Nunn School Student Receives the Gen Larry D. Welch Deterrence Writing Award
Posted August 12, 2019
The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) has selected Geoffrey Brown, a Sam Nunn School of International Affairs master’s student, as the Gen Larry D. Welch Deterrence Writing Award recipient for his article entitled, "India's Deterrence Goldilocks Dilemma in South Asia."
As the recipient of this award, Brown received an invitation and funding to attend the 2019 Deterrence Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska this past July 31 and August 1. Winners were selected based on their papers' quality of the argument, relevance to current deterrence issues, historical accuracy, and references.
As remarked by Professor Adam Stulberg, the incoming Chair of the Nunn School, the School takes great pride in Geoffrey’s award and in the recognition of his adroit blending of theoretical and practical insight on such a paramount contemporary nuclear issue. This not only speaks well to Geoffrey’s promise as a budding policy analyst, but to the important bridge that USSTRATCOM is building to the Academy’s efforts at training the next generation of nuclear policy experts.
Brown's research focuses on what India could do to increase its capabilities so that China fears it, without causing more problems with Pakistan. A solution to this dilemma is a closer Indo-American collaboration. Brown's paper examines how a closer US-Indian partnership could help deter China from pursuing its national interests in the region. He then explores how this could impact Pakistan's nuclear strategy.
Brown chose India as the topic for his paper after spending time there studying Hindi on a Boren Fellowship. "During that semester I'd already read a few articles regarding US-India relations, in addition to what Murry Smith (a Nunn School master's student) sent me to read from Vipin Narang about nuclear strategy," said Brown. "So the core idea of this paper was already in my head."
Following graduation, Brown would like to work for Stratcom or join the National Nuclear Security Administration through its Graduate Fellowship Program (NGFP).
