for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in an Unce...
05/18/2026

Ready for ? Join PIIRS on Friday, May 22 at 3:30 p.m. for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in an Uncertain World.” At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world felt more open or more urgent. As the United States reconsiders its commitments to allies, institutions and the international order it helped build, the consequences are far-reaching and uncertain. Join Princeton faculty and alumni for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where America is headed and what it means for the rest of the world.

In the meantime, learn more about our panelists. Michael O’Hanlon *82 ‘91 is the inaugural holder of the Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy and director of research in the Foreign Policy program at The Brookings Institution, where he specializes in U.S. defense strategy and budgets, the use of military force, and American national security policy. He is a senior fellow and directs the Strobe Talbott Center on Security, Strategy, and Technology. He co-directs the Africa Security Initiative as well. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and Columbia University.

is just days away! Join PIIRS on Friday, May 22 at 3:30 p.m. for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in...
05/15/2026

is just days away! Join PIIRS on Friday, May 22 at 3:30 p.m. for “America, Quo Vadis? The Future of U.S. Engagement in an Uncertain World.” At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world felt more open or more urgent. As the United States reconsiders its commitments to allies, institutions and the international order it helped build, the consequences are far-reaching and uncertain. Join Princeton faculty and alumni for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where America is headed and what it means for the rest of the world.

In the meantime, learn more about our panelists. Adela Raz served as the last Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States. She is the director of the Afghanistan Policy Lab, an Afghanistan-focused policy institute. The lab is a joint venture between Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination.

On Friday, April 24, the Global Japan Lab (GJL) hosted the interdisciplinary symposium, “Declining Birth Rates and Popul...
05/14/2026

On Friday, April 24, the Global Japan Lab (GJL) hosted the interdisciplinary symposium, “Declining Birth Rates and Population Change: Lessons from Japan and Beyond,” which brought together scholars from multiple fields to place Japan’s demographic challenges in conversation with broader global trends.

Experts agreed that, while the trend toward very low fertility is widespread, countries are experiencing demographic change in distinct ways shaped by their social, political and economic contexts. There is much that other countries can learn from the Japanese experience, just as there is much that Japan can learn from demographic developments and policy responses elsewhere. By placing these cases in a comparative perspective, the symposium aimed to foster a nuanced and globally informed conversation about population change.

Read more at gjl.princeton.edu.

Save the date for PIIRS’s !At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world fe...
05/07/2026

Save the date for PIIRS’s !

At no point since the end of the Cold War has the question of America’s role in the world felt more open or more urgent. As the United States reconsiders its commitments to allies, institutions and the international order it helped build, the consequences are far-reaching and uncertain.

Join Princeton faculty and alumni — Zaid Al-Ali, Michael O’Hanlon *82 ‘91, Adela Raz, and Rory Truex ‘07 — for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where America is headed and what it means for the rest of the world. The panel will be moderated by Trisha Craig, PIIRS’s executive director.

The annual Cyril Black International Book Forum brought Allison Carnegie, professor of political science at Columbia Uni...
05/07/2026

The annual Cyril Black International Book Forum brought Allison Carnegie, professor of political science at Columbia University, to PIIRS in April for a timely conversation on her latest book, “Global Governance Under Fire: How International Organizations Resist the Populist Wave,” co-authored with Richard Clark, assistant professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.

She explored three questions: Do populist governments target international organizations? Can those organizations push back, and if so, how? And what are the implications for global governance?

A lively and thought-provoking exchange followed.

The University Center for Human Values is accepting submissions for the 2025-26 Short Movie Prize, offering a grand priz...
04/29/2026

The University Center for Human Values is accepting submissions for the 2025-26 Short Movie Prize, offering a grand prize of $1,000 for the best short film. Honorable mentions may also be awarded a prize of $250.

The competition is open to all Princeton University undergraduates. Submit your short film by Friday, May 8, 2026 for a chance to win.

For complete details on how to submit your film, including requirements and guidelines, please visit https://uchv.princeton.edu/fellowships-funding/undergraduate/short-movie-prize.

Princeton undergraduates: This fall, learn Ge’ez, Swahili or Twi and meet the language requirements for the PIIRS Global...
04/29/2026

Princeton undergraduates: This fall, learn Ge’ez, Swahili or Twi and meet the language requirements for the PIIRS Global Minor in African Studies (AFS)! The minor brings together students to explore Africa’s peoples, environments, histories, cultures and contemporary dynamics. AFS is a vibrant intellectual community where students from any major engage with Africa academically and socially through courses, language study, research opportunities, cultural events, study abroad and student groups.

Learn more at 🔗 in bio.

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Thursday 8:45am - 5pm

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