Program in Arms Control & Domestic and International Security


IJOIS Fall 2016, Volume II 
Program in Arms Control & Domestic and International Security 

2 

 

Letter from the Editor  
 

Dear reader, 

On behalf of the IJOIS Editorial Board, the Program in Arms Control & Domestic and 
International Security, the University Library, and the supportive academic community of the University 
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I would like to thank you for reading the second issue of Illini Journal 
of International Security (IJOIS)! IJOIS is a peer-reviewed academic journal that was founded in 
September 2015 by undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We publish 
exceptional papers on topics within international security or foreign affairs.  

For our second issue, we are excited to publish outstanding undergraduate papers that explore 
some of the most pressing issues within international security and foreign affairs, covering a wide range 
of topic areas and geographical regions. In “Explaining Middle East Participation in the Convention 
Against Torture,” Derek Hoot walks us through why Middle Eastern states actually comply or agree to 
comply with the Convention Against Torture. Largely keeping with the Middle East, James Holevas 
looks at the pros and cons of the use of drone strikes in Iraq, Yemen, and in the Afghanistan-Pakistan 
region in his paper “Drones: A Projection of Force Abroad.” 

Moving to the United States, Maxx Villotti explains the continued relevance of the US nuclear 
arsenal in “The Current State of the US Nuclear Arsenal.” In Gabriel Wacks’ submission, he looks at the 
Chinese nuclear arsenal and if a nuclear conflict is ever a possibility in “Atomic Dragon: Chinese Nuclear 
Weapon Development and the Risk of Nuclear War.” Lastly, we go back to the Middle East with John 
Bolis taking a look at the Syrian Civil War and the official al Qaeda branch there in “Jabhat Fatah al 
Sham’s Implication on the Syrian Civil War and Beyond.” 

 These exceptional undergraduate papers present novel arguments on a wide array of issues 
within international security and foreign affairs. We hope that these papers will challenge and inform our 
readers, spark discussion, and encourage undergraduate students to explore these pressing issues or 
pursue international studies further.  

We hope you enjoy reading! 

 

Caleb Weiss 

Editor-In-Chief 
 

 

 

About the Illini Journal of International Security  

The Illini Journal of International Security (IJOIS) is a peer-reviewed undergraduate academic 
journal that was founded in September 2015 by undergraduate students at the University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. IJOIS is published biannually through the Program of Arms 



IJOIS Fall 2016, Volume II 
Program in Arms Control & Domestic and International Security 

3 

 
Control & Domestic and International Security (ACDIS) and is comprised of exceptional 
undergraduate and graduate papers on topics related to international security or foreign affairs. 
IJOIS utilizes a cross-disciplinary approach and accepts papers from students studying the social 
sciences, STEM fields, business and the humanities that analyze international security issues 
from innovative perspectives. While IJOIS is run by students at UIUC, the Journal accepts 
submissions from students at all University of Illinois campuses (Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, 
and Springfield). 

 

IJOIS Staff 

Editor-in-Chief  
Caleb Weiss 

Senior Editors 
Chase Bloch 
Gabriel Wacks 

Editors 
John Hall 
Morgan Johnson 
Elaine Sine 
Justin Tomczyk 
Sonam Kotadia 
Corbin Kakac 
 
Director of External Relations 
Jason Williams