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.
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.
2024-2025 Annual Report
At CMIST we address the challenges of new and emerging technologies through a political science lens.
Recent Work
As AI demand drives a historic expansion of the US power grid, a central question remains: How do we decouple from strategic competitors without throttling our own industrial growth? CMIST joined forces with the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) to tackle this question in our latest white paper, "The Electrotech Moneyball: An Industrial Strategy for Ranking Risk and Opportunity in Energy & AI Supply Chains." The research introduces a "Moneyball" framework for the electrotech stack. By assessing components based on their "smart" connectivity and systemic influence, authors Phoebe Benich, Dr. Emma Stewart, and Harry Krejsa provide a roadmap for policymakers to implement zero-trust security where it matters most, while preserving the cost advantages of global commodity markets where it doesn't.
READ WHITE PAPER
Convergent Flexibility: How International Law Keeps Pace with Technological Change
By Justin Key Canfil
Strategic Interdependence: Using Internet Outage Data to Study How Combatants Manage Collective Institutions During War
By Nadiya Kostyuk et al.
Delegating Destruction: Coercive Threats and Automated Nuclear Systems
By Joshua A. Schwartz and Michael C. Horowitz
Korea On Point
Northeast Asia’s New Strategic Equation: US Policy Toward China, North Korea, and the US–ROK Alliance
By Patrick M. Cronin
The Loop
Keiko Fujimori: Bidding to Turn Dynasty into Destiny in Peru
By Carolina Guerrero Valencia and Ignacio Arana Araya
Team of Teams
Public Engagements
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Date
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Event
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Speaker(s)
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Thurs, 09/03/2026
5pm
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Lawfully Speaking: Law, Technology, and the Future of Conflict | Major General (Retired) Charles J. Dunlap Jr. |
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Thurs, 10/1/2026
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Scientists & Strategists: Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare, Whether We Like It or Not | Secretary Frank Kendall |
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Tues, 10/6/2026
5pm
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Geopolitics in the Age of AI: China and the Geopolitics of AI | |
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Tues, 10/20/2026
5pm
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Lieutenant General John (Jack) N.T. Shanahan, United States Air Force, Retired |
For the full list of CMIST events, check out our news and events page.