Chappell Lawson Session Overview

Associate Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CHAPPELL LAWSON is an Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT. Lawson’s recent work has focused on homeland security policy, Mexican politics, the effect of candidates’ physical appearance on their electoral success, and political leadership. From September2009 through February 2011, Lawson served in government as Executive Director and Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Lawson was a National Fellow at The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at the University of California, San Diego. His recent publications include Beyond 9/11: Homeland Security for the 21st Century and Mexico’s Democratic Evolution: A Comparative Study of the 2012 Elections.

25th Anniversary Video

Hear past and present organizers reflect on over 25 years of the Seminar XXI Program and its impact on the national security policy community.

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2026–2027 SESSION DATES

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Find out who attended and the national security topics discussed.

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