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, we would like to thank you for reading the fourth 

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. 

Our fourth contains a culmination of seven papers that have been formed over the last 

year into exceptional papers covering a wide range of security and foreign policy topics. 

Beginning with issues that pertain primarily to the Middle East, Zachary Cleary summarizes the 

evolution of the academic literature and findings on targeted killings in his paper “Re-evaluating 

the Efficacy of Targeted Killing.” Human Rights issues in the Syrian Civil War are highlighted 

in Dylan Hyams’ paper: “The Global Crisis in Syria”. 

Several of the papers in this edition focus on international agreements and norms 

including Caitlin McLain’s paper, “Compliance and Consequence”, covers the CTBTO and 

whether or not it can continue to be successful moving forward. Similarily, Zishen Ye discusses 

why an Arms Embargo on China is failing. With regards to international law and norms, Lina 

Dayem writes a very interesting and relevant paper on when cyber attacks can constitute an act 

of war in her paper: “The Ethics of Cyber Warfare”. 

 Other great papers included in this edition are Justin Tomczyk’s comparison of the 

capabilities and strategies of the CSTO’s and NATO’s rapid response forces in his paper: 

“OPFOR, BLUFOR: A Comparative Analysis of NATO and the CSTO”. And finally, Zach 

Wherli provides an original analysis on the link between agricultural development and state 

fragility in his paper: “Planting the Seeds for Stability: The Power of Development Diplomacy 

and the Impact of U.S. Agricultural Development Policy on Fragile States.” 

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! 

Chase Bloch