Rachel Stohl

5 May 2006

Rachel Stohl is a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC, and is an expert in the small arms trade. Other areas of expertise include the international arms trade, small arms and light weapons, landmines, failed states, children and armed conflict, including child soldiers, and the United Nations. Prior to joining CDI, Stohl was a Herbert Scoville Peace Fellow at the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) in Washington, D.C. Stohl previously worked at the U.N. Center for Disarmament Affairs in New York and at the Program for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Conversion in Monterey, Calif.

Stohl is a prolific writer. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, the International Herald Tribune, Defense News, the Christian Science Monitor, the Brown Journal of World Affairs, the Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, the African Security Review, the SAIS Review: A Journal of International Affairs, and the Small Arms Survey. She is quoted regularly in international newspapers and has been a frequent guest on radio, with appearances on National Public Radio, Voice of America, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She has also written and helped produce documentaries for CDI on small arms, landmines, failed states, and child soldiers.

Stohl is co-editor of, and contributor to, “Challenging Conventional Wisdom: Debunking the Myths and Exposing the Risks of Arms Export Reform,” a project of CDI and the Federation of American Scientists. Released in June 2003, the book describes special governmental support for the weapons industry; probes the justifications for major changes to the export system; examines the potential risks associated with these changes; and provides suggestions to strengthen the export control system.

Stohl has spoken at and moderated several events on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and their staffs. She works frequently with the U.S. military on issues of child soldiers and has presented seminars at the U.S. Naval Academy, Quantico Marine Base, and Coronado Naval Air Station.

Stohl is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She has lectured at various universities, including the University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Los Angeles, George Washington University, Hampshire College, Smith College, the University of Michigan, and Yale University. Stohl currently teaches “Introduction to Justice and Peace” at Georgetown University and previously taught “Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy Making” at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. Stohl also speaks regularly at non-governmental and international conferences, such as the U.N. Conference on Small Arms, the International Conference on War Affected Children, the U.N. Special Session on Children, and the International Physicians to Prevent Nuclear War/Physicians for Social Responsibility World Congress.

Stohl is chairperson of the Small Arms Working Group, steering committee member of the U.S. Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, an outgoing board member of the International Action Network on Small Arms, a member of Women in International Security, serves on the experts board of the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at the University of California Irvine, and is advisor to the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. Stohl holds a master’s degree in international policy studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a bachelor’s degree in political science and German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Email Address: [email protected] | Phone: 202-797-5283