Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology

CMU's Home for Political Science and International Relations

CMIST logo

CMU's home for Political Science and International Relations, CMIST is an interdisciplinary institute that works across Carnegie Mellon University to tackle the risks and benefits of emerging technologies in war and peace.

Academics

Academics

Tech & Policy

Tech & Policy

Washington Center

Washington Center
The Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology, or "CMIST," is a university-wide initiative dedicated to the wise development, use and governance of new and emerging technologies that are changing war and peace.  The home for Carnegie Mellon University’s study of Political Science and International Relations, CMIST is uniquely poised to take advantage of the university’s strengths in computer science and engineering, and its distinctive tradition of cross-university, cross-disciplinary research.  Focused on questions of power and governance, CMIST builds new frameworks for managing global and national security challenges.
slideshow image- US Germany event
slideshow image- US Germany event
slideshow image- CMIST Politics and Pie event
slideshow image- CMIST Politics and Pie event
slideshow image- Baruch Fischhoff book release event
slideshow image- Baruch Fischhoff book release event
slideshow image- Lawfully Speaking event with Lala Qadir
slideshow image- Lawfully Speaking event with Lala Qadir
slideshow image- Professional development with Prof. Bartos
slideshow image- Professional development with Prof. Bartos
slideshow image- Scientists and Strategists with Laura Richardson and Paula Bogantes Zamora
slideshow image- Scientists and Strategists with Laura Richardson and Paula Bogantes Zamora
slideshow image- harnessing innovation white paper release
slideshow image- harnessing innovation white paper release
slideshow image- Prof. Cervas class with guest speaker Jonathan Lai
slideshow image- Prof. Cervas class with guest speaker Jonathan Lai
slideshow image- Friedman Fellows White House Tour in Washington DC
slideshow image- Friedman Fellows White House Tour in Washington DC
slideshow image- Scientists and Strategists with Mieke Eying and Greg Touhill
slideshow image- Scientists and Strategists with Mieke Eying and Greg Touhill
slideshow image- Passport to Dietrich event
slideshow image- Passport to Dietrich event
2025 Diploma Ceremony
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At CMIST we address the challenges of new and emerging technologies through a political science lens.

2024-2025 Annual Report

The Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) has released its 2024–2025 Annual Report. This document captures the Institute's progress in its second year, following a year of new beginnings. The report showcases accelerated momentum, expanding research, and deepened impact throughout the 2024–2025 academic year. Explore the work of our dedicated community and discover how CMIST is making a difference.

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2024-2025 Annual Report

2024-2025 CMIST Annual Report

Recent Work

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Securing the Race for AI
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Agents of Change

 

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Historical Analogies and Public Support for Foreign Policy Action

Historical Analogies and Public Support for Foreign Policy Action

By Christopher Blair, Paul Lendway, and Joshua A. Schwartz

Beyond Threats: How Allies and Bureaucratic Competition Shape the Initial Development of Military Cyber Capabilities

Beyond Threats: How Allies and Bureaucratic Competition Shape the Initial Development of Military Cyber Capabilities

By Nadiya Kostyuk

Taiwan: Democratic David in 21st Century East Asia

Taiwan: Democratic David in 21st Century East Asia

By John Chin and Staten Rector

The Conversation

AI Agents Arrived in 2025 – Here’s What Happened and the Challenges Ahead in 2026

AI Agents Arrived in 2025 – Here’s What Happened and the Challenges Ahead in 2026

By Thomas Şerban von Davier

Small Wars Journal

The Waiting Game: Signposts of Russia’s Coming Failure in Africa

The Waiting Game: Signposts of Russia’s Coming Failure in Africa

By John Chin, Haleigh Bartos, and Aleksaundra Handrinos

Congressional Testimony

Testimony of Harry Krejsa, CMIST, before The House Energy & Commerce Committee

Testimony of Harry Krejsa, CMIST, Before The House Energy & Commerce Committee

Harry Krejsa

Modern War Institute

What Happened to Transnational Terrorism?

What Happened to Transnational Terrorism?

By Haleigh Bartos and Sydney Laite

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Joshua Schwartz and Paul Lendway: Is Venezuela Iraq or Panama? Failure or success?

Is Venezuela Iraq or Panama? Failure or success?

By Joshua Schwartz and Paul Lendway

Breaking Defense

Emerging tech, allies and the NPOR flexibility we need

Emerging Tech, Allies and the NPOR Flexibility We Need

By Jamie Morgan

Team of Teams

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CMIST is a team of teams that works with cutting-edge Carnegie Mellon University research units, including the School of Computer Science, Cy-Lab, the Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center, Heinz College, the Block Center, Dietrich College, the Software Engineering Institute, the Tepper School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Engineering and Public Policy program. And CMIST’s home for its vibrant political science graduate and undergraduate academic programs is the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Public Engagements

Spring 2026 Event Term Card
Date
Event
Speaker(s)
Thurs, 03/12/2026
5pm
 Lawfully Speaking - The Double Black Box: National Security, Artificial Intelligence, and the Struggle for Democratic Accountability Ashley Deeks
Tues, 03/26/2026
5pm
 Scientists & Strategists - The Hand Behind the Unmanned
Jacquelyn Schneider (with Joshua Schwartz as discussant)

 Stay tuned, updates to the term card coming soon!

 For the full list of CMIST events, check out our news and events page.

 

Additional Events

 The views and opinions expressed in CMIST publications are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect any official position of CMIST or Carnegie Mellon University.