Report of the 2010-2011 Graduate Research Awards Debates on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

The Graduate Research Awards for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation (GRA) programme was initiated by Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons, President of The Simons Foundation, in partnership with the International Security Research and Outreach Programme (ISROP) of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) in 2003.  The primary objective of the Awards is to enhance Canadian graduate level scholarship on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation issues.

The 2010-2011 GRA programme was restructured to consist of a series of debates on the following timely issues:

Doctoral Candidates Debate 1
Should nuclear capabilities remain an essential element of NATO's defence strategy?"
Yes: Argument presented by Jessica West   
No: Argument presented by Kawser Ahmed   

Doctoral Candidates Debate 2
“Should the Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference in 2011 revive the verification
debate or focus instead on compliance?”
Revive the verification debate: Argument presented by Adam Bower   
Focus on compliance: Argument presented by Elizabeth Silber   

Master’s Candidates Debate 1
"In accordance with Canadian non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament (NACD) policies,
should Canada support the multilateralization of the nuclear fuel cycle as a non-proliferation measure?"
Yes: Argument presented by Evan Rankin   
No: Argument presented by Jeremy McGee   

Master’s Candidates Debate 2
“In order to be both effective and enforceable, should the scope of an Arms Trade Treaty be
broad or narrow?"
Narrow: Argument presented by Nathan Sears   
Broad: Argument presented by Eric Macfarlane

Please see the attached report for the arguments presented by the award recipients at the GRA Debates held at DFAIT in Ottawa on February 27, 2011, and for more information on the 2010-2011 GRA programme.