
Initiative for the Study of Emerging Threats (ISET)
Amidst evolving technology, declining democratic norms, aggression by state and non-state actors, and severe climate and health crises, the world faces complex security challenges. The Initiative for the Study of Emerging Threats (ISET) brings together faculty members, students, partners and stakeholders to consider and prepare for challenges lurking on the horizon.
Journal Articles and Policy Reports
“Framing States: Unitary Actor Language & Public Support for Coercive Foreign Policy.” International Studies Quarterly.
African Wars in the 21st Century: Economic and Security Determinants for a Stable Africa. Workshop Report, New York University Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora.
“Introduction: China-India-Pakistan Nuclear Trilemma and the Imperative of Risk Reduction Measures.” Journal of Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.
Delton, Andrew D., Kane, John V., Petersen, Michael Bang, Roberts, Theresa E. and Cosmides, Leda (2022) “Partisans Use Emotions as Social Pressure: Feeling Anger and Gratitude at Exiters and Recruits in Political Groups” Party Politics.
“Activating Animus: The Uniquely Social Roots of Trump Support.” American Political Science Review.
“Who’s at the Party? Group Sentiments, Knowledge, and Partisan Identity” Journal of Politics.
“On Re-engagement and Risk Factors.” Terrorism & Political Violence.
“Violent Extremist Disengagement and Reintegration: Lessons from Over 30 Years of DDR.” The RESOLVE Network.
“Back to the Dark Side: Explaining the CIA’s Repeated Use of Torture.” Terrorism and Political Violence.
“Criminal or Terrorist?: Fear, Bias, and Public Support for Prisoner Re-entry Programs.” Terrorism and Political Violence.
“The US-NATO Relationship: The Cost of Maintaining Political Pressure on Allies.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
“Climate Change and Conflict in the Sahel: The Acacia Gum Tree As a Tool for Environmental Peacebuilding." International Affairs.
“Terrorist Transformations: The Link Between Terrorist Roles and Terrorist Disengagement.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
“India and the United Nations Security Council: Deja vu?” IIC Quarterly.
“Building Community Resilience: Community Perspectives of the Countering Violent Extremism Pilot Program in Minneapolis/St. Paul.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
“Returning to the Fight: An Empirical Analysis of Terrorist Reengagement and Recidivism.” Terrorism and Political Violence.
“The strategic elimination of nuclear weapons: a redefined global agenda for nuclear disarmament.” Nonproliferation Review.
"Coercive Diplomacy and the Donbas: Explaining Russian Strategy in Eastern Ukraine." Journal of Strategic Studies.
"Could the United States Reinstitute An Official Torture Policy?" Journal of Strategic Security.
"Redefining Hybrid Warfare: Russia's Non-linear War Against the West." Journal of Strategic Security.
“The strategic chain linking Pakistan, India, China, and the United States.” Brookings Institution.
“Differentiating Al Qaeda and the Islamic State Through Strategies Publicized in Jihadist Magazines.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
Walking Away: The Disengagement and De-radicalization of a Violent Right Wing Extremist." Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism & Political Aggression.
Latvia and Money Laundering: An Examination of Regulatory and Institutional Effectiveness in Combating Money Laundering. Central European Journal of International and Security Studies.
Turning Away from Terrorism: Lessons from Psychology, Sociology, and Criminology. Journal of Peace Research.
The Future of Global Affairs: Managing Discontinuity, Disruption, and Destruction. Palgrave Macmillan.
After the Caliphate: The Islamic State & the Future of Terrorist Diaspora. Wiley.
The Cyber Threat and Globalization: The Impact on US National and International Security. Rowman and Littlefield.
Terrorism, Inc.: The Financing of Terrorism, Insurgency and Irregular Warfare. Praeger.
Pivotal Countries, Alternate Futures: Using Scenarios to Manage American Strategy. Oxford University Press.
The Politics of Civil-Military Cooperation: Canada in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Palgrave Macmillan.
A Gendered Dimension in Understanding Armed Banditry in Northwest Nigeria: Vulnerability and Involvement” in Ojo, J. S., Oyewole, S., & Aina, F. (eds.) Armed Banditry in Nigeria: Evolution, Dynamics, and Trajectories, Palgrave Macmillan.
Chapter 2: Hard Times Ahead for US Soft Power.” In Soft Power and the Future of US Foreign Policy. Pp. 25-42.
"The Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Regime", in P.D. Williams and Matt McDonald, eds., Security Studies: An Introduction. 4th edition. Taylor & Francis.
“Weapons of Mass Destruction” in Thomas G. Weiss and Rorden Wilkinson, eds., International Organization and Global Governance, (3rd edition). Routledge.
“The Accidental Global Peacekeeper” in Manu Bhagwan, ed., India and the Cold War. UNC Press.
“Regional Peace and Security” in Simon Chesterman and Ben Saul, eds., Oxford Handbook for International Law in Asia. Oxford University Press.
“Regional Groups and Alliances”, in Thomas G. Weiss and Sam Daws, eds., The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations. (2nd edition). Oxford University Press.
"Non-Proliferation and Disarmament", in J. K. Cogan, I. Hurd and I. Johnstone, eds., The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations. Oxford University Press.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Managing Proliferation" in S. von Einsiedel, D. M. Malone, and B. S. Ugarte, eds., The UN Security Council in the 21st Century. Lynne Rienner.
“How Politicians Talk About Hostile Countries Influences How Forceful the Public Wants Their Response to Be.” London School of Economics USAPP Blog.
“Longer Term Perspectives on the Iran Crisis.” The Hill.
“Empowering "We the peoples" in the UN's 75th Year”, IPI Global Observatory.
“How Will Sino-Indian Competition Impact India's Upcoming Tenure on the UNSC?” IPI Global Observatory.
“Melancholic and Fascinated: Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Humanity, and the Future of War.” Wavell Room. Wavell Writes 2019 Essay Prize.
“The London Bridge knife attacker was a bad risk for release. Here’s why.” The Washington Post.
CGA Scenarios Initiative
Imagining the future in key global hot spots
The Scenarios Initiative began with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation to study the future of countries pivotal to U.S. interests. The grant led to Michael Oppenheimer’s book “Pivotal Countries, Alternate Futures”, published by Oxford University Press. The initiative now consists of a course, “The Future of International Relations”, several student scenario projects, and a report on Alternate Scenarios for the Future Terrorism Landscape in Afghanistan, done by Professor Oppenheimer and CGA students for the UN’s Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate. A strong futures orientation characterizes much of the research and course work across CGA concentrations.
Message From Leadership

Mary Beth Altier, MA, PhD
Director and Clinical Professor
Welcome! The world is becoming increasingly interconnected and yet, we are currently witnessing nation-states turning inward rather than outward. Yet, threats like terrorism, climate change, pandemics, cyberattacks, biological and nuclear weapons, refugee flows, and corruption require innovative solutions and international cooperation. How do we anticipate and thwart new and emerging threats in an increasingly complex global order?
The Initiative for the Study of Emerging Threats (ISET) follows the broader mission of the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs in seeking not just to catalog and to describe the world's challenges, but to play an active, imaginative, and positive role in creating practical solutions to them. ISET draws upon an extraordinary and inspiring faculty, the efforts of a diverse and entrepreneurial group of graduate students and alumni, and the resources of New York University, one of the most well respected and globally connected institutions of higher learning in the world.
This is a new and ambitious endeavor and inevitably a work in progress, constantly evolving, forever exploring new risks and new strategies to prevent, minimize, or resolve them. We look forward to working with you in that mission.