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Elizabeth Eraker Palley

Elizabeth Eraker Palley
Fall 2004 Fellow
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Elizabeth Eraker Palley
Fall 2004 Fellow
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies

Major Fellowship Activities: Eraker co-wrote a report, “Duelfer Report Uncovers Complex Arms Procurement Network; Links to Asian Countries and Companies,” analyzing the contents of the Duelfer Report and its implications for multilateral and national export control efforts, that was published in the October/November 2004 issue of Asian Export Control Observer. She conducted research on the Department of Homeland Security’s new guidances on emergency response and recovery in the event of radiological terrorism.  The resulting article she wrote, “Cleanup After a Radiological Attack; U.S. Prepares Guidance’ appeared as special report in the Fall/Winter 2004 issue of The Nonproliferation Review. A shorter version of the report will be posted on the CNS website as a Research Story of the Week.  She worked with Dr. Lawrence Scheinman on a research project assessing the impact of dual-use, nonproliferation export controls on the economic development of industrializing countries.  She focused primarily on the Missile Technology Control Regime and conducted a literature review on the issue of dual-use technology transfer within the MTCR, developed a historical timeline of the regimes’ efforts to control missile technology, and developed a record of developing countries’ complaints about discrimination within the regime.  She assisted senior CNS staff members with an interview of Ambassador Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, the most recent chair of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), helped develop questions for the Ambassador, attended the interview, and prepared a transcript of the proceedings that she edited into a special report that will be published in the December/January edition of the CNS NIS Export Control Observer.  She researched the recent passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540, which obligates member states to criminalize the possession of WMD and related materials and enact domestic export controls to restrict the transfer of such items.  She focused on the April 2004 debate between the sponsors of the resolution and certain developing countries, exploring how objections to the resolution relate to a larger set of concerns about access to dual-use technology in the face of increasing efforts to control WMD.  She wrote up her findings in an article that will be published by CNS.  In collaboration with a CNS research assistant, she interviewed a technical expert at the Wassenaar Arrangement’s Secretariat on dual-use technology transfers as well as corresponded with several experts on this issue.  She maintained the CNS listserv on chemical and biological weapons and WMD terrorism, which involves reviewing multiple news sources and compiling relevant articles to send to over 3,000 subscribers, three times a week. She also archived the list serve materials in a CNS database that is available for public reference. She helped to organize and publicize a press briefing on the recent CNS book, The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism, which was held August 19, 2004.  She created publicity materials for the event, and updated the CNS press database.  She also attended the event, which featured a panel discussion about the risks of nuclear and radiological terrorist attack and strategies for protection against those risks.  She helped Leonard Spector prepare for an interview on ABC’s Nightline on the nuclear proliferation risks facing the new CIA Director and then attended the taping of the interview.  She researched the Jordanian export control system in preparation for a State Department training session on that system, conducted by Leonard Spector, and assisted him with the preparation of training materials for a briefing on the threat of weapons of mass destruction and the role of export controls in countering that threat.  She participated in CNS’s training seminar for the Export and Related Border Security (EXBS) Advisor assigned to work in Jordan, for which she had previously prepared the training materials.  She attended a full day of the training, which was taught by Leonard Spector, and contributed to discussions about the status of export controls in Jordan.

She attended the public symposium “Post-Cold War U.S. Nuclear Strategy: A Search for Technical and Policy Common Ground,” which was sponsored by the Committee on International Security and Arms Control at The National Academy of Sciences, as well as a lecture by Senator Richard Lugar at the National Press Club on nuclear nonproliferation priorities in an election year.  She attended a congressional briefing by Dr. Charles Ferguson on the book on nuclear terrorism as part of CNS’ Security for a New Century briefing series, and attended a lecture by Graham Allison on his new book, Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe.  She attended “The Road to Nuclear Security,” a panel discussion on current U.S. nuclear strategy with Robert McNamara, Lawrence Korb, and Joseph Cirincione at the Center for American Progress.

Current Activities: Eraker is a Policy Counsel at Google Inc. where she works on Internet-related policy and regulatory law and privacy legal issues. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law in 2011 where she focused on Internet and technology law and public policy issues. In summer 2009 she clerked with the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Federal Trade Commission. Previously she was a Policy Analyst at Google Inc. where she worked on a wide range of public policy issues impacting Google and the Internet community.