Center for International Trade and Security

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins presents “The Erosion of Arms Control, Multilateralism, and the Rule of Law”

The University of Georgia’s Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade & Security hosted Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins this week as part of their ongoing Global Decisions Series. Ambassador Jenkins presented a talk entitled “The Erosion of Arms Control, Multilateralism, and the Rule of Law”, where she discussed the role of norms and international law in upholding and rebuilding the global world order.

Two Georgia Law students, Patrick Clarke (J.D. ’28) and Madisson Grant (J.D. ’28), met with Ambassador Jenkins at a lunch hosted by the Dean Rusk International Law Center following the talk. Three UGA undergraduates who are current fellows in the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership program—Emily Hwang, Claire Scafidi, and Abby Wright—participated in the lunch as well. The students spoke with Ambassador Jenkins about her career in public service and their interests in international affairs and international law.

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 2021-2024, during which time she was appointed to lead the Department of State’s implementation of AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership among Australia, the UK, and the US. She is currently the Shapiro Visiting Professor in International Affairs at George Washington University and the Compton Visiting Professor of World Politics at the University of Virginia. Ambassador Jenkins is the founder and Executive Director of WCAPS (Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation). She served in the US military for 22 years as a Staff Sargent in the Office of the Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Air Force and as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Virginia, an LL.M. in international and comparative law from the Georgetown University Law Center, an MPA from SUNY Albany and a JD from Albany Law School.

Special thanks to Professor Maryann Gallagher, Director of the Security Leadership Program, and to Mandy Dixon, International Professional Education Manager at the Rusk Center, for their coordination and logistical support of this event.

Margaret Mullins, former Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, speaks about careers in national security at Georgia Law

Margaret Mullins, former Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and current Director of Public Options and Governance at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, delivered a talk this week to University of Georgia School of Law students entitled: “A Conversation with Margaret Mullins: Career Opportunities in National Security”.

In conversation with Georgia Law student Isaac Clement (J.D. ’27), Mullins discussed her career trajectory in national security. She provided law students with an overview of her educational background as well as her work in the Army, on Capitol Hill, with the U.S. Department of Defense, and in academia. She answered questions from law students about military and national security law, the intersections of law and policy, considerations for political and apolitical work, the importance of international education and language learning, and general advice for students interested in national security careers.

This talk was co-sponsored by the International Law Society, Armed Forces Association, Middle Eastern Law Students Association, and Law Democrats.

Students were invited to continue the conversation at Mullins’ evening lecture, “The Myths of the Last Supper: The Lessons of History and the Future of Defense Procurement”, presented as part of the Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade & Security‘s 2025-2026 Global Decisions Lecture Series. Mullins discussed her recent publication about the history of defense procurement in the United States, debunking several myths surrounding the impacts of the 1993 “Last Supper.”

Mullins is the Director of Public Options and Governance at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, where she researches and writes on defense acquisition and civil service reform. She is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies.

Previously, Mullins served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and as Senior Advisor for National Security to the Chair of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. Earlier in her career, she worked in the U.S. Senate on defense and foreign policy issues, including as national security advisor to Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, and served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan in 2013.

Mullins holds a BSFS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, an MPA from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center. She has been a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member and is a member of the Truman National Security Project.