Faculty Lead: Aleh Tsyvinski

It has become increasingly clear that supply chains are a critical compo­nent of the global economy. This research initiative will build on the re­search team’s expertise in analyzing megadata on supply chain disruptions to develop a comprehensive index and analysis specifically aimed at critical products. The initiative will develop a unique data infrastructure at global scale by integrating large, federated commercial and administrative data­sets, which will provide an unprecedented level of granularity in under­standing global firm-to-firm supply chains. This effort will put the Blue Center at the forefront of this area of research. The initiative’s main deliverable will be a comprehensive, granular, and near re­al-time index for critical and national security supply chain disruptions— the Blue Center Critical Supply Chain Index and Monitor.

Faculty Lead: Alden Young

The Red Sea Arena, spanning from East Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the most unequal spaces in the world: nation states within the region demonstrate vast disparities in security and wealth. This research initiative will focus on the impact of those disparities for three pressing challenges confronting the region: 1) the Scramble for the Red Sea which is marked by increased geopolitical competition and power projection, 2) economic diversification as a response to global efforts to promote decarbonization and its impact on countries around the Red Sea basin, 3) the impacts of climate change on societies surrounding the Red Sea. The initiative aims to deliver the production of novel data sets and historically-informed analysis that can contribute to policy efforts such as conflict resolution in Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Somalia, as well as stability in the Gulf Cooperation Countries.

Faculty Lead: Mayara Felix

The ability to successfully promote a nation’s interests when negotiating a trade agreement is a key component of statecraft. While much is known about the potential effect of standard tariff reductions—the most common and simplest feature of bilateral trade agreements—little is known about other, more complex features of trade agreements. This project focuses on one such feature: tariff quotas. Tariff quotas are a tool used in some trade agreements, by which imports within the quota pay lower tariffs than im­ports above the quota. Using the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agree­ment as a case-study, and undertaken in conjunction with economists at the Federal Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of Colombia, this initiative will produce a state-of-the-art research paper whose findings can directly inform tariff policy. The research will be communicated to practitioners and policy audiences (e.g., IMF, World Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank, Banco de la República de Colombia, and other central banks).

Faculty Lead: Paul Kennedy

In 2016, Professor Paul Kennedy established the Maritime and Naval His­tory Project in response to a concerning neglect of these issues in the Amer­ican academy. The near absence of research in maritime and naval history at top-tier U.S. research universities still stands in stark contrast to the ur­gency of maritime and naval affairs in contemporary geopolitics. Professor Kennedy’s research initiative at the Blue Center seeks to address this. The initiative aims to produce research on naval and maritime issues that can inform national security, defense, and intelligence policy.