Earlier this month, the World Peace Foundation launched a Twitterstorm on the theme #takeonthearmstrade. This was part of our new Carnegie-funded project, “Revitalizing Debate on the Global Arms Trade” (RDAT), which aims to invigorate debate and policy about the arms trade by integrating it with other areas of policy, research, and activism, and re-energizing discussions through the engagement of a younger generation. We will be looking at the trade and policy towards the middle East, climate change, and industry influence on policy.
But we also wanted to know what others are doing to reinvigorate the debate. So we asked:
In response, we heard from individuals and organizations that are making connections between the arms trade and a wide range of other areas of focus. Below, are some of the top tweets that provide an overview of key themes that emerged.
Top Tweets
1. Demands that we educate differently
2. Contributes to climate change
3. Harms people
4. Unravels Democracy
5. Distorts International Relations
A special thank you to everyone who participated in our Twitterstorm. For more updates on the RDAT project, follow us @WorldPeaceFdtn.
B. Arneson is currently serving as the Director of the Arms Trade & Militarization Program at the World Peace Foundation (WPF), drawing upon over a decade of expertise in grassroots organizing. Additionally, she holds the role of Co-Research Coordinator for the Corruption Tracker.
Beyond her responsibilities in addressing the ramifications of the arms trade, she collaborates closely with Dr. Bridget Conley on the Mass Incarceration Program at WPF. Currently, she is leading a collaborative research initiative with the Transformational Prison Project, focusing on assessing the impact of restorative justice during reentry. She also contributes to undergraduate education through teaching courses with the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT).
In addition, she founded a project dedicated to providing books to incarcerated individuals in the Southern United States. To date, the project has donated and distributed 1,069 books!
She holds an MSc in the Politics of Conflict, Rights, and Justice from SOAS, University of London, where her research was focused on drone warfare in the MENA region.