From the CISAC Co-Directors

June 9, 2020

Today, CISAC scholars have released a statement of solidarity with all those who suffer from, and peacefully protest against, police brutality and systemic racism. We are all profoundly affected by the painful last minutes of George Floyd’s life. His death was racism in its most blatant form, but it is not an isolated event. Rather, it is part of a wider pattern and deeper stain on our national experience. As jarring as George Floyd’s death was to watch, countless other people of color suffer structural violence and a slower death over the course of their lives as a consequence of deeply ingrained inequality and discrimination. For too long, too many have been deprived of the simple expectation of the opportunity to live, work, and raise their families in safety. Black and brown communities, as well as other minority communities, continue to be systematically denied equal access to their most basic rights, as well as to financial opportunity, education, and medical care—circumstances that have been all brought into even sharper relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their lived experiences are unfathomable, and too often ignored, by many who are sheltered by their own privilege. As hundreds of thousands peacefully march to end this injustice, following in the best traditions of our democracy, we stand with them.

The statement below was initiated by CISAC Fellows. We thank the Fellows for their initiative at a time when everyone should rise to the occasion and act. At the same time, we realize that statements of solidarity are insufficient. As co-directors, we accept that our responsibility is to lead CISAC in a manner that helps combat racism and other forms of injustice so that true equality is actually attained. Our power and position of privilege as a policy center at a renowned university extends well beyond the relevance of our scholarship. Every decision, no matter how small, should reduce privilege and increase access to resources at Stanford. The road forward will not be easy. Since each of us is a product of unique circumstance with a different perspective, there will not always be agreement. But, by taking action beyond our scholarship, by expanding the voices at our table, by carefully and thoughtfully listening to those voices, and by committing to concrete steps—small and large—we can together make the world safer and more just. This is a burden we all must bear, and we will.

As the co-directors of CISAC, we commit to publicly releasing an action plan outlining specific additional steps we will take as an institution—in coordination with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies—no later than the beginning of the fall quarter of 2020.

If you are part of the Stanford community and would like to add your signature to the statement below, please do so at this link.

Rod Ewing and Colin Kahl

Co-Directors

Center for International Security and Cooperation

Stanford University

Statement of Solidarity from CISAC

We the undersigned scholars at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) express our anguish and outrage at the brutal killing of George Floyd—and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, David McAtee, and countless other black Americans who have lost, and continue to lose their lives, as a consequence of police brutality and racism. These recent injustices are only the tip of an iceberg of systemic racism and the violence stemming from it.

To all those in the Stanford community and beyond experiencing hardship and pain in these difficult times, we stand with you. We express our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all minority groups that face the indignity and violence of structural inequality every day.  

We condemn the use of violence against peaceful protesters. As experts in national and international security, we are deeply concerned with threats to deploy military forces to suppress constitutional rights—actions that endanger the very core of our democracy. 

We reaffirm our commitment to diversity, social justice, and basic human dignity. We also recognize our position of privilege in this deeply unequal society, and find it important to reflect, learn, act, and recommit to these basic values as a community. 

As an academic and policy community, CISAC’s mission is to generate knowledge to build a safer world. But we recognize that mission is impossible to achieve without addressing the structural inequalities that put true safety and security for so many people around the world out of reach. CISAC is committed to diversity, drawing on scholars from a range of disciplines, experience, and racial and cultural backgrounds. CISAC is also committed to civil discourse and constructive dialogue. As a community, we reject hate, intolerance, and discrimination in all its forms. But at this moment of national reflection, we know there is much more we must do to build a more inclusive institution and disrupt the structures of racism and inequality that we knowingly and unknowingly perpetuate. Moving forward, we will redouble our commitment to diversity and inclusion in our events, curriculum, fellowship program, and recruiting and hiring practices. We will do more to include Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and LGBTQI scholars and voices, as well as those from other underrepresented minorities, in our conversations. As scholars, we also commit to widening the aperture of national and international security conversations to include a fuller appreciation for the role of discrimination and inequality in all its forms.  

List of Signatories (institutional affiliations provided for identification purposes only)

Shazeda Ahmed, Pre-doctoral Fellow, CISAC/Human-Centered AI Institute

Nandita Balakrishnan, Pre-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Jody Berger, Communications Manager, CISAC

Lauren J. Borja, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC 

Daniel Bush, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC/Stanford Internet Observatory

Melissa Carlson, Pre-doctoral Fellow, CISAC 

Alicia R. Chen, MIP Student and TA, CISAC

Kevin Chen, Research Assistant, CISAC

Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow, CISAC

Elena Crespo, Honors Student '20, CISAC

Christophe Crombez, Senior Research Scholar, The Europe Center, FSI

Debak Das, Pre-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, CDDRL

François Diaz-Maurin, Affiliate, CISAC

Paul N. Edwards, Senior Research Scholar, CISAC and Director, Program in Science, Technology & Society

Lisa Einstein, MIP Master's Student and TA, CISAC 

Rodney C. Ewing, CISAC Co-Director, Senior Fellow at FSI and Frank Stanton Professor in Nuclear Security, Professor of Geological Sciences

James D. Fearon, Senior Fellow at FSI and Geballe Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences

Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein APARC Fellow at FSI

Colin Garvey, Postdoctoral Fellow, CISAC & Institute for Human-Centered AI

Jonah Glick-Unterman, CISAC Honors '20, Political Science

Megan Gorman, Associate Director for Administration and Finance at FSI

Rose Gottemoeller, Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer, CISAC

Andrea Gray, Associate Director, CISAC

Daniel Greene, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Melissa Griffith, Pre-doctoral Fellow, CISAC 

Anna Grzymala-Busse, Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow, FSI

Rosanna Guadagno, Director, Information Warfare Working Group, CISAC

Amr Hamzawy, Senior Research Scholar, CDDRL, FSI

David Havasy, Associate Director of Operations, Cyber Policy Center

Gabrielle Hecht, Senior Fellow at FSI, and Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security, CISAC, Professor, History

Siegfried S. Hecker, Senior Fellow at FSI, Emeritus, CISAC

Martin Hellman, Professor, Electrical Engineering, Emeritus

Connor Hoffmann, Research and Programs Assistant, CISAC

David Holloway, Senior Fellow at FSI, and Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History, CISAC

Edward Ifft, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution

Colin Kahl, CISAC Co-Director, Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow 

Bronte Kass, Program Manager, FSI

Alla Kassianova, Research Scholar, CISAC

David Kennedy, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus

Lindsay Krall, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC 

David Laitin, James. T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science

John Lee, Finance and Research Administration Manager, CISAC

Gabriela Levikow, Research Assistant, CISAC

Herb Lin, Senior Research Scholar, CISAC

Steve Luby, Senior Fellow FSI and Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Xinru Ma, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Robert J. MacCoun, James & Patricia Kowal Professor of Law, Stanford University

Beatriz Magaloni, Senior Fellow at FSI and Professor, Political Science

Iris Malone, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Michael May, Professor Emeritus, Engineering-Economic Systems and Operations Research, CISAC

Michael McFaul, Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Brett McGurk, Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer, CISAC

Katie McKinney, Research Assistant, CISAC 

Taylor McLamb, Research Assistant, CISAC

 Bryan Metzger, CISAC Honors '20, CISAC

John C Mitchell, Mary and Gordon Crary Family Professor, Computer Science

Asfandyar Mir, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Gary Mukai, Director, Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education

Norman M. Naimark, Senior Fellow at FSI and Professor, History

Scott K. Nelson, Development Associate, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Anna Nguyen Thuy An,  Master's in International Policy, Asia Pacific Fellow, FSI

Megan Palmer, Executive Director, Bio Policy & Leadership Initiatives, Bioengineering

Reid Pauly, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Steven Pifer, William Perry Research Fellow, CISAC 

Eric H. Phillips, MD, MPH, Alumni-Class of 1975

William M. Phillips III, Affiliate, CISAC

Maxime Polleri, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Michelle Pualuan, Program Administrator, Cyber Policy Center

David Relman, Senior Fellow at FSI, and Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor Stanford School of Medicine

Scott Sagan, Senior Fellow at FSI, and Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science, CISAC

Kenneth A. Schultz, Professor, Political Science

Rylan Sekiguchi, Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Design, Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education

Elliot Serbin, Research Analyst, CISAC

Gi-Wook Shin, Director, Shorenstein APARC

Tim Stearns, Professor, Biology, Professor, Genetics 

Kathryn Stoner, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director at FSI

Michael R. Tomz, Professor of Political Science

Julien de Troullioud de Lanversin, Post-doctoral Fellow, CISAC

Harold Trinkunas, Deputy Director, CISAC 

Gil-li Vardi, Lecturer in History, CISAC

Amelie-Sophie Vavrovsky, Student and Researcher, International Policy

Debbie Warren, Events & Bechtel Conference Center Manager, FSI

Allen S. Weiner, Director, Program in International and Comparative Law, Stanford Law School

Jeremy Weinstein, Professor of Political Science, CISAC

Leonard Weiss, Visiting Scholar and Network Affiliate, CISAC

Katherine Welsh, Administrative Associate, FSI/CDDRL

Alice Wenner, Communications Associate, FSI

Tara Wright, Communications, Cyber Policy Center

Amy Zegart, Senior Fellow at FSI and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, CISAC