{"686023":{"#nid":"686023","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Trump\u0027s \u0027Proliferation Pessimism,\u0027 the \u0027Iliad\u0027 and AI, EU Trade and More: Recent Nunn School Research Highlights","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow Trump\u2019s History of \u2018Proliferation Pessimism\u2019 Presaged His 2025 Iran Strike\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a new \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.1080\/0163660X.2025.2558398?needAccess=true\u0022\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E published in the global security policy journal \u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Quarterly\u003C\/em\u003E, Associate Professor Rachel Whitlark explores how U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s long-held views on nuclear proliferation made his June strike on Iranian nuclear facilities foreseeable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhitlark\u2019s 2021 book, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cornellpress.cornell.edu\/book\/9781501760341\/all-options-on-the-table\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAll Options on the Table\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, argues that a leader\u2019s long-held personal beliefs about nuclear weapons can help us predict how they will act in executive office, should they encounter an adversary attempting to acquire nuclear weapons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the article, Whitlark traces Trump\u2019s belief system back decades. She notes that in a 1985 interview, Trump called nuclear proliferation \u0022the greatest problem of the world\u201d and expressed a particular fear of a \u0022Third World madman getting the bomb.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis \u0022proliferation pessimism,\u0022 and Trump\u2019s general perspective on the dangers of nuclear weapons and global proliferation, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/rachel-whitlark\u0022\u003EWhitlark\u003C\/a\u003E says, was consistent. In his 2000 book, Trump praised Israel\u2019s 1981 preventive strike on Iraq\u2019s nuclear reactor, stating, \u0022they did what they had to do to survive.\u0022 By 2011, his focus had turned to Iran, writing that its program \u0022must be stopped by any and all means necessary.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhitlark notes that we are entering a new age in which nuclear weapons once again pose a significant threat, but this time with multiple states possessing such arms \u2014 a significant complication compared to the bipolar Cold War conflict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is, therefore, worth paying careful attention to what future leaders think about nuclear weapons in world politics long before they enter national executive office, as these issues are likely to loom large moving forward,\u201d Whitlark writes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat Homer\u2019s \u0027Iliad\u0027 Has to Say About the Real Dangers of Military AI\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe debate about artificial intelligence in warfare is missing a critical element, argues Professor Jon R. Lindsay: the timeless, irrational, and often dark human emotion that drives so much conflict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a new \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11023-025-09741-0\u0022\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E for the journal \u003Cem\u003EMinds and Machines\u003C\/em\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/e59d322b-e810-5af3-9c3f-e477b22fd70b\u0022\u003ELindsay \u003C\/a\u003Esuggests that Homer\u2019s epic poem, the \u003Cem\u003EIliad\u003C\/em\u003E, provides a better framework for understanding the true risks of military AI than debates over software and policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMuch of the discussion around military AI, Lindsay notes, focuses on the \u201crational alignment of AI means with human ends,\u201d such as ensuring weapons follow rules of engagement. However, he says this viewpoint overlooks that war is often driven by human passions such as rage, status, fear, and revenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELindsay points to the central figure of the \u003Cem\u003EIliad\u003C\/em\u003E, Achilles. His devastating wrath \u2014 first at his commander over a matter of pride, and later in a grief-fueled quest for vengeance \u2014 dictates the course of the war. These motivations are not strategic or rational, but deeply human. Lindsay suggests that AI will not eliminate these \u0022Homeric judgments,\u0022 but instead will become a powerful amplifier for them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe true horrors of battlefield AI come less from the misalignment of machines,\u201d Lindsay writes, \u201cand more from the Homeric judgment of the warriors who wield them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEU Struggles to Adapt Trade Policy in a More Dangerous World\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Alasdair R. Young discusses the European Union\u2019s efforts to adapt g its trade policy to the world\u2019s new, more aggressive, geopolitical environment for an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1057\/s41295-025-00440-9\u0022\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E in the journal \u003Cem\u003EComparative European Politics\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/alasdair-young\u0022\u003EYoung\u003C\/a\u003E says, the EU viewed economic interdependence as overwhelmingly positive. But a series of unanticipated shocks from the U.S., China, and Russia has exposed how those ties can create vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoung, associate dean for faculty development in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and the Nunn School\u2019s Neal Family Chair, says the EU\u2019s response has been uneven. Some\u0026nbsp;tools to enhance its economic security were created, but they were weakened by member states\u2019 reluctance to cede control, while efforts to develop offensive capabilities, like unilateral export controls, stalled completely. Young says internal divisions are the primary obstacle, concluding that the EU\u2019s ability to adapt \u201cis more limited the further it intrudes on core state competences\u201d like security and foreign policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPentagon\u0027s \u0027Economic Blind Spot\u0027 Threatens National Security, Says Former NATO Commander\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. Department of Defense\u2019s failure to integrate economics into military planning is a strategic blind spot that weakens national security, says Distinguished Professor of the Practice Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO\u2019s former commander.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/00396338.2025.2534282\u0022\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E for the journal \u003Cem\u003ESurvival\u003C\/em\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/philip-breedlove\u0022\u003EBreedlove\u003C\/a\u003E argues that while adversaries such as China treat economic policy as warfare, the Defense Department operates without a chief economist or a unified economic strategy. This disconnect leads to misguided policies that trade long-term strength for short-term fixes, Breedlove says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBreedlove says examples of issues caused by this approach include a monopoly on submarine construction that has caused massive cost overruns, threatening key alliance and blunt export controls on semiconductors that deprive U.S. firms of revenue for innovation and help China close the technology gap.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Without harnessing economics as a weapon of war,\u0022 he writes, \u0022the Pentagon will continue trading future military strength for short-term expediency \u2014 an error China is counting on.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocal Gender Quotas May Backfire for Women Seeking Higher Office, Study Finds\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssociate Professor Anjali Thomas was part of a research group that found gender quotas in local elections in the North Indian state of Bihar didn\u2019t increase voter support for female candidates in higher-level elections. Instead, they caused a backlash with certain groups of men \u2014 even those otherwise inclined to support women candidates, Thomas and her coauthors wrote in an article for \u003Cem\u003EPublius: The Journal of Federalism\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research challenges the common assumption that local quotas create a positive \u0022spillover effect\u0022 for women seeking state or national office, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/anjali-thomas\u0022\u003EThomas \u003C\/a\u003Eand her coauthors wrote.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Overall, our research suggests grounds for pessimism regarding whether local gender quotas could ease the pathway for female candidates by changing voter attitudes,\u201d they said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/14754835.2025.2507590#abstract\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E, based on a survey experiment with nearly 2,000 voters in the North Indian state of Bihar, tested the \u0022multilevel learning\u0022 theory \u2014 that voters exposed to effective female leaders at the village level would be more likely to support women for state office. However, Thomas and her coauthors found no evidence for this hypothesis, even when the local female leaders were well-educated or perceived as effective by citizens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead, the study\u0027s results suggest that local quotas may lower support for female candidates among certain men. For men in male-dominated households, for instance, exposure to the quotas caused them to move from having no gender preference to actively preferring male candidates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong younger, \u0022partially progressive\u0022 men who initially favored female candidates, being represented by an educated woman elected via a local quota erased their pro-woman preference entirely.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThomas and her co-authors conclude their findings serve as a \u0022cautionary note that local gender quotas should not be used as a stand-in for serious efforts to increase women\u0027s representation at higher levels of government.\u0022 Instead, policymakers must anticipate and address the potential for voter backlash.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA roundup of recent research items from Sam Nunn School of International Affairs faculty.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A roundup of recent research items from Sam Nunn School of International Affairs faculty."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2025-10-27 18:12:10","changed_gmt":"2025-10-27 21:08:56","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678458":{"id":"678458","type":"image","title":"AdobeStock_251619893.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1761588749","gmt_created":"2025-10-27 18:12:29","changed":"1761588749","gmt_changed":"2025-10-27 18:12:29","alt":"\u0022\u0022","file":{"fid":"262482","name":"AdobeStock_251619893.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/27\/AdobeStock_251619893.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/27\/AdobeStock_251619893.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2193893,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/10\/27\/AdobeStock_251619893.jpeg?itok=gyDrUib-"}}},"media_ids":["678458"],"groups":[{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}