Ukraine

Dr. Tyler White is an Associate Professor of Practice and the Director of the National Security Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Dr. White is the faculty lead for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) at UNL. After graduating with his PhD in political science from UNL in 2010, he has focused his research interests on national security topics including intelligence studies, US nuclear policy, US foreign policy and deterrence. White has served as UNL’s director of academic programs at the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium, an Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence, since 2011. He developed UNL’s National Security Studies minor and has worked with UNL’s Intelligence Community Scholars Program. His research interests are in international security, specifically nuclear policy, and in human security. He co-developed and ran a task-force style simulation for the International Community Center for Academic Excellence in Washington DC for the past three summers.

Somnez, an associate professor in the supply chain management and analysis program, is prepared to discuss the impact of the current conflict betwee Russia and Ukraine, both globally and on Nebraska, considering grain farmers, food manufacturers and consumers. Both Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat to world markets. Wheat is also the third major grain in Nebraska and wheat supply affects markets for corn and soybeans as well. Energy issues come into play because of Russia’s status as a major energy exporter, with a strong connection between energy prices and the costs of farming.

John Beghin, Yanney Chair in international trade and finance in the Department of Agricultural Economics, has been following how the brewing conflict has contributed to rising fertilizer prices. He can also discuss the conflict’s impact on grain markets, energy markets and financial markets.

Courtney Hillebrecht’s research focuses on human rights and international law. She has authored a book examining the domestic processes of compliance with the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights, arguing that compliance with international tribunals takes place at the nexus of international and domestic politics. Hillebrecht is Hitchcock Family Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Chair of the Political Science Department, and director of the Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. She is the author of several books about international courts and international human rights tribunals and can discuss the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/21/ukraine-russia-icc-investigation/">implications of pursuing war crimes prosecutions</a> against Russia and President Vladimir Putin in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.