Perpetual Conflict: Russia and the Struggle for European Security

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen

Former NATO Secretary General (1999-2003)

George Robertson was named Chancellor of Dundee University in 2023. He was Lead Reviewer on the Government’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review, is Senior Counsellor with The Cohen Group of Washington DC, USA, Co-Chair of the Global Strategy Forum, Vice Patron of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, President of the Council of Military Education Committees and a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on International Affairs and Defence.

He was a Member of the House of Commons for twenty-one years and served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland before becoming Secretary of State for Defence in 1997. He served as the 10th Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the North Atlantic Council from 1999 to 2003. He chaired the first meeting of the NATO/Russia Council in 2002.

He has been Executive Deputy Chairman of Cable and Wireless plc, Deputy Chairman of TNK-bp, BP’s Russian Joint Venture and has served as a Non-Executive Director of the Weir Group plc, Smiths Group plc and Monaco Telecom SA. He was Chairman of the FIA Foundation, Chairman of Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd. Chairman of The Ditchley Foundation and Vice-Chairman of the Royal Edinburgh MilitaryTattoo.

He is an Elder Brother of Trinity House and a visiting Professor at Stirling University and Kings College London. He serves on the Boards of the Centre for European Reform, is a Distinguished Fellow of Chatham House and on the International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council of the US. For seventeen years he was Honorary Colonel of the London Scottish Regiment.

He is one of the sixteen Knights of the Thistle and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (Chancellor 2011-2021). He was awarded America’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003. He also holds Ukraine’s highest honour, The Grand Cross of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Ms. Marina Kaljurand

Member of the European Parliament

Marina Kaljurand is a distinguished Estonian diplomat and politician whose career has been defined by her commitment to international law, security, and the European project. Born in Tallinn in 1962, she built a formidable academic foundation, graduating with honors in law from the University of Tartu before further specializing at the Estonian School of Diplomacy and earning an MA in International Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University as a Fulbright scholar. Her professional journey began in the early 1990s at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was one of the first employees of the newly independent Estonian diplomatic service.

Over several decades, she emerged as one of Estonia’s most influential diplomats, serving as the Ambassador to the Russian Federation, the State of Israel, the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Kazakhstan. Her expertise in high-stakes diplomacy was further evidenced by her roles as the Chief Negotiator for Estonia’s accession to the OECD and her leadership of the legal working group during the negotiations for Estonia’s entry into the European Union. She also played a critical role in complex border negotiations and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonian soil.

Transitioning into high-level political leadership, she served as Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2016. Her work has increasingly focused on the intersection of technology and security; she chaired the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and has contributed her expertise to several United Nations groups on digital cooperation and disarmament. In 2019, she was elected to the European Parliament as a member of the Social Democratic Party. During her tenure in Brussels, she has been a prominent voice in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and has led delegations focusing on relations with the South Caucasus. Throughout her career, which has been recognized with high national honors such as the Order of the National Coat of Arms, she has remained a steadfast advocate for the rule of law and digital safety on the global stage.