Even before the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union dissolved into independent states in December 1991, the Center was actively bridging relations between the United States and the states of Eastern Europe.

The University of Georgia established the Center, then called the Center for East-West Trade Policy, in the spring of 1987 with the goal of using its research, education and service to promote peace, trade and security. By researching political, economic and security issues related to international trade and technology transfer, and developing enlightened trade and security policies, the Center began to make a substantial contribution toward the goal of building a safer world.

The Center's early work benefitted greatly from the wisdom and guiding hands of the late Dean Rusk, former Secretary of State under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Martin Hillenbrand, former ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State. Upon retirement from government service, both men came to the University of Georgia to share their experience. Through their guidance the Center has become an instructional laboratory, a place to train students to conduct research, develop new ideas, and share knowledge.

By 1990, Center staff were acknowledged experts on nonproliferation and security issues. In 1990, Gary Bertsch was called to testify for the second time before the House Foreign Affairs Committee as it considered whether or not to expand high technology trade with the former Soviet Union. In 1992, Igor Khripunov, a former Soviet and Russian foreign service officer with expertise in arms control and nonproliferation, joined the Center to head its New Independepent States (NIS) Program. The Center routinely held conferences on trade and security issues and began a multi-year study entitled, "Nonproliferation Export Controls in the 1990s: Controlling the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction" which would eventually reach governments and businesses around the world.

Over the past decade, the Center's activities have broadened beyond the states of the former Soviet Union to include trade and security issues all over the world. In 1997, former US Senator Sam Nunn asked the Center to host and co-sponsor the inaugural Samm Nunn Policy Forum to address issues of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and US preparedness. The Center regularly brings esteemed academics, government officials and industry leaders and non-governmental organizations together from all over the world to discuss the issue of balancing trade interests with security. CITS outreach efforts in the NIS and elsewhere have focused on enhancing nuclear security by training facility personnel, educating industry, and evaluating government programs designed to improve security.

As our nation confronts the considerable security challenges of the new millenium, the Center continues to be a source of reliable information, and remains dedicated to research, teaching and service in fulfilling its mission of promoting greater understanding and peaceful cooperation among nations.