Markus K. Binder
Researcher

Markus Binder is a Researcher at the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies. At present he is also Deputy Director of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Prior to joining CNS in February 2004, he spent fifteen months working with the External Relations Division of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague .

Mr. Binder received his Bachelors degree in Political Studies, History, and the Chinese Language, and his M.A. in Political Studies (with a focus on revolutions, insurgencies and counter-hegemonic movements, as well as on security and diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand . His M.A. dissertation examined the effects of both structural changes in the international system and the shifting U.S. foreign policy consensus on the long-term stability of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. In 2002 he received a Certificate in Nonproliferation Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Originally from New Zealand , Mr. Binder immigrated to the United States in August, 2001. His academic background includes past studies in the fields of Asia-Pacific security, ethnic conflict, revolutions and insurgencies, international security, nuclear proliferation, arms control, chemical weapons proliferation and disarmament, and terrorism.

Mr. Binder's publications include an article on Syria in Raymond A. Zilinskas and Richard F. Pilch, eds., Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism Defense (New York: Wiley, 2005); an extensive description and analysis of the historical development of offensive and defensive chemical warfare programs in Yugoslavia and its successor states for the Nuclear Threat Initiative, July 2004, an analysis of the development and current state of the Syrian chemical and biological warfare programs for the Nuclear Threat Initiative Website, November 2003, a tutorial on “Chemical Weapons Terrorism” for the Nuclear Threat Initiative Website, August 2003; and the chapter “Nuclear Proliferation at the Crossroads: Challenges of the Post-Cold War Era” in, Nuclear Developments in South Asia and the Future of Global Arms Control , Center for Strategic Studies, Wellington, NZ, 2001.

Mr. Binder's current research interests include the proliferation potential of defensive CW programs, terrorist acquisition of chemical weapons, Asia-Pacific security, and questions of space weaponization, including efforts to develop international arms control solutions.