#  Program on International Relations and International Security  

 



   ![Looking up a spiral staircase in shadows. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2026-08/program-spiral-stairs-IRIS_0.jpg?itok=0uZhcUF7) 

 

Continuing the legacy of Harvard's John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, the Program on International Relations and International Security (IRIS) supports rigorous research on national security, international conflict, and foreign policy decision making.

Based at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, IRIS hosts a mix of postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows, bringing them to Harvard for a year to conduct rigorous research on international security issues, and integrating them in the broader scholarly community. An undergraduate fellows program enables Harvard College students to work with IRIS fellows on research, and participate in programming.



 

##  Administration 

Joshua D. Kertzer is the director of the Program on International Relations and International Security (IRIS).

 

 



  [### Joshua D. Kertzer

 ](/people/joshua-d-kertzer) <jkertzer@gov.harvard.edu>Faculty Associate. 

John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Government, Department of Government, Harvard University.

 

 

**Research interests:** International security; US foreign policy; political psychology; and public opinion about foreign affairs.



 

 

      ![Josh Kertzer.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/wcfia/files/kertzer_josh_1.jpg?itok=YeIjpvaY) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 [ View all program affiliates arrow\_circle\_right ](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/people?f%5B0%5D=hwp_c_peoplecategories12%3A133221) 

 

 

 

 

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##  All Programs &amp; Projects 

The Weatherhead Center hosts formal programs that link faculty and affiliates working in similar research areas. Projects at the Weatherhead Center are discrete activities that connect interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and students working in a specific research area. Projects may include student internships, multiyear research activities, and more.

 

 



  [### Canada Program

 ](/programs/canada)Presenting rich intellectual opportunities for Canadian studies at Harvard.



 

 

   ![Mural of a red deer.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/Cards-Homepage-Mural.jpg?itok=zLJtkVk_) 

 



 

 

   [### Program on US-Japan Relations

 ](/programs/us_japan)Promoting social science research on Japan from comparative, global, and interdisciplinary perspectives.



 

 

   ![Bustling city streets at night.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/Event-Image-AP-SocialPolicy.jpg?h=832fd3e9&itok=P-A53RUf) 

 



 

 

   [### Project on Global History

 ](/weatherhead_initiative/11_global_history)Helping to transform the study of the past through research that examines historical processes, networks, identities, and events across the boundaries of the nation-states.



 

 

   ![Dozens of women and children using ladders to pick at a coffee plantation.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-08/cluster-global-history-wikimedia-commons.jpg?itok=YqJJgxj9) 

 



 

 

   [### SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center

 ](/projects/scancor)Sustaining organizational scholarship across boundaries.



 

 

   ![SCANCOR affiliates stand side by side in an office lobby.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/scancor-group-2025.jpg?itok=iKYx4t3j) 

 



 

 

   [### STAR Lab

 ](/projects/star-lab)Designing and testing new ways for businesses to create positive social impacts, benefit communities, and protect the environment.



 

 

   ![Rendering of office workers walking between tree-lined buildings. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/STARLAB-Hero2.jpg?itok=nUozbWFE) 

 



 

 

   [### The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies 

 ](/programs/academy)Dedicated to promoting innovative social science hand-in-hand with deepening our shared knowledge of the experiences and practices of the world’s regions and countries.



 

 

   ![Outside of a building with trees and shrubs on a sunny day.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/1727Building-forweb.jpeg?h=d673997c&itok=tuylMvPn) 

 



 

 

   [### Weatherhead Scholars Program

 ](/programs/scholars)Offering visiting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced practitioners the opportunity to spend up to one year at Harvard conducting research.



 

 

   ![Exterior of a brick building on a sunny day.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-04/61kirkland-2500px.jpg?itok=dauvPYRb) 

 



 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Programs ](/content-types/programs)
- [ Current Programs ](/content-types/current-programs)