Jessica West

  • Jessica West
  • Ph.D. in Global Governance
  • E-mail Address: jwest@balsillieschool.ca

  • Jessica's broad area of research is international security governance, including feminist and other critical perspectives, human security, and disarmament. Her dissertation explores the applicability of the concept of resilience to the practice of security.

Background

Jessica West is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Global Governance program at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, who is pursuing a specialization in conflict and security studies. She has a Master's of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Jessica managed an international research project on space security and served as the editor of its annual publication as part of her role at Project Ploughshares, a peace and disarmament research and advocacy organization. She has also worked as a consultant on security and development at the Canadian International Development Agency and for the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Jessica completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Why she chose the Balsillie School: "The BSIA strikes a unique balance between having an intimate student community with access to the resources of a large school including a wide variety of faculty drawn from a number of academic departments at two universities as well as the Centre for International Governance Innovation."

Select Publications

  • “Next Generation Space Security Challenges,” in Security in Space: The Next Generation, Conference Report, 31 March – 1 April 2008, Geneva: UNIDIR (2008).
  • “The Space Security Index: Changing Trends in Space Security and the Outer Space Treaty,” in Celebrating the Space Age: 50 Years of Space Technology, 40 Years of the Outer Space Treaty, Conference Report, 2-3 April 2007, Geneva: UNIDIR (2007).
  • Adam Parsons, Jessica West, and Ernie Regehr, Transparency and Accountability: NPT Reporting 2002 – 2007, Project Ploughshares, (April 2008).

Academic/Professional Awards

  • Canada Graduate Scholarship, in support of graduate research at the doctoral level, 2010 (3-years)
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, in support of graduate research at the doctoral level, 2009
  • Top 40 Under 40 Award, for recognition as one of the top leaders in the Region of Waterloo, 2008