Press | Clements Dispatch

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 10th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is open to unpublished…

Congratulations to Clements Undergraduate Fellow Simon Gerst on his selection for a 2024-2025 Fulbright award! Simon is a senior triple-major in Jewish Studies, German, and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Simon will spend the academic year in Kyrgyzstan, undertaking research on a project entitled “No One is Forgotten: Rediscovering Kyrgyzstan’s Lost Jewish Émigrés.” He…

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Clements Center joined forces with the Center for European Studies and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law to welcome the Atlantic Council, NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and the Consulate General of Canada to the United States…

Austin, TX – The Clements Center for National Security is pleased to announce renowned Navy SEAL and former Acting Director of National Intelligence, Vice Admiral (Ret.) Joe Maguire as our new Executive Director. As a Professor of Practice, Maguire will also hold the Sid Richardson Visiting Chair at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where…

Take a look back at the last semester in our Winter 2023 Newsletter!

The Clements Center honors Henry Kissinger for his contributions to national security, diplomacy, and U.S. history. He served as a devoted public servant, leading scholar and practitioner of foreign affairs, and a helpful confidant to administrations of both parties. Over the course of a long career, he shaped and participated in a variety of momentous…

On October 18th, the Clements-Strauss Asia Policy Program co-hosted a two-panel event on Economic Security in the Indo-Pacific with the Korea Economic Institute of America. The day kicked off with brief introductions by Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Asia Policy Director, and Troy Stangarone, KEI Senior Director and Fellow. The first panel focused on “The View…

Applications are now open for the 2024 Summer Seminar in History and Statecraft! Policymakers frequently attempt to draw on historical knowledge to gain perspective on contemporary national security issues. Meanwhile, historians and other scholars frequently comment on present-day decision-making problems and sometimes aspire to influence policy debates. Yet policymakers and scholars generally occupy separate intellectual…

Last week, the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Intelligence Studies Project and the America in the World Consortium brought together Stephen Slick, Paul Edgar, Simone Ledeen and Adam Klein for a conversation on the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, the likely Israeli response, and the broader…

The Clements Center offers predoctoral fellowships to advanced PhD students to live and work in Austin, Texas. Fellows will spend the substantial portion of their time working on their own research and writing projects, while taking advantage of the many academic resources available here at the University of Texas-Austin. The fellowship offers a competitive stipend, full use…

Earlier this month, the Clements Center for National Security and the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, with the support of the University of Texas at Austin, hosted Secretary Antony J. Blinken, the 71st Secretary of State of the United States, for a conversation on the state of foreign affairs with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. The event…

On September 13th, the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project, hosted “The War in Ukraine: On the Battlefield, in the Kremlin, and in the Courtroom.” The event kicked off with keynote remarks on “Investigating Russian War Crimes: Ukraine’s Quest for Justice” by…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project is now accepting applications to participate in the 2024 Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA). TIA is a competitive, all-expenses paid, intensive academic program for UT undergraduate students focused on intelligence and national security in Washington, D.C. The 2024 program will run from May 12 to 21, 2024. INFO SESSION: October 24,…

Take a look at the Clements Center’s summer programming and what we have in store for the fall!

Applications are open now through Friday, November 3, 2023 at 11:00 pm Central for the “London Maymester: The U.S., U.K., and World Order.” London Maymester: The U.S., U.K., and World Order In partnership with the world-renowned War Studies Department at King’s College London, the Maymester in London provides exemplary students the opportunity to learn firsthand about…

ISP-Sponsored Surveys During the Biden Presidency Affirm Continued Strong Public Support for the Intelligence Community But Also Signal Growing Partisanship The Chicago Council on Global Affairs recently published the results of two annual polls sponsored by UT-Austin’s Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project. The surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 confirm that most Americans believe US intelligence…

The highly selective program brought twenty-two advanced doctoral students from premier universities in the U.S. and abroad, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Georgetown, King’s College London, Cambridge, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Boston and Chicago, for a week of learning, discussion and networking. Seminar participants discussed the relationship between history and policy with distinguished policymakers and academics, including…

The Intelligence Studies Project of the University of Texas at Austin is pleased to announce the winner and two semifinalists in the ninth-annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security.   The recipient of the “Inman Award” is A.J. Dilts, a 2023 graduate of Harvard University in History and Government. His…

This June, the Clements Center led nine undergraduates from UT-Austin on a tour of Israel and the Palestinian Territories in order to study the modern political history of Israelis and Palestinian Arabs from the late 19th century through the present. Students learned firsthand from scholars, policymakers, and even a few who lived through the politically…

For our annual London Maymester “The U.S., U.K., and World Order” program, twenty undergraduate students from UT-Austin traveled to the United Kingdom, France and Belgium to study the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom with the world-renowned War Studies Department at King’s College London. Throughout the month, students attended lectures including…

The Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project hosted the fourth running of the Texas Intelligence Academy (TIA) from May 16 to 25, 2023 in the National Capital Area. The TIA 2023 cohort comprised 15 undergraduate students from UT-Austin, UT-El Paso, and UT-San Antonio. Students participated in classroom lectures and exercises with current and former senior intelligence professionals…

Departure Statement from the Clements Center’s founding Executive Director William Inboden: After thirteen incomparable years at the University of Texas at Austin, and ten years leading the Clements Center for National Security, I have accepted a new leadership position at the University of Florida. Beginning August 1, I will be working for University of Florida…

Last month, the America in the World Consortium’s team of scholar-practitioners from Duke University, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and the University of Texas at Austin hosted the fourth iteration of the AWC Annual Policy Conference. This year, the Consortium convened at the Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia to bring together experts from academia and…

Last month, the America in the World Consortium’s team of scholar-practitioners from Duke University, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and the University of Texas at Austin hosted the fourth iteration of the AWC Annual Policy Conference. This year, the Consortium convened at the Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia to bring together experts from academia and…

Our latest newsletter is out! Take a look back at the spring semester at the Clements Center.

Message from the Director

We draw your attention to a Moscow court’s recent sentencing of Russian politician, journalist and historian Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a penal colony for an earlier treason conviction for his public criticism of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Many of you will recall Kara-Murza’s visit to UT-Austin in February 2022 – two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. He was invited to Austin by the Clements Center for National Security, Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Intelligence Studies Project, together with the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and UT’s Global Disinformation Lab.

Congratulations to former Clements Center Grad Fellow Augusta Dell’Omo on being awarded UT’s Outstanding Dissertation Award for 2023 for Humanities & Fine Arts! Her research focuses on global white supremacist movements and their use of emerging mass media and Internet technologies. Dr. Dell’Omo is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Presidential history at Southern Methodist…

The Intelligence Studies Project of The University of Texas at Austin announces the 8th annual competition recognizing outstanding student research and writing on topics related to intelligence and national security. The winner of the “Inman Award” will receive a cash prize of $5,000, with two semifinalists each receiving a cash prize of $2,500. This competition is open to unpublished work by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in degree programs at accredited U.S. higher education institutions during the 2022-23 academic year. The deadline for submitting papers is June 30, 2023. 

The Clements Center for National Security celebrated our tenth anniversary with a gala dinner in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, March 23rd, 2023. Around 400 friends, supporters, students and alums attended and enjoyed the keynote remarks by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the 66th United States Secretary of State. She discussed her remarkable personal history, public service, observations on current national security challenges, and the importance of studying history. Our program also included remarks from Jay Hartzell, President of the University of Texas at Austin, George Seay, Chairman of the Clements Center Board, and JB Milliken, Chancellor of the University of Texas System. One highlight of the evening was a special video featuring current and former Clements Center students and their impressive work. The video can be viewed here.

On the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Clements Center for National Security hosted former Vice President Mike Pence for a speech commemorating the somber occasion. Pence called for additional support for Ukraine in front of a crowd of UT-Austin students and faculty, including several refugees from Ukraine, and members of the press.

We are delighted to be a cosponsor of the @reaganfoundation’s “Age of Reagan Conference” in August. Both individual and group submissions welcome. Abstracts must be submitted by March 25, 2023.

In January, the Clements Center for National Security, the LBJ Presidential Library, the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project teamed up with the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) to host a two-day event at the LBJ Presidential Library, “America’s Secrets: Classified Information and Our Democracy.”