Dr. Rachel Whitlark

Biography

Rachel Whitlark is an Associate Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on international security and foreign-policy decision-making, with a specific emphasis on nuclear proliferation, counter-proliferation, and military intervention. Whitlark's work investigates the role of individual executives in foreign security policy. Her book, 'Options Table: Leaders, Preventive War, Nuclear Proliferation,' published in 2021 by Cornell University Press, explores the use of preventive military force as a counter-proliferation strategy against adversarial nuclear programs, relying on archival research techniques. She is also engaged in projects examining the targeting of nuclear scientists as part of counter-proliferation strategies, the determinants of success in arms control negotiations, and the influence of presidential beliefs on nuclear coercion. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, she held fellowships at the Project on Managing the Atom within the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and at the Kennedy School of Government. Whitlark earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from George Washington University and also holds a Master's degree and a Bachelor of Arts from the same institution.

Research Interests

Courses