Soka Institute for Global Solutions

We invite you to be part of Nuclear Politics 2026!

Thursday, June 11 | 1:00–2:30 PM | Pauling 216
“The Danger of Nuclear War and How to Avoid It From Happening”
Join us for a special session with Dr. Ira Helfand of the ICAN International Steering Group, a leading voice for nuclear disarmament and abolition.
→ Open to the SUA community

Friday, June 12 | 10:30 AM | Pauling 216
Conclusion Ceremony + Final Project Presentations
Featuring 15 participants from 8 countries and 13 universities. Come support these incredible changemakers as they share their visions for a safer world!
→ Open to the SUA community

       

We are excited to invite you to the SIGS Talk by Dr. Nahum Dimitri Chandler on Tuesday, April 14, featuring a talk titled: “Of Dignity and Difference: Or W. E. B. Du Bois, Immanuel Kant and the Idea of a “United” “League of Nations”.
 
Our speaker, Nahum Dimitri Chandler, is the Distinguished Advisory Fellow for SUA within the Office of the President and the Distinguished SIGS Research Fellow. He is the author of five books, most recently The Possible Form of an Interlocution: W. E. B. Du Bois and Max Weber in Correspondence (Duke University Press, October 2025). He serves as Associate Editor of the journal CR: The New Centennial Review and has been a faculty member in the School of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine, since 2011.

Event Details 
Date & Time: Tuesday, April 14 | 4:45 - 6:00 PM
Location: Pauling 216

Environmental Studies and Soka Institute for Global Solutions are excited to announce an upcoming talk by Joan Martinez-Alier and Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos: World Movements for Environmental Justice.

Event Date & Time: Wednesday, April 8 | 4:45-6pm [Today]
Location: Curie 200

Even without further economic growth, the industrial economy would need new supplies of energy and materials extracted from the “commodity frontiers”. Waste disposal, including excessive amounts of greenhouse gases, keep rising. Less than ten percent of the materials coming into the economy (including the energy carriers) are recycled. Therefore, new ecological distribution conflicts arise all the time giving rise to an environmentalism of the poor and the Indigenous. During the event, Professor Martinez-Alier and Professor Rodríguez-Labajos will present insights from a global database documenting ca 4500 of such conflicts (the EJ Atlas). They will also introduce a related project investigating how the digitalization of grassroots transformative initiatives in pursuit of environmental justice and biocultural diversity is unfolding amidst unequal digital endowments (the DIVERSE project).

The Soka Institute for Global Solutions (SIGS) is pleased to announce the Sustainable Environmental Gardening Program, rooted in the Earth Charter’s values and the spirit of living in harmony with nature and one another. This family-friendly, community-based program runs for three months from May 9 to August 8, 2026, with biweekly sessions on Saturdays.

📌Applications open on Tuesday, April 7 at 5:00 PM on a first-come, first-served basis and will close once all spots are filled (may close early if capacity is reached).

We invite you to join us for the fourth annual Nuclear Politics Summer Program!

Spend a week in an immersive, collaborative learning environment at Soka University of America exploring one of the most urgent issues of our time: nuclear politics.

The fourth Nuclear Politics will take place June 8–12, 2026, at the Soka University of America. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from all academic backgrounds, this program invites participants to examine nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation through theoretical, legal, and historical perspectives. Together, you will analyze current global challenges, identify meaningful opportunities for change, and design practical frameworks for action at the local, regional, and global levels.

The program is facilitated by institute staff, affiliates, alumni, and student leaders, with guest speakers from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Through interactive seminars, discussions, and a collaborative group project, you will strengthen your research, leadership, and teamwork skills while building lasting connections with peers committed to creating a safer world.

All participants will stay on campus in a private residence hall room with suite-style bathroom access. Full accommodation and meals are provided throughout the program. Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from campus.

The application deadline is April 10, 2026. Selected applicants will be invited to interview via Zoom.�Find more information about the program here: https://sigs.soka.edu/nuclear-disarmament-and-abolition/nuclear-politics-summer-program/

For questions, please contact [email protected].

In the debut feature of a new series from SIGS, Associate Professor George Busenberg explores how government policy has shaped the global rise of solar energy.

His latest paper, “The Policy Evolution of Solar Energy,” traces the history of solar power from its first practical use on a U.S. satellite in 1958 to the high-efficiency, low-cost photovoltaic systems of today. The research then highlights how strategic policies in China, Germany, Japan, and the United States have driven investment, reduced costs, strengthened energy security, and advanced climate action. While solar energy has achieved a significant global momentum, Dr. Busenberg argues that continued large-scale transformation depends on three critical pillars: public support, political will, and informed policy-making.

The paper marks the inaugural issue of Occasional Papers, a joint initiative of the Soka Institute for Global Solutions and the Office of Academic Affairs. In future editions, Dr. Busenberg will continue this series on the policy history of alternative energy by examining wind power and hydropower.

Read the full feature here: https://www.soka.edu/news-events/news/powering-renewable-energy-transition-george-busenberg-examines-global-solar-policy