A delegation from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) meets with student researchers affiliated with the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program.
A delegation of 20 senior government officials from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), hosted by the U.S. China Exchange Council, visited Monterey in December to attend presentations by Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP) graduate researchers and Monterey Institute students Leslie Wukstich (MANPTS ’15), Jonathan Prohov (MANPTS ’16), and Marc Elliott (MANPTS ’16). The trio presented their research on issues related to the threat finance nexus and unconventional terrorist financing, and engaged in a question and answer sessions afterwards. Consecutive translation was provided by fellow student Flora (Tian) Zhang (MATI ’16).
Leslie Wukstich presented on her recent publication entitled, “North Korea, Arms, and Africa: Three Case Studies” and associated research about illicit trafficking and threat finance. The article, which was published in the October 2014 edition of the UK’s Money Laundering Bulletin, was co-authored with James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies experts Melissa Hanham and Stephanie Lieggi.
Jonathan Prohov and Marc Elliott presented on their current research project at MonTREP on antiquities trafficking as an unconventional source of terrorist finance, and discussed a recent op-ed they published with Brig. General (ret.) Russell Howard, a senior fellow at MonTREP.
The event provided a unique opportunity for the student researchers to present and share their research and to further the MonTREP mission to serve as “an academic and professional resource to Monterey Institute students, those professionals concerned with terrorism-related issues, and the wider international security community” said Professor Sharad Joshi, interim director of MonTREP.