The IWP Internship Experience: Mitchell Basham

My internship experience at the Institute of World Politics (IWP) opened my eyes to the internal mechanisms of the national security and international affairs environment. Throughout my time at IWP, I conducted research, attended events, and participated in graduate-level coursework to assist professors and grow my professional understanding of national security.

For my research, I was paired with Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz and Dr. John Tierney to read, summarize, and organize their various writings on geopolitics. The final product of my research was the introduction for their upcoming book, meant to serve as a student reference resource for the vast field of geopolitics.

Additionally, I assisted Sebastian Smeureanu, IWP’s Director of Media Development and Production, by researching the Abraham Accords and its impacts on the political and economic environment in the Middle East. I mainly focused on the Accords’ effect on regional actors like the Arab/Gulf states: Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Iran, and Qatar. These two research projects allowed me to develop and improve my methodologies and tools, such as Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) collection. They were invaluable to my development as a future national security practitioner.

Moreover, as a Research Intern, I participated in graduate-level coursework taught by IWP’s renowned scholar-practitioner faculty. Overall, I took three courses throughout the summer: two online and one in-person course. My two online courses were IWPO 627: International Relations, Statecraft, and Integrated Strategy and IWPO 608: Sources of American Political Thought, which taught me the fundamental aspects of international affairs and statecraft and the foundational principles of American democratic ideals, respectively. I took IWP 650: Writing for National Security Professionals with Professor John Sano in person. In his course, I learned the tools and writing styles necessary for work within national security. I wrote various reports, policy memos, and recommendations to convey emerging developments and alternative solutions effectively. The entirety of my coursework expanded my knowledge of the mechanisms of international affairs and national security.

Finally, throughout my time as a Research Intern, I had innumerable positive experiences. My interactions with the professional staff and coworkers at IWP have been overwhelmingly positive. The internship allowed me to grow individually, interact with interesting people, and attend events at respected institutions throughout Washington, D.C. My favorite experience, out of the many, would be the NATO Summit discussion hosted by Foreign Policy Magazine. In this event, the intern cohort was privileged to hear from domestic and foreign experts and practitioners about various developments within the vital alliance. We learned about emerging technologies and security threats that impact NATO and explored the future as NATO enters its next era of interstate cooperation. Overall, this experience was overwhelmingly positive and allowed me better to understand the interplay between all aspects of national security.

Mitchell Basham
IWP National Security and International Affairs Research Intern, Summer 2024
Elon University

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