The following reflection is from Sera Andrugtsang, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2023. Students had the opportunity to engage in civic engagement assignments with disarmament advocacy efforts in the context of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meetings in New York City. “In front of the world sculpture at the United Nations headquarters with my classmates” — Sera Andrugtsang As I embarked on the Civic Engagement assignment for the Global Politics of D ..read more

An article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists this month highlighted the research by Pace University’s International Disarmament Institute on nuclear disarmament policy in New York City. Co-authored by Institute co-director Dr. Matthew Breay Bolton with disarmament campaigner, Kathleen Sullivan, the article, “Nuclear-free NYC: How New Yorkers are disarming the legacies of the Manhattan Project” outlines the history of nuclear weapons in New York City, as well as local advocacy, activism and policymaking that have made it a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.   ..read more

The following reflection is from Chadha Nacer, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2023. Students had the opportunity to engage in civic engagement assignments with disarmament advocacy efforts in the context of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meetings in New York City. Like many young people, I have spent my time consuming carefully curated social media posts of my dream career; I was starry-eyed with the dreams of diplomatic work, and it was punctuated wi ..read more

The following reflection is from Jane Ilona Ressa ’24, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2023. Students had the opportunity to engage in civic engagement assignments with disarmament advocacy efforts in the context of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meetings in New York City. Author Jane Ressa in the General Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters Taking the disarmament class last semester was a privilege, to put it simply. Not only in the ability to ..read more

The following reflection is from Antje Hipkins ’23, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2022. Students were given service learning assignments with local disarmament advocacy organizations working in New York City. Madison’s assignment was with the Reaching Critical Will project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. #Leaders4Tomorrow present their ideas to advance disarmament education in UN General Assembly First Committee side event. Photo: Youth4Disarmament For my service learnin ..read more

The following reflection is from Madison Turunen ‘23 a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2022. Students were given service learning assignments with local disarmament advocacy organizations working in New York City. Madison’s assignment was with the New York Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (NYCAN), local affiliate of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. FDNY Marine Company 9 is located on a portion of the former nuclear-capable Navy Homeport i ..read more

The following reflection is from Taylor Mangus ‘23 a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2021. Students were given service learning assignments with disarmament advocacy organizations working in and around the UN Students were given service learning assignments with disarmament advocacy organizations working in and around the UN and New York City. Taylor’s assignment was with a network of young people who drafted a joint statement on youth and disarmament education, delivered before the UN General Assembly ..read more

by Emily Welty, Director and Associate Professor of Peace and Justice Studies, Pace University New York City Your attention is a form of currency. When you choose to read or take in information from one source and not another, you are boosting this information source with your views. This means it is more important than ever to think about who is delivering narratives that are careful, nuanced and complex. Take a long view. If you already find yourself spending periods of time taking in lots of tiny pieces of information, consider how using that time to understand the historical roots of ..read more

Pace University undergraduate student Jeremiah Williams ’23 delivered a statement on youth engagement and disarmament education to the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), 8 October 2021. “More than 40% of the world’s population is under the age of 25, most of whom live in the Global South. We are not just ‘the future,’ young people are also here now,” said Political Science major Williams, speaking on behalf of 34 global civil society organizations and campaigns, including two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. “We have the right to intergenerational e ..read more

The use and testing of nuclear weapons has had catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences, which have been inadequately addressed by global policy. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), negotiated at the United Nations (UN) in 2017, is a categorical rejection of what had been the only weapons of mass destruction not yet banned by international law. But the TPNW also includes “positive obligations,” addressing the ongoing consequences of nuclear weapons use, testing, and related activities. These provisions were a major topic of discussion at the first meeting ..read more