2023 Undergraduate Fellow Spotlight: Emma Scherer
Emma Scherer is a senior at Middlebury College majoring in International and Global Studies with a focus in Russian and Eastern European Studies. She began studying Russian in middle school, and has continued to hone this skill through a summer NSLI-Y immersion program and her college education. Most recently, she spent a year living in Daugavpils, Latvia, studying Russian language, culture, history and politics. Her interest in nonproliferation stems both from her past studies of nuclear issues at Middlebury as well as her experience living in Latvia, where she interacted daily with people personally affected by the threat of nuclear weapons. In addition to international politics and language, Emma is interested in embroidery and cooking.
Research Presentation: Russian Academics’ Nuclear Opinions
Recently several influential Russian academics have published articles bringing up the issue of “limited” preemptive nuclear use in the context of the war in Ukraine. Karaganov uses the metaphor of a “ladder of escalation,” which he advocates the quick climbing of to effectively deter the “collective west,” after which “Russia and humanity will set off through the thorns and trauma to the future.” These statements are disturbing primarily not necessarily because they suggest imminent nuclear use, but rather because they reflect a growing tolerance in the Russian academic community towards the idea of “limited” nuclear use. My research will directly address this trend, analyzing spread and proposing its possible origins.