About the Conference

This conference seeks to bring together graduate students from a variety of disciplines who specialize in topics related to war, peace, and all aspects of international security. International security is interpreted broadly here to include its physical and natural science dimensions such as engineering, computer science, and biology. Hence, we strongly encourage participation by graduate students with backgrounds in the technological aspects of international security, as well as by students in the social sciences and humanities.

The conference is an initiative of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS) at the University of Illinois. A central assumption of the ACDIS program is that the challenges of international security must be approached "as complex phenomena that can only be understood through an examination of multiple causes and impacts." With this in mind, the goals of the conference are to:

consider the diverse methodological and theoretical approaches currently being applied to security studies;
establish an ongoing dialogue between scholars working on divergent aspects of security within varying disciplinary contexts;
identify new and cutting-edge perspectives from which security-related topics are being explored.
Pending the focus of submitted papers and posters, topics to be covered in the conference may include:

Nuclear proliferation and arms control
Nuclear test verification issues
Missile defense systems
Biological threat reduction
Food security issues
Cybersecurity
Energy security and climate change
Spatial analysis of conflict
Identity and conflict
Human security
Reconsidering historical perspectives of war
Peace movements
International security organizations
Militarism and militarization
Regional security and peacekeeping
Ethics, morality, and culture of war
International law aspects of war
Women and gender in security and conflict
Post-conflict reconstruction
Conference Logistics

For details regarding paper and poster submissions, please see the call for abstracts. The conference agenda, participant list, lodging options for traveling participants, and other additional information will be posted as these details become available.