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IGP’s Year in Review
Academic Year 2025-26
Three years ago, when we founded the Institute of Global Politics, we believed that by bringing together rigorous scholarship, practical experience, and open exchange across differences, we could make space for effective public leadership and creative policy solutions. Where better for that space than a truly global public policy school like SIPA at a great research institution like Columbia University, in New York City? This year reinforced that conviction.
This academic year alone, we hosted 135 events, reached more than 300,000 people through our livestreamed events, and generated over 10 million social media impressions, but the measures we value most are harder to quantify: the quality of the ideas, the seriousness of the dialogue, and the relationships and partnerships that continue to grow from this work.
Through seminars, roundtables, student advising, faculty collaborations, and public discussions, our 16 Carnegie Distinguished Fellows connected practical experience with academic inquiry. Our faculty’s scholarship continued to shape our work across task forces and initiatives, and this year we launched our first faculty research grants. And at the center of it all are our students, who challenged assumptions and engaged thoughtfully in complex policy debates. More than 140 students participated in our Scholar and Circle programs, and their growth over the course of the year was a major source of pride.
We are deeply grateful to our students, fellows, faculty, partners, supporters, and especially the extraordinary IGP staff whose creativity, professionalism, and dedication make this work possible every day. We look forward to what lies ahead.
With gratitude,
IGP Highlights from Academic Year 2025-26
135
Total Events
39
Expert Roundtables & Workshops
330.8K
Online Event Views
12
Rapid Response webinars
10.3M
Social Media Impressions
16
Carnegie Distinguished Fellows in Residence
145
Student Scholars and Student Circle Members
2.3K
In-Person Event Attendees
16 Carnegie Distinguished Fellows
This year’s cohort of IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellows included a diverse mix of 16 high-profile practitioners from across the globe. Several Fellows joined us in the spring semester and will continue with us through a portion of this coming academic year (denoted with an asterisk* below). Fellows participated in major public events, small student roundtable sessions, and policy-driven closed-door convenings, held student office hours, advanced policy work, taught courses, and more.
These individuals have contributed to our students’ educations and engaged meaningfully with our community in innumerable ways—we are immensely grateful for their contributions to IGP.
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Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense and Counselor of the US Department of State
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Former White House Press Secretary and Senior Advisor to the President
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Former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; Director General of Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy
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Executive Director of Caring Across Generations and President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance
Initiatives
IGP’s faculty-led initiatives advanced cutting-edge policy research and hosted a range of programming throughout the past academic year. Below is a summary of their work:
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Launched in Fall 2025 and led by Professor Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs and IGP Faculty Advisory Board member, IGP’s American Democracy Initiative develops and disseminates actionable ideas to deepen and defend American democracy. This past year, the Initiative partnered with the Washington Center for Equitable Growth to study the connection between economic policy, support for populism, and democratic backsliding in the United States and across the globe and Cornell University’s Democracy Collaborative to develop a compilation of short essays on rebuilding the federal government. For next year, the Initiative is developing a future federal policy agenda for empowering democracy with support from Freedom Together Foundation and examining the labor movement’s response to democratic backsliding. Learn More »
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Led by Professors Jennifer Klein and Rachel Vogelstein, the Women’s Initiative entered a new era with a transformational $15-million gift from Columbia University Trustee Emerita Ann Kaplan’s Family. Over the past year, the Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative released two major reports (Beijing+30: A Roadmap for Women’s Rights for the Next Thirty Years and Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage), hosted three high-profile events, and sponsored eleven roundtables on a range of women’s rights issues, including increasing accountability for conflict-related sexual violence, changing gender norms, and advancing gender parity in politics. Looking to next year, the Initiative will work on a number of policy research projects on topics, including reimagining care infrastructure, unlocking women’s potential in the fight against climate change, and ending gender apartheid. Learn More »
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Led by Professors Maria Ressa and Camille François, IGP’s Technology & Democracy Initiative conducted and published research on pressing tech policy issues, including on trust and safety tools, open source AI, red teaming, and malicious AI swarms. The Initiative convened an interdisciplinary salon to establish shared language and frameworks around “AI slop” and presented their expertise at notable public forums, including the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the Vatican, and the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations. Next year, the Initiative will support Ressa’s cochairing of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, advancing an affirmative agenda for AI and democracy, developing a working definition of public interest AI, and addressing AI and youth mental health. Learn More »
Task Forces
This academic year, IGP introduced task forces that bring together scholars and practitioners to address the most complex and pressing issues facing security, climate, energy, and economic interests. Task forces work across SIPA’s five global policy challenge areas to examine and frame issues in a way that incorporates faculty research, empowers stakeholders, and catalyzes action. Task force activity is supported through targeted donations and contributors eager to advance IGP’s vision for impact.
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IGP, in partnership with CGEP, launched a task force convening policymakers, academics, and private sector experts to analyze the tools of economic statecraft — including sanctions, tariffs, export controls, and industrial policy — examining lessons from their use over the last two decades, their impact, and the implications of deploying these tools going forward. The task force has convened twice to date: the first meeting opened the discussion by taking stock of the last 20 years, asking what has worked, what has fallen short, and where gaps in research and understanding remain that the task force can help address. The second convening examined the current external environment shaping economic statecraft. Future sessions will focus on strengthening America's economic statecraft toolkit, building a more resilient defensive posture against adversaries, and the role of emerging technologies — culminating in a published white paper. The task force is co-chaired by Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Professor Eddie Fishman. Learn More »
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IGP, in partnership with Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, has convened a nonpartisan task force on the Future of Foreign Assistance to develop a new paradigm for US foreign assistance aligned with the strategic and economic realities of the coming decade. The initiative reflects growing consensus that the postwar aid architecture is no longer fit for purpose: fiscally unsustainable, increasingly out of step with partner countries seeking investment over dependency, and insufficiently responsive to competition from the PRC and other strategic rivals. Co-chaired by Jacob J. Lew, Alice Albright, David Satterfield, and Sonali Korde, the task force will produce actionable recommendations to reposition foreign assistance as a disciplined strategic investment in American interests while preserving US humanitarian leadership. The group convened its inaugural meeting in New York in March and will continue meeting over the coming year ahead of a final report expected in spring 2027. Learn More »
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Earlier this year, IGP and CGEP launched a joint Task Force on Global Resilience and Climate Security to fill in critical gaps in how national security and foreign policy decision makers understand and approach the growing intersection of the clean energy transition and climate change with peace, security, and international relations. The program builds on CGEP’s world-class work on energy geopolitics and IGP’s breadth of international security scholarship to assist policymakers in crafting foreign strategies responsive to an increasingly complex, disrupted, fragmented, and warming world. The task force has convened two sessions, and plans to convene again in June. Learn More »
Faculty Grants
IGP announced the recipients of the 2025–26 Faculty Grant Awards, including eight faculty members working in fields that span AI, financial security, global conflict, international trade, and environmental economics. The new awards mark an important milestone in IGP’s mission to bring world-class scholarship to bear on the most pressing issues of our time. Five projects, led by SIPA faculty and their collaborators, will explore topics ranging from the geopolitics of space and trade, to the deepening risks of generative AI, financial fraud, and deep-sea mining.
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Convening an international conference and launching new research on the emerging regime for deep-sea mining
- Scott Barrett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
- John Mutter, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and of International and Public Affairs, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
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Exploring how the militarization of space could shape coercion and escalation in future crises, culminating in a closed-door workshop at IGP
- Erica Lonergan, Assistant Professor, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
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Examining how deepfakes influence voter behavior and trust in India, the world’s largest democracy.
- Tamar Mitts, Associate Professor, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
- Rumela Sen, Lecturer
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Bringing together top scholars and practitioners for a major conference to inform an edited volume on the future of trade
- Sharyn O’Halloran, George Blumenthal Professor of Political Economy, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
- Thomas Groll, Senior Lecturer, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
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Hosting a conference to share best practices among regulators combating celebrity deepfakes and online financial fraud
- Anya Schiffrin, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Codirector of SIPA’s Technology Policy and Innovation (TPI) concentration, IGP Affiliated Faculty Member
Select Major Events and Key Moments
Irwin Redlener (left) moderates a roundtable with the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski (right)
Fall Semester
- “Yitzhak Rabin, 30 Years On,” a major event in collaboration with the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, Columbia/Barnard Hillel, featuring President Bill Clinton, remarks from the Acting President of Columbia University, Claire Shipman, and a distinguished panel of experts. The program marked the 30th anniversary of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and reflected on his legacy and the pursuit of peace
- As part of the University’s World Leaders Forum series, IGP hosted World Trade Organization Director-General and Carnegie Distinguished Fellow Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for a conversation with SIPA Dean Emerita Merit Janow.
- “The Geopolitical Chessboard,” a major event featuring a panel of experts examining shifting global power dynamics and an Across the Aisle discussion between former US Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mike Pompeo in their first-ever on-stage dialogue.
- “Policy Advice for NYC’s Next Mayor Amid Wider Federal Cuts,” a major event ahead of the NYC mayoral election in collaboration with the Urban and Social Policy concentration, and aligned with the publication of two new Communities Speak Policy Briefs detailing housing and childcare hardships in NYC.
Maria Ressa discusses the collapse of the information environment
Spring Semester
- “The Escalating Threat of Online Violence Against Women in Public Life,” a major event hosted by the IGP Technology & Democracy Initiative and the IGP Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative, in partnership with UN Women, TheNerve, and the Centre for Journalism and Democracy at City St George’s, University of London.
- “The Stakes in Ukraine: Present and Future,” examined the state of negotiations to end the war and provide aid for the rebuilding of Ukraine with a panel of experts including Jérôme Bonnafont, Ambassador for the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Christopher G. Cavoli, Retired General, 20th Supreme Allied Commander Europe and 19th Commander of the United States European Command and partner at Valor Equity Partners, Dora Chomiak, CEO of Razom for Ukraine, Timothy Frye, Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University, and Elise Giuliano, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Director of the MARS-REERS Program, and Director of the Program on US-Russia Relations at Columbia University, moderated by Victoria Nuland, Shelby Cullom Davis Professor in the Practice of International Diplomacy, Director of the International Fellows Program, and IGP Affiliated Faculty Member at Columbia SIPA.
- Hosted by the IGP American Democracy Initiative and the IGP Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative, “Supporting Working Families for a Strong Economy and Democracy,” convened a panel of experts, movement leaders, and public officials to explore policies that support working families and strengthen democratic institutions, and featured Julie Su, New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice, alongside IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellows Mary Kay Henry, former International President of the Service Employees International Union, and Ai-Jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Executive Director of Caring Across Generations
- “2026 State-of-the-Field Conference on Cyber Risk to Financial Stability,” a full-day event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Columbia SIPA, featured a Spotlight Interview with Chairman and CEO of IBM Arvind Krishna, and 76th US Secretary of the Treasury and IGP Faculty Policy Director Jacob J. Lew.
Event Series Highlights
Below are highlights from our Across the Aisle, Rapid Response, and Spotlight Interview series.
Across the Aisle
IGP’s Across the Aisle series featured discussions between prominent leaders with often divergent perspectives to model the value and necessity of civil discourse to advance policy solutions. This year's discussions included:
- “Solving America’s Fiscal Challenges,” with Former Treasury Secretaries Jacob J. Lew and Steven Mnuchin, moderated by Meg Kinnard, national politics reporter for The Associated Press
- “The Future of Trade Policy,” with former US Trade Representatives Mike Froman and Robert Lighthizer, moderated by Dean Emerita Merit Janow
- “The Geopolitical Chessboard,” with former Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mike Pompeo
- “The 'Energetic' Presidency in Theory and Practice,” with legal scholars Thomas H. Lee and Gillian Metzger, moderated by Matthew Waxman, Liviu Librescu Professor of Law at Columbia Law School
- “The Future of US Cities,” with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
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Rapid Response
Through online events and faculty interviews, IGP released Rapid Response analysis, in real time, as events unfolded throughout the world.
- “The Fight Over the Federal Budget,” with Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, R. Glenn Hubbard, Jennifer Klein, Secretary Jacob J. Lew, and Natasha Sarin, moderated by Richard Clarida
- “Israel and Iran Conflict,” with Eyal Hulata, Richard Nephew, Meghan O’Sullivan, and Elizabeth Saunders, moderated by Jason Bordoff
- “The Israel-Iran Conflict’s Impact on Energy Markets,” with Jason Bordoff, Jon Finer, Daniel Sternoff, and Karen Young, moderated by Richard Nephew
- “What University Settlements Mean for Higher Education, Civil Society, and Democracy,” with Ester Fuchs, Olatunde Johnson, and David Pozen, moderated by Alexander Hertel-Fernandez
- “Drugs and Security: Shifting US Policy in Latin America,” with Maria Alejandra Vélez, Elizabeth Saunders, and Geoff Ramsey, moderated by Eduardo Moncada
- “The Gaza Deal,” with Shira Efron, Nadav Eyal, Nasser al-Kidwa, Secretary Jacob J. Lew, and Samer Sinijlawi, moderated by Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo
- “US-China Relations: What Comes Next?,” with Thomas Christensen, Edward Fishman, Zoe Zongyuan Liu, and Matt Turpin, moderated by Julian Gewirtz
- “Venezuela — What Happens Next?,” with Hon. Roy Altman, Jon Finer, Avril Haines, Luisa Palacios, Roberto Patiño, and Mike Pompeo, moderated by Sarah Daly
- “Iran — What's Next?,” with Mark Dubowitz, Amos Hochstein, and Kian Tajbakhsh, moderated by Victoria Nuland
- “Federal Immigration Enforcement and the Future of US Democracy,” with Marie Gottschalk, G. Elliott Morris, Elora Mukherjee, and Ilan Wurman, moderated by Alex Hertel-Fernandez
- “What War in Iran Means for Stability in the Middle East and Implications for the US,” with Holly Dagres, Nadav Eyal, Jeh Johnson, and Norman Roule, moderated by Lisa Anderson
- “US-China Relations after the Trump-Xi Summit,” with Isaac Arnsdorf, Thomas J. Christensen, Erica Downs, Julian Gewirtz, and Liza Tobin, moderated by Zongyuan Liu
Spotlight Interviews
The Spotlight Interview speaker series brought prominent public- and private- sector leaders to IGP for in-depth conversations on a wide range of issues.
Read IGP coverage from the Spotlight Interview series and watch the discussions, including:
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IGP’s Top-5 Live-streamed Events
IGP streamed over 40 events this year, which were viewed over 300,000 times in countries around the world. Here are the 5 most viewed.
February 5, 2026
IGP hosted a conversation with US and European experts about the state of negotiations to end the war, the strategic implications of this diplomatic process, and the assistance required for Ukraine to rebuild and fortify itself.
March 4, 2026
To commemorate International Women’s Day, the IGP Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative convened leading policymakers and advocates from around the world to release a new report, Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage.
September 17, 2025
Inspired by their popular class at Columbia SIPA, Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's new edited volume, Inside the Situation Room, draws on original research and the experience of scholars and practitioners to explore how decisions are made during foreign policy crises.
November 12, 2025
In a moment of profound geopolitical change, IGP convened leading voices in diplomacy and global affairs to map the contours of an emerging world order.
April 15, 2026
Cohosted by the Institute of Global Politics’ American Democracy Initiative and Ann F. Kaplan Women’s Initiative, the cross-sector panel explored how policies that support families and workers can also strengthen democratic institutions and restore public trust.
IGP Student Scholars and Student Circle
IGP connected over 140 students with opportunities to expand their learning beyond the classroom and engage with practitioners and faculty through the IGP Student Scholar and IGP Student Circle programs.
At the start of the year, IGP Cofounders Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton invited Scholars and Circle members to Welcome Luncheons that offered students a forum to ask questions and learn about programming planned for the coming academic year.
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In addition to receiving priority access for a variety of roundtables, convenings, and major events, IGP Student Scholars and Student Circle members participated in interactive workshops designed to provide practical skills for their careers. In the fall, students joined IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellow and Columbia SIPA alumna Karine Jean-Pierre MPA ’03, former senior advisor to President Joe Biden and the 35th White House Press Secretary, for a hands-on media preparation workshop designed to get participants comfortable being on camera and responding to media inquiries. In the spring, Vuk Jeremić, President of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, convened students for a full-day UN Secretary General Election Simulation where they were assigned roles and tasked with building global consensus in an exercise of diplomacy, strategy, and leadership.
IGP also partnered with the Columbia SIPA Career Advancement Center to launch a Career Chat series this year. The Chats were designed to provide students with career mentorship from IGP Carnegie Distinguished Fellows, and have so far featured Karine Jean-Pierre, Mary Kay Henry, and Alice Albright MIA ’85.
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“IGP showed me that people who grow up impacted by broken systems can also become part of the conversations that change them.
Raised by a single mother in South Central Los Angeles while my father was incarcerated, issues like healthcare and affordability were never abstract political topics to me; they were realities that shaped my community every day. Through the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University, I was exposed to rooms, conversations, and opportunities I once never imagined I would be part of.
Learning from leaders such as Hillary Clinton and receiving media training from Karine Jean-Pierre gave me a deeper understanding of leadership, communication, and public service. As I prepare for my future run for the State Senate, IGP reminds me that leadership is most meaningful when it is rooted in service to others.”
- Hunter Doradea
2025–26 IGP Student Scholar
Meet Our Student Scholars
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