Project Spotlights
A Note About Our Projects
The Yale Foreign Policy Initiative (YFPI) is an independent, student-led organization that operates separately from Yale University. YFPI serves as a platform for Yale students to engage in research projects by facilitating connections with scholars and experts in the field of foreign policy. While YFPI collaborates with esteemed scholars affiliated with various institutions, it is important to clarify that YFPI does not represent Yale University or any other academic institution. YFPI's partnerships are with individual scholars and experts, not with their respective institutions. Any views, opinions, or research findings presented by YFPI or its members are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views or endorsements of Yale University or any other institution. YFPI aims to foster learning and research opportunities for its members but does not have formal affiliations with any academic institutions beyond its status as a student-led initiative at Yale University. For further inquiries or clarifications, please contact us directly through our official channels.
For currently open project applications, please sign up for our newsletter or email YFPI President Prince Osaji at prince.osaji@yale.edu. Due to a high volume of applications received, we are unable to contact each applicant individually regarding the status of their application.
Russia in Africa
Partnered with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Yale School of Public Health.
Either partially or fully state-owned Russian companies have expanded 35 major projects in Africa in the past decades; Rosneft, Tatneft, Gazprom, and Rosatom have developed major hydrocarbon and nuclear projects across North and Central Africa. Alrosa, Russia’s top diamond mining company, has expanded its operations in Angola, Congo, and Zimbabwe. M-Invest continues to gain mining facilities across the Sahel region. The Wagner Group is often deployed to secure these locations through ‘arms-for-resource’ deals, maintaining military bases and arms supplies in direct proximity to these facilities. Pryghozin’s death (and the suspected handover of his assets to the Russian Federation) and the Russia-Africa Summit in July indicate that Russia’s footprint in Africa may grow in size and importance in coming years. Key questions for team members are: What does this industrial infrastructure look like, and where is it? To what extent is this infrastructure being developed? What effects might they have on the local population? And most importantly, what is the likelihood that these Africa-based facilities have a dual-use civilian-military purpose, and what are the potential implications if these facilities were militarized by the Russian Federation?
Students analyzed satellite imagery of key locations over time, looking for signs of life/activity, infrastructure expansion, or military presence, and supported this analysis with qualitative primary and secondary research. The final product was published on the NGA’s open-source website Tearline.
Critical Minerals in Africa
Partnered with the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace.
Students involved in this project conduct research on the geopolitics of African resources, under the supervision of a Nonresident Scholar in the Carnegie Africa Program and Senior Research Associate at the Global Economic Governance program. Team members work together to determine how the relationships between major actors such as the U.S., China, and the European Union (EU) shape and influence the competition for Africa's minerals, especially in the context of the growing threat of climate change. Our research was featured and acknowledged by the Carnegie Endowment.
Semiconductors in US-China Relations
Mentored by Jason Hsu, Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Partnered with Researchers at Oxford University and Stanford University.
Students involved in the semiconductor project are conducting thorough research on global semiconductor policies, ranging from U.S. export controls to the CHIPS and Science Act, under the supervision of a former Taiwanese legislator and intelligence officer. Team members work together to gauge how Taiwan, China, the Fab 4 chip alliance, and actors in the private sector will react to U.S. policies and formulate a strategic response.
In fall of 2023, students presented policy memos in Newport, RI and at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
Note: This project is a cross-university collaboration between researchers at Yale and Oxford. Our team members are led by Jason Hsu at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. YFPI played an instrumental role in co-initiating this project by assembling a capable team of student researchers, led by Graeme Clements, and providing administrative support & opportunities to this team.
Enabling Digital Literacy Education in Army Special Operations Forces
Partnered with the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
The 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) states that “Military advantage is increasingly reliant on data-driven technologies and the integration of diverse data sources; elastic computing to the edge; and rapid software deployment.” SWCS education and training provide SOF forces the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge necessary to meet current operational requirements. SWCS’ current approach to educating operators on available digital tools and their practical applications in the information domain is limited to specialized courses (i.e., Touchstone). The project will evaluate the feasibility of introducing a baseline of digital literacy into the training and education process for all SOF operators at SWCS to enhance operators:
Understanding of innovative technologies and digital tools available
Reduce the operator’s cognitive load from increasing volumes of information
Increase operator and unit function efficiencies
Our key questions are: What is the current amount of time operators spend on tasks that could be improved through digital tools (open-source research, data analysis, information presentations etc.)? What is the necessary baseline level of familiarity needed to meet operational requirements? What are scalable and efficient methods of introducing this POI to SOF?
The culmination of this project will be the opportunity for the research team to present findings directly to SWCS Commanding General, Brigadier General Guillaume "Will" Beaurpere, with attendees from SWCS directorates and publication in a related journal (Veritas, Yale Journal of International Affairs, etc.).
Space Law Primer
Partnered with the US Air Force, Yale Policy Institute, and the Kimball Smith Series.
Throughout the course of this project, students will have the opportunity to conduct thorough research on emerging technology, space operations law and policy, and commercial space applications under the supervision of a former career Air Force Judge Advocate and current Professor of Law at the United States Air Force Academy. Team members will have the opportunity to work with an array of current legal practitioners in multiple space mission sub-sets, including Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Space-Domain Awareness (SDA), Spacecraft Operations, and Electro-Magnetic (E-M) Spectrum Management, among others.
The culmination of this research will be an online broad-spectrum space law primer that will be made generally available to a diverse audience. Written credit will be given to all individual team members without specific attribution to sub-sections or chapters, and team members will have the potential opportunity to present in lightning talks during the USSPACECOM Legal Conference.
Russia and Central Asia
Partnered with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Throughout the course of this project, students will have the opportunity to conduct thorough research on the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine on regional geopolitics in Central Asia and the Caucasus, specifically great power competition in the region between China, Russia, EU, US, Turkey, and India. Team members will also investigate energy politics, economic diplomacy, diversification of trade networks, and shifts in cultural attitudes as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine.
The work will culminate in a Yale-based publication on the students' findings with written credit given to team members.
China's Human Rights Record
Partnered with the Atlantic Council.
Students have the opportunity to support the research of Rayhan Asat, a Uyghur lawyer and international human rights advocate who works as a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project. Student researchers will be analyzing how to get more countries in the Global South to talk about China’s human rights abuses, investigating how superpowers like Russia and China use platforms like the UN as forums for the suppression of criticism. The research will be used to support Ms. Asat with her upcoming memoir.
The work will culminate in a potential opportunity to visit Geneva, Switzerland with Asat to support her UN advocacy. Written credit will be given to all team members.
Global Swing States
Partnered with the Center for a New American Security.
This project will examine the role of global swing states (that is, states not firmly aligned with the Western or emerging Russia-China bloc) — primarily India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey. Each student will be responsible for developing a literature review that focuses on one of the aforementioned five countries. This project will focus on the role of the state in the context of great power competition, serving to answer the following questions:
To what extent is the world coalescing into opposing blocs, and what is the role of multi-aligned states?
What is the posture of each swing state toward the United States, China, and Russia?
What, in concrete terms, will the battle to shape international order entail, and what are the dangers if Beijing and Moscow prevail?
How do the geopolitical allegiances and policy preferences of global swing states matter to the future of international order and US interests?
How should the United States work with key countries to protect its interests and safeguard its values amid great power competition? What would comprise a competitive strategy for working with key states?
Should such a competitive strategy include both elements of cooperation (e.g., with each global swing state toward international public goods) and denial (e.g., precluding Chinese or Russian military facilities in swing states; limiting Chinese technology penetration)?
This project will also include a private meet-and-greet conversation with Richard Fontaine, the CEO of CNAS, who has worked at the State Department, the National Security Council, and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as has served as a senatorial foreign policy advisor.
Correlates of Chinese Influence
Partnered with the United States Institute of Peace.
This team will work with Dr. Carla Freeman, Senior Expert for China at USIP, to develop a better understanding of what we know about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific based on existing efforts to measure it. This team will critically analyze existing indexes, datasets, and other data to show what data are and are not available to measure China’s influence on the region, and assess how comprehensive, reliable, and consistent these data are. Based on these findings, the team is encouraged to develop its own preliminary framework for measuring Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.
This project will look to produce a written report as well as present their findings to the United States Institute for Peace Asia Center.
Examining the Impact of U.S-China AI Competition on Global Energy Consumption
Mentored by Jason Hsu, Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Partnered with Researchers at Oxford University and Stanford University.
Students are developing a baseline of AI energy consumption in the U.S. and China and investigating the impact of specific policies (e.g. CHIPS Act, Sanctions) on AI energy consumption in the respective countries. By consolidating research from multiple facets of the issue, team members form recommendations on how to include sustainable energy consumption principles in AI standards.
The culmination of this research was the opportunity to present a policy memo at Stanford University's Hoover Institution along with a publication with the Yale Digital Ethics Center on SSRN.
Note: This project is a cross-university collaboration between researchers at Yale and Oxford. Our team members are led by Jason Hsu at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. YFPI played an instrumental role in co-initiating this project by assembling a capable team of student researchers, led by Joyce Guo, and providing administrative support & opportunities to this team.
Future of Counter-Terrorism Project
Partnered with West Point's Combating Terrorism Center.
Students conducted thorough research on the intersection of violent extremist organizations (VEOs), exploring how China, Russia or any other peer competitor of the United States can leverage VEOs’ resources, determination, and experience. The team was supervised by two U.S. Army Intelligence Officers with more than a decade of experience countering VEOs as part of the U.S. Special Operations Command. The team published a paper on the Irregular Warfare Initiative and presented their work to senior members of the 75th Ranger Regiment and the United States Military Academy at West Point.
The State of China-Taiwan Relations
Partnered with the German Marshall Fund.
Is the CCP confident that time is on its side when it comes to reunification? Why or why not? Is there a debate on this issue? What factors do they point to? How do they interpret public opinion polls in Taiwan? Throughout the course of this project, students will do primary-source research using Chinese documents to produce output that answers these questions.
Students may be able to present their findings and publish them on the GMF website if they produce a high-quality product.
Exploring the US-Australia Partnership
Partnered with University of Sydney's U.S. Studies Center.
Through the course of this project, students will assist with the research and drafting of an upcoming book, which will be an “Alliance Management Handbook for the U.S.-Australia Relationship.” The book will receive official recognition from the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies and the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Center. Students will be credited in the book for their contributions and meet virtually every two weeks with fellows at the University of Sydney.
Compassion in International Relations
Partnered with the Global Compassion Coalition.
Through the course of this project, students will support the Global Compassion Coalition’s working group on “Compassion in International Relations.”
Responsibilities include:
Collecting data about compassion across different areas of international relations including security, development, and defense.
Conducting a literature review of official discourses, documents, field manuals, and strategies.
Compiling a reading list on compassion research in international relations that has a global and inclusive perspective and reflects different ideas and definitions of compassion.
Students will receive regular mentorship from Dr. Yorke and the opportunity to present their core findings to the Working Group.
Autonomous Weapons Systems
Partnered with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Through the course of this project, students will map autonomous weapon systems (AWS), explore precautions in the development and use of AWS, and track AWS accidents and international humanitarian law (IHL). Students will map and compare existing state practices on interpreting and applying IHL obligations to generate a deeper understanding of the types of unintended AWS incidents, thereby ensuring accountability in case of an IHL breach. This would include generating a deeper technical and legal understanding of the difference between concepts such as malfunction, error, accident, and mistake in relation to AWS, and what IHL permits in relation to each of those potential events.
Students will receive regular mentorship from Dr. Bruun and the opportunity to present their findings in a legal backgrounder and policy brief.
China's Involvement in the Middle East
Partnered with the National Defense University, Naval War College, and the Yale Policy Institute.
The project examined government, academic, and media reactions in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, Iran, and Turkey) and in the PRC to China’s recent attempts to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The project will also investigate China’s reinvigorated efforts to contribute to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through its Special Envoy for the Middle East. During the project, students will have the opportunity to conduct thorough primary source research on how these mediation efforts are portrayed and analyzed in official government statements, academic articles, and media reports. Based on the research findings, students will also formulate policy recommendations for the US government. The culmination of this project was the opportunity to present at the US National War College of the National Defense University in Washington, DC, with attendees from the Department of State and the Department of Defense, along with the following report.
US-China Export Controls
Partnered with the Krach Institute of Tech Diplomacy, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Yale Policy Institute.
Students will analyze the impact of export controls that the U.S. and its partners have placed on Chinese technology companies. The project will primarily focus on whether forcing these companies to turn to their “second-best” suppliers has a substantial effect on their innovation capabilities and market position, while also analyzing China’s diplomatic efforts in response. Students will be able to present their findings in-person to a group of experts on U.S.-China tech competition and to the Krach Institute of Tech Diplomacy. The final product will be published on the Krach Institute’s website.
Taiwan Elections and Geopolitical Risk
Mentored by Jason Hsu, Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Partnered with Researchers at Oxford University and Stanford University.
Students will conduct thorough risk analysis on Taiwan's geopolitical situation, including elections, disinformation, defense, energy, cybersecurity, and political risks under the supervision of a former Taiwanese legislator and visiting fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Team members will collect and analyze news on Taiwan's elections and geopolitical situation, produce a weekly briefing, and create an index to rank risk levels. The culmination of this research will be the opportunity to share those briefings with US and Taiwanese policymakers, think tanks, and corporations.
U.S-China-Taiwan Relations
Partnered with Rush Doshi, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and the Director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the former Deputy Senior Director for China and Taiwan at the National Security Council.
Students will gather data on and analyze Chinese foreign ministry statements related to US actions vis-a-vis Taiwan to produce a substantive literature review. Students will collect relevant data on U.S.-Taiwan relations, including but not limited to arms sales, diplomatic consultations, and economic engagement. Students should be proficient in Mandarin.
Russia's Youth Propaganda Machine
Mentored by Tetiana Kotelnykova, Co-Founder and President, Brave Generation; Founder and Chair, Ukrainian Recovery Youth Global Initiative
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there has been a significant increase in Russian funding aimed at youth activities that promote a pro-Russian agenda in the occupied territories of Ukraine. This direct involvement and financial backing by Russia highlight the strategic importance of these activities, which have previously gone unexamined. The promotion of Russian propaganda through these youth-focused initiatives and grants in the occupied territories is a systematic effort by the Russian government to shape and control the narrative within these regions.
This research will focus on:
Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Timeline: Documenting the initiation and escalation of Russian sponsorship of youth propaganda activities.
Network of Main Actors and Institutions: Analyzing the organizations and key players involved in coordinating Russian funding and developing strategies for these activities.
Key Youth Movements: Outlining the principal youth movements that promote pro-Russian agendas, identifying those receiving such funding, and potentially contacting them for comments.
Financial Overview: Detailing the financial resources allocated by the Russian government to support these activities. Evaluation of
Effectiveness: Assessing the effectiveness of the youth propaganda activities sponsored by Russia.
Impact Assessment: Investigating the impact of these propaganda activities on the participating youth.
Methodology: Preliminary research indicates that the necessary data is available to support this study. This research will conduct a comprehensive analysis of social media platforms, such as Telegram channels and VKontakte, focusing on those that promote grant applications for pro-Russian youth activities and report on their successful implementation. In addition to analyzing social media, official Russian government websites that publish grant calls and disseminate relevant news from the occupied territories will be systematically examined to gather comprehensive data on the scope and impact of these initiatives.
China Military Expansion Project
Partnered with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Chinese military expansion, from constructing helicopter ports along the Sino-Indian border to deploying maritime militia fleets in the South China Sea and positioning missiles near Taiwan, has intensified regional anxiety among its Asian neighbors. Analyzing and understanding these trends will improve the US government agencies’ ability to respond to this changing regional dynamic in an informed manner. This project will leverage geospatial mapping technology provided by the DOD’s National Geospatial Intelligence Agency through the Tearline program to analyze and identify the growth of Chinese military assets with the purpose of assessing their intent and impact. By using satellite data, this project aims to empirically and statistically track the growth of both China’s military ambitions in each of its sensitive fronts and the scope to which it has gone to achieve those ambitions through military buildup. Note: experience in geospatial data analysis, coding (R or Python), statistics, satellite imagery analysis (Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS) is useful but not required.