Institute for Global and Regional Security Studies (IGRSS)
The Institute of Global and Regional Security Studies (IGRSS) is a partnership of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security. It was created to fill a critical need for trained specialists in nonproliferation to fill vital positions in government, the national laboratories, universities and NGOs. Students trained in IGRSS courses have gone directly into positions at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation as well as some of the nation's most prestigious graduate programs.
The signature identity of IGRSS is the unique combination of expertise offered by its two founding organizations: the scientific and technical resources of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the scholarly resources of the international studies faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.
IGRSS is co-directed by Dr. Christopher D. Jones, Associate Professor in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, and Dr. Mark Leek, Senior Research Scientist in the Center for Global Security. Board members include Carol Kessler, Director of the Center for Global Security, Debbie Dickman, Head of PNNL's Nonproliferation and Global Threat Reduction Product Line, and Dr. James Fuller, former Director of the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs (DNNP) at PNNL, Dr. Stephen Hanson, Director of the Ellison Center for Russia East European and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, and Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr., former acting head of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Nonproliferation Curriculum
IGRSS has built a core curriculum around the strengths of its two sponsoring institutions. Four courses are devoted specifically to the topic of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) nonproliferation. A Masters level Degree Certificate in Nonproliferation Studies, and undergraduate minor are in the final stages of development. The two programs share two core courses: International Law and Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction (below).
- “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” is taught by Dr. James L. Fuller. The course provides future non-scientist, international security specialists with a fundamental level of understanding of how countries develop and acquire weapons of mass destruction. Dr. Fuller is former Director of the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Programs (DNNP) at PNNL and was the first Director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security (CGS).
- “Arms Control and International Law” is taught by Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. The course examines arms control treaties and related international agreements as instruments of national security strategy for the U.S. and other countries. Ambassador Graham is former acting director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency under President H.W. Bush, and author of Disarmament Sketches: Three Decades of International Law and Arms Control.
- “Arms Control Simulation” taught by Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. The course gives students, (all of whom already have a basic grounding in arms control/nonproliferation and national security policy and negotiations as a requirement for enrolling), a first hand look as to how international security negotiations actually work as well as a direct and intensive negotiating experience.
- “Perspectives on Atomic Energy and Non-Proliferation,” taught by Professors Gennady Pshakin and Victor Sosnin from the Russian Federation. The course examines the historical interaction between the technology of nuclear power engineering and the emergence of international cooperation to stop nuclear weapons proliferation. The principal point of reference for the course is the Soviet/Russian experience with these global issues. Dr. Pashakin and Dr. Sosnin are faculty members at Obninsk State University for Atomic Energy in Obninsk, Russia. In addition, Dr. Pshakin is Head of the Center for Analytical Nonproliferation at the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering in Obninsk, Russia.
In addition, IGRSS offers several optional security-related courses taught by affiliate faculty.
- Frederick Lorenz, a retired Marine Corps lawyer who previously taught at the National Defense University, offers a rotation of three courses: International Law and Military Intervention, International Humanitarian Law, and Water and Security In the Tigris-Euphrates Basin.
- Dr. Wonmo Dong, former Chair of Asian Studies at Southern Methodist University, offers a rotation of two courses: The Politics of a Divided Korea and United States-South Korean Security Relations.
- Professor Christopher Jones teaches a related IGRSS course, “The Security Policies of Democracies.”
International Collaborations
In association with NNSA and the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security, IGRSS is beginning collaboration with faculty from universities in China to develop nonproliferation curriculum. IGRSS visited China in June 2006 to facilitate the development of nonproliferation curriculum at three Chinese Universities under the auspices of and with funding provided by the Office of Security Engagement in the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Program at NNSA.