JOIN US FOR A IN PERSON DISCUSSION AT COBLE HALL 101.

Please sign up for the one on one discussion with John Erath or Connor Murray: CLICK HERE

Feel free to discuss about how to look for a job with an international relations/international security background or any other questions.

The presentation starts at 12.30 pm. 

Lunch provided: Choose your lunch box : CLICK HERE

Also join us for a presentation at 5.00 pm in Chez Veteran Centre,1020.

Meeting link : https://illinois.zoom.us/j/81184662401?pwd=TElRaWVxS2c0MDUwSWFhYm43dGhw…

Meeting ID: 811 8466 2401

Password: ACDIS

Pizza Provided

Title: 

• The future of arms control given current conflicts
• How our organization operates in Washington, DC/why arms control advocacy remains important

Abstract

Nuclear weapons and arms control have not been top of mind for many people since the end of the Cold War. However, recent conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and rhetoric from nuclear weapons states, alongside popular culture phenomena like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer have once again elevated nuclear weapons into everyday conversation.  Have we entered into a new Cold War? Are nuclear weapons to be a standard instrument of statecraft? Is the idea of arms control dead? What role can young people play in the future of arms control?

Come listen to John Erath and Connor Murray (UIUC/ACDIS ’16), from the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation in Washington, who will attempt to answer these questions and see if there is any way out of a future filled with threats of weapons of mass destruction.

Biographies

John Erath is the Senior Policy Director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, overseeing the policy team and guiding work on issues including Iran, Russia, North Korea, China, U.S. domestic nuclear policy and more. This follows 30 years of government service, much of it in arms control and non-proliferation.

Most recently, he completed a two-year assignment on the U.S. National Security Council, where he was responsible for European issues. In this capacity, he focused on cooperation with NATO and the European Union, as well as heading White House efforts to improve stability in the Balkans. He began his diplomatic career in the 1990s working in what was then Yugoslavia. He was later seconded to the OSCE in Kosovo and the Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo. Subsequently, he covered the Balkans at the U.S. Mission to NATO and for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

In Washington, Erath also focused on arms control and non-proliferation, having worked on the delegation for adaptation of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and led the U.S. Delegation to the Wassenaar Arrangement General Working Group. He has also held diplomatic positions in India and Brazil. Until 2018, he headed the political-military affairs office at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

Erath is a graduate of Georgetown University and has a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College in Washington. He is the author of several award winning articles on military history and three plays. He is married and has two children.

Connor Murray is the Research Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. His research interests include peaceful uses of nuclear technology, European foreign policy and security, and NATO. His writing and comments have appeared in Responsible Statecraft, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the Hill. Connor has also appeared on podcasts, radio, and television.

Prior to joining the Center, Connor worked in government relations at Signal Group and Elevate Government Affairs, as well as for the office of Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly. He also interned for the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria where he focused on IAEA and arms control work. He holds a dual BA in Political Science and German Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in International Affairs from American University.

Vienna, Austria is home for Connor and you can find him watching soccer, riding his bicycle, or at karaoke in his spare time.