SPDR Speaker Series

SPDR speaker series will host scholars, experts, and professionals from across the security, policy, and diplomacy world for virtual and in-person sessions at the University of Washington. Speaker events will cover a variety of topics and will center on providing students, researchers, and professionals with insight into current events and methodologies for developing and implementing impactful policy.

Upcoming Public Events

Positioning Japan in AI and Emerging Technologies

April 24, 2026 | 2:00 – 4 PM (Pacific) | Thomson Hall 317 | Contact organizer for information or to request seating (smp1@uw.edu)

Sponsored through a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation

Welcome and Introductions – Saadia Pekannen

Saadia M. Pekkanen is the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Professor of International Studies, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is Founding Director of the Space Law, Data, and Policy Program (SPACE LDP, Law School); and the Founding Director of the Program on Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR, Jackson School). She works at the intersection of international relations and international law, specializing in the commercial, legal, and security policies shaping outer space affairs.

Presider, Jim Goldgeiger is a Professor at the School of International Service at American University, where he served as Dean from 2011-17 and currently serves as the PhD Program Director. He is a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, both at Stanford University, and he is a non-resident fellow at the Kennan Institute. From 2019-25, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. In 2018-19, he held the Library of Congress Chair in U.S.-Russia Relations at the John W. Kluge Center and was a visiting senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Goldgeier is past president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (2015-2017), and incoming president-elect of the International Studies Association (ISA) 2027-2028. Dr. Goldgeier’s areas of expertise include contemporary international relations, American foreign policy, and U.S.-Europe – Russia relations.  He is author or editor of six books and numerous articles and essays, with a focus on U.S.-NATO-Russia relations since the end of the Cold War. As part of his commitment to publicly engaged scholarship, he is a senior adviser for Bridging the Gap, an initiative to strengthen the relationship between research and policy to benefit society.

Panelists

Crystal Pryor, “Export Controls and Defense Technologies”

Crystal Pryor is Managing Director of TradeStrategic LLC, a Seattle-based research and consulting firm specializing in strategic trade and economic security. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Policy Research (CPR), University at Albany, SUNY, leading research on dual-use technology policy and export controls in Asia and globally. Dr. Pryor previously held a postdoctoral fellowship in the U.S.-Japan Program at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center. Her expertise includes Japan’s security policy, dual-use technologies, and nonproliferation, with both U.S. government and commercial consulting experience.

Ted Fujimoto, “Understanding Capabilities and Risks in AI for Defense”

Ted Fujimoto is a Research Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) specializing in the intersection of artificial intelligence, security, and international policy. His research expertise spans AI security, multi-agent systems, and autonomous science, and he has a proven track record of successful collaboration with experts in both policy and the natural sciences. Recognizing the limitations of current arms control frameworks in addressing the unique risks posed by rapidly evolving AI systems, Ted is exploring novel approaches to verification, transparency, and risk mitigation. This work draws inspiration from the historical success of nuclear deterrence, adapting its principles to the distinct characteristics of AI. He aims to bridge the gap between technical AI research and arms control diplomacy, fostering a more informed and proactive approach to managing the risks of military AI. Ted holds a Master’s degree in Computer and Information Technology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is committed to fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and developing practical solutions to ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies. As one of three AI Fellows for the AIxNuclear Fellowship, Ted works with the Berkeley Security and Risk Lab and the Council on Strategic Risks. His fellowship research examines the impact of AI and space-based intelligence on nuclear verification and deterrence.

 Adam Liff, “Japan’s Defense Strategy in the Takaichi Era” 

Adam P. Liff is Professor of East Asian International Relations and Founding Director of the 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Beyond IU, he is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and previously served as the Visiting Chair in Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy at Georgetown University. Dr. Liff’s research examines East Asia security affairs—with particular emphasis on Japanese politics, defense policy, and the U.S.-Japan alliance. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Politics from Princeton and a B.A. from Stanford. His website is https://adampliff.com/.

Ayumi Teraoka, “The Future of the US-Japan alliance in Changing Warfare” 

Ayumi Teraoka is Assistant Professor of Politics at Brandeis University. She studies alliance politics and security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Her forthcoming book examines the history of U.S. alliance management in Asia from the 1960s to the present, illuminating the conditions under which the United States successfully negotiated geopolitically contested issues with allies, including air defense integration and the defense of Taiwan, in the face of China’s opposition. Her research has been supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the America in the World Consortium, among others. Before joining Brandeis, she held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin (2022-2023) and Columbia University (2023-2025), where she taught Japanese Foreign Policy for Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). She also previously held research positions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Security Studies from Princeton University, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Law from Keio University.

Commentators

Jessica L. Beyer is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and a lead of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Initiative. Dr. Beyer teaches cybersecurity politics courses in the Jackson School and supervises student research through the Cybersecurity Initiative and Global Research Groups. Dr. Beyer’s research focuses on international technology politics, online communities and politics, and dis/misinformation.

 

Kristin Vekasi, the inaugural Mansfield Chair of Japanese and Indo-Pacific Affairs, comes to UM from the University of Maine, where she focused on trade and investment strategies in changing geopolitical environments and the political risk management of supply chains. She specializes in Northeast Asia and has spent years conducting research in China, Japan, and South Korea. Her current research examines how Japan, China, and the U.S. cooperate and compete to manage complex supply chains, focusing on raw materials and industries essential for the transition to green energy.

Vekasi received her PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Before joining the faculty at the University of Maine, she taught at New College of Florida, was a visiting Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo, and a Fulbright Fellow at Tohoku University. She is a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s US-Japan Network for the Future and Mansfield-Luce Scholars Network, and a 2019 National Asia Research Program Fellow with the National Bureau of Asian Research, where she is also a nonresident fellow. In 2021-2022, she was an academic associate at Harvard University’s US-Japan Program.

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Past Events

Framing the Question: Relevance and Rigor in Academic Research, with Colin Moreshead

February 23, 2026 | 2:00 – 4:00 PM (Pacific) | Thomson Hall 317 | Contact organizer for information or to request seating (smp1@uw.edu)

Sponsored through a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation

How can academics communicate specialized research to lay audiences? During early career stages, question (re)framing can structure one’s research agenda in ways that translate more readily to diverse audiences. Further downstream, a series of reframings can prepare researchers to “sell” their work broadly: what can be known vs. what can be done, policy relevance vs. personal familiarity, and which outcome metrics are salient to whom. Together, these considerations provide some reference for the broader accessibility and appeal of academic research as it progresses from concept to output.

Colin Moreshead is a postdoctoral fellow at the Program on US-Japan Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He completed his doctorate in Political Science at Yale University, where he specialized in comparative politics. His research centers on political communication and comparative political behavior in Japan, with emphasis on how shifts in mass communication shape public opinion and electoral dynamics. His dissertation integrates observational text analysis, interviews, and an experiment to demonstrate the incumbency advantage embedded in Japanese media strategies. He also conducts related work on digital fieldwork, soft power, and public diplomacy.

 

Positioning Japan in Cybersecurity Trajectories

October 24, 2025 | 3:00 – 4:30 PM (Pacific) | Thomson Hall 317

Sponsored through a grant from the United States-Japan Foundation

Contact organizer for information or to request seating (smp1@uw.edu)

Welcome and Introductions – Saadia Pekannen

Saadia M. Pekkanen is the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Professor of International Studies, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is Founding Director of the Space Law, Data, and Policy Program (SPACE LDP, Law School); and the Founding Director of the Program on Strategy, Policy, and Diplomacy Research (SPDR, Jackson School). She works at the intersection of international relations and international law, specializing in the commercial, legal, and security policies shaping outer space affairs.

Moderator and Chair – Steven Vogel

Steven K. Vogel is Director of the Political Economy Program, the Il Han New Professor of Asian Studies, and a Professor of Political Science and Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in the political economy of the advanced industrialized nations, especially Japan. He is the author of Marketcraft: How Governments Make Markets Work (2018); Japan Remodeled: How Government and Industry Are Reforming Japanese Capitalism (2006); and Freer Markets, More Rules: Regulatory Reform in Advanced Industrial Countries (1996).

“Overview of Foreign and Defense Policies in Japan”, Crystal Pryor

Dr. Crystal Pryor is Managing Director of TradeStrategic LLC, a Seattle-based research and consulting firm specializing in strategic trade and economic security. She is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Policy Research (CPR), University at Albany, SUNY, leading research on dual-use technology policy and export controls in Asia and globally. Dr. Pryor previously held a postdoctoral fellowship in the U.S.-Japan Program at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center. Her expertise includes Japan’s security policy, dual-use technologies, and nonproliferation, with both U.S. government and commercial consulting experience.

“Overview of Cybersecurity around the World”, Jessica L. Beyer
Jessica L. Beyer is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and a lead of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Initiative. Dr. Beyer teaches cybersecurity politics courses in the Jackson School and supervises student research through the Cybersecurity Initiative and Global Research Groups. Dr. Beyer’s research focuses on international technology politics, online communities and politics, and dis/misinformation.

“Japan in Cyber Security”, Benjamin Bartlett

Dr. Benjamin Bartlett is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and an affiliate of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. His research interests include comparative cybersecurity policy, cybersecurity in East Asia, the role of cybersecurity in alliances, andinternational cooperation on cybersecurity capacity building.He has published in Journal of Cyber Policy,Asia Policy, The Pacific Review, and in the Oxford Handbook of Japanese Politics.He is also a 2022 recipient of an NEH Fellowship for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan.