The Rt Hon. the Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, born George Islay MacNeill Robertson, is a distinguished British statesman whose career spans over four decades of high-level service in the United Kingdom Parliament and international diplomacy.

He is best known for his transformative leadership as the 10th Secretary General of NATO, a position he held from 1999 to 2003. During his tenure, he navigated the Alliance through some of its most challenging moments, including the aftermath of the Kosovo conflict and the historic invocation of Article 5 following the September 11 attacks.

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.

Prof. Dr. Sven Biscop (born in Willebroek, Belgium in 1976) read political sciences and obtained his PhD at Ghent University, where today he is a professor, lecturing on grand strategy and great powers, and on Belgian foreign and defence policy. In addition, he is the Director of the Europe in the World Programme at the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels, the think-tank associated with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1 October 2025, he is the acting Director-General of the Institute.

Sven is a Member of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences of Belgium, and an Honorary Fellow of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). He is a regular speaker at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels and at the People’s University of China in Beijing, where he is a Senior Research Fellow. His two latest books are Grand Strategy in 10 Words – A Guide to Great Power Politics in the 21st Century (Bristol University Press, 2021) and This Is Not a New World Order – Europe Rediscovers Geopolitics, From Ukraine to Taiwan (Owl Press, 2024).

Sven has been honoured with the cross of Commander of the Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria. Sven lives in Brussels with his Taiwanese-Belgian husband Aberu, amidst a great many books, military paraphernalia, and chinoiseries. Unfortunately they travel too often to keep a cat.

Peter Slezkine is Senior Fellow and Director of the Russia Program at the Stimson Center and host of The Trialogue Podcast, a series of one-on-one conversations featuring guests from the United States, Russia, and China. He has expertise on US foreign policy, the former Soviet Union, and Sino-Russian relations.

Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Slezkine was Director of the Monterey Trialogue (USA-Russia-China) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and has held fellowships at East China Normal University, the Wilson Center, the Clements Center at the University of Texas, Austin, the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School, and International Security Studies at Yale University.

His writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The American Conservative, Compact, The National Interest, and The New Republic, among others. He is currently completing a book on the ideological origins and political impact of the American concept of the “free world.”

Brian Whitmore is an Assistant Professor of Practice at University of Texas-Arlington McDowell Center for Global Studies and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center in Washington D.C. He is also the founder and author of The Power Vertical Blog and host of The Power Vertical Podcast, both of which focus on Russian affairs.

Whitmore also worked as Senior Russia Analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), where he was employed for 11 years from 2007-17. Prior to joining RFE/RL, Whitmore worked as a foreign correspondent for The Boston Globe in Moscow and in Prague. He has worked as a graduate lecturer in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina, and as a visiting lecturer in the History Faculty at Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine and the International Relations Faculty at St. Petersburg State University in Russia.

Whitmore has testified for the U.S. Helsinki Commission on Russian and Belarusian affairs. He has also briefed at the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, NATO, the European Parliament, and the Canadian Privy Council. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, World Politics Review, Newsweek, The Bulwark, The National Interest, and elsewhere. He has appeared as a guest commentator on CNN, the BBC World Service, NPR, Bloomberg, and various other media.

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Whitmore earned an MA in Political Science from Villanova University in 1987 and BA in Politics from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 1986.

Louis Wierenga is a Lecturer in International Relations at the Baltic Defence College where he teaches international security and foreign policy analysis. His research interests include NATO, European and Baltic Sea Region security, AI and emerging disruptive technologies, and European and U.S. foreign policy.

Louis is an associated researcher at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA) and has held research and lecturing positions at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu and the University of Latvia.

He holds an MA from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and a BA in History and European Studies from York University.

Before entering academia, Louis served in the United States Marine Corps infantry.

Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Wooddisse was commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1992 after completing a degree at University College London. The early part of his career was dominated by operational tours to Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. His first staff job was as the Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps which included a nine month tour to Kabul with HQ ISAF. He commanded the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment between 2009-2011, first in Germany and then in Cyprus.

He attended the Higher Command and Staff Course in 2012 before serving in the Ministry of Defence where he developed Military Strategic Plans for operations in Syria and Somalia. He commanded 38 (Irish) Brigade, responsible for all aspects of the Army in Northern Ireland, before running Joint military operations across the globe from the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood. He commanded the 1st (United Kingdom) Division from York, the UK’s light forces Division responsible for land operations outside Europe.

He moved to the Army Headquarters in 2018 as the Assistant Chief of the General Staff where, inter alia, he led the Army’s response to COVID 19 and the Army’s input to the 2021 Defence Review. In 2021 he was appointed Commander Field Army, a post that was dominated by the Army’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was selected to command the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2024.

He is married to Louise and has three daughters.

Mr. Ed Arnold is a Senior Research Fellow for European Security within the International Security department at RUSI.

His experience covers defence, intelligence, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, within the public and private sector. His primary research focus is on the transformation of European security following Russia’s war on Ukraine. Specifically, he covers the evolving Euro-Atlantic security architecture, the security of northern Europe, and the UK contribution to European security through NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force, and other fora. Ed has a particular interest in UK National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Reviews.

Ed joined RUSI from the private sector where he was a strategy Director within the defence and security sector. His clients included multiple government departments and multi-national and SME private companies. Prior to consultancy, Ed was an infantry Officer within the British Army. His military career was primarily spent overseas, including deployments to Afghanistan and East Africa and a posting at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe during the 2014 Ukraine crisis.

Ed holds a MA War Studies from King’s College London and a BA (Hons) in International Politics from the University of Stirling, Scotland.

Arkady Mil-Man is a senior researcher and the Head of the Russia Program at the Institute for National Security Studies. He was the Israeli Ambassador to Russia (2003-2006) and Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan (1997-2000).

He began his career at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Senior researcher of the Soviet Union at the Center for Political Research. He later headed the department in the Center responsible for the research of Russia and the Far East. Mil-Man also served as Deputy Head of the Group of Israeli diplomats in Moscow (1989-1990) before the renewal of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. He founded the Israeli Embassy in Kazakhstan (1992) and became the first Israeli Charge d’Affairs in that country. Later he worked as a Counsellor and Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the Israeli Embassy to Russia and held different positions in the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for post-Soviet countries.

After his diplomatic career, Mil-Man worked, among other positions, in the Israeli high-tech sector, managing a venture capital fund with his partners that invested in Israeli start-ups. Mil-Man studied at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (political science, international relations, and history).

Major General Ivan Martin was born on 27 August 1970 in Angers, France. His military education began at the La Flèche Military High-School (1988–1990), followed by the Saint-Cyr Military Academy (1990–1993). After branch school in Montpellier and Saumur, he served as a lieutenant and platoon leader in the 1st Tirailleurs regiment.

Between 1999 and 2002, he served as an executive officer and company commander in the 35th Infantry regiment, including two deployments to Kosovo. Following a mission with the United Nations in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2005, he attended the Joint Staff College. He later served as the S3 of the 35th Infantry regiment, deploying to Côte d’Ivoire and leading an Operational Mentoring Liaison Team in Afghanistan.

From 2013 to 2015, he commanded the 35th Infantry regiment and deployed as head of the Desert Task Force West in Mali (Operation Barkhane). He has served as the Defence Attaché at the French Embassy in the Russian Federation (2018–2021) and in Ukraine (2023–2025). As of 2025, he is the Advisor on influence and information warfare in Paris. He is an Officier of the Légion d’honneur and a Commandeur of the Ordre national du mérite.

Dr. Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova (Head of the China Studies Centre at Riga Stradins University; Deputy Director at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs) is a China scholar and a discourse analyst. She has held research fellowships at Fudan, Stanford, Oxford and Hokkaido Universities, and is affiliated with King’s College London and MERICS.

She is the author of Perfect Imbalance: China and Russia (World Scientific, 2022) and the editor of Discourse, Rhetoric and Shifting Political Behaviour in China (Routledge, 2023).

Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano is a retired U.S. Army colonel with more than 30 years of military service, including combat deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and extensive assignments in Europe in direct support of NATO missions.

He worked closely with Allied and Baltic partners at the front lines of Europe’s security architecture, confronting Russian military doctrine, coercive tactics, and hybrid threats firsthand. Senator Mastriano brings practical experience in deterrence, force posture, and alliance coordination during periods of heightened Russian pressure.

His career underscores a clear strategic truth: only firm, unified trans-Atlantic resolve can deter Russian aggression, protect sovereign nations, and preserve stability along NATO’s eastern flank.

Dr. Joris Van Bladel is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations (Brussels) and a military sociologist specializing in Russian military and strategic culture. He holds advanced degrees in social and military sciences and Slavic languages and completed a PhD on the professionalization of the Russian armed forces. He is the author of Land van het Grote Sterven (translated as Land of Great Sacrifices: War, Loss, and Power in Russia’s Military Culture), a study that examines the historical depth of Russian conceptions of violence, endurance, and victory.

His research focuses on the long-term continuities of Russian military thought, the social and cultural foundations of combat effectiveness, and the strategic consequences of modernization that transforms means without altering underlying logics. A recurring theme in his work is the central role of loss, sacrifice, and endurance in Russian conceptions of power and war, and how these shape both battlefield behavior and strategic decision-making. He regularly advises European defence institutions and publishes on Russia’s war in Ukraine, military reform, and societal resilience under conditions of prolonged conflict.

Professional Experience: Professor in the Department of Political Science, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Previous positions were at the International Institute of Strategic Studies; NATO Information and Documentation Centre, Kyiv, Ukraine; George Washington University; German Marshall Fund of the US, Johns Hopkins University; University of Toronto; and Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

Published Books and Monographs: Author and editor of 25 books, including Russia’s War on Ukraine. The Four Roots of Russia’s Invasion (Cambridge University Press, 2026); Russia and Modern Fascism. New Perspectives on the Kremlin’s War Against Ukraine (Ibidem and Columbia University Press, 2025); Crimea: Where Russia’s War Started and Where Ukraine Will Win (Jamestown Foundation, 2024); and Russian Disinformation and Western Scholarship (Ibidem and Columbia University Press, 2023).

Minna Ålander is an Analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. She is also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House Europe Programme and a Non-resident Fellow at CEPA Transatlantic Defense and Security programme.

Previously, she worked at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Her research has focused on hybrid warfare, NATO, wider European and Arctic security. Her expertise also includes German foreign, security and defence policy.

Lieutenant Colonel Tomas Baltrūnas is a seasoned officer with 27 years of military service, 22 of which were dedicated to the Lithuanian Armed Forces Special Operations Forces (LAF SOF). He currently serves as the Commander of the LAF SOF Training and Combat Support Centre, having previously commanded the Special Mission Unit from 2021 to 2025.

LTC Baltrūnas is a graduate of the Baltic Defence College and the Latvian National Defence Academy. Since 2025, he has been a doctoral student in political science at the Military Academy of Lithuania. His extensive operational background includes multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan between 2004 and 2015 as part of NATO-led missions.

Major Yaroslav VASYLYUK (Armed Forces of Ukraine) serves as a Research Fellow at the National Defence University of Ukraine. With four years of experience in infantry brigades, he brings practical knowledge and field experience to the academic stage.

His presentation focuses on how modern military training must adapt to the high-intensity realities of long-term warfare.

MAJ Alminas Sinevičius is an officer in the Lithuanian Armed Forces with experience in both military service and teaching. He has worked as a lecturer at the Lithuanian Military Academy and holds a master’s degree in political science.

Besides his military duties, he is part of the civil defence and security analysis centre Locked N’ Loaded, where he studies lessons from the Russian – Ukrainian war and their effects on current defence policies and military practices.

MAJ James Shoop is a U.S. Army officer with extensive operational experience across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. He has served with the 1st Cavalry Division and in Forward Land Forces roles across Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, focusing on deterrence, multinational integration, and NATO land force operations along the Alliance’s eastern flank.

Previously, he served as a targeting officer in the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force, where he worked on intelligence-to-fires integration, cross-domain targeting, and time-sensitive decision-making in contested environments. In addition to his operational assignments, he holds an MBA in Logistics, providing a strong foundation in sustainment, force design, and operational planning.

LTC McManus has an extensive operational and academic experience from his distinguished career in the United States Army, including deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Enduring Freedom, and Inherent Resolve.

He has served in leadership roles across Special Forces and Joint Operations, and most recently commanded a Basic Combat Training battalion at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He holds degrees in Economics and Russian from the United States Military Academy and Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense University.

Kristina Kallas, PhD is a distinguished Estonian politician, political scientist and educator. As of April 2023, Kristina Kallas is a prominent member of the Estonian government, serving as the Minister of Education and Research of the Republic of Estonia. She is the head of her political party Eesti200.

Prior to her career in politics, Kristina Kallas was a researcher at the University of Tartu. Simultaneously, in 2015-2019 she was the Director of the Narva College of the University of Tartu. As an expert consultant for several organisations and projects such as OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Kristina Kallas has advised many governments in the area of integration policy, including Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.

Throughout her career, Kristina Kallas has been committed to equip future leaders with the competences – knowledge, skills, and attitudes – needed to navigate diverse and multicultural societies.

Dr. Ieva Berzina is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Security Research and Innovation, National Academy of Defense of the Republic of Latvia, and an associate professor at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences. Her research interests cover such interdisciplinary areas as comprehensive national defence, strategic communication, Russia’s strategy and communication, patriotism, and nationalism.

Recent academic publications include:
“Technological maturity for Jeune École: The case of Ukraine’s naval strategy” (2025), “Severing Ties with Russia: The Effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War on Latvia” (2025), “History perceptions and national identity among Latvian youth” (2023), “Factors affecting willingness to fight for a country” (2020), “From ‘total’ to ‘comprehensive’ national defence” (2020), “Weaponization of ‘Colour Revolutions’” (2019), and “The Narrative of ‘Information Warfare against Russia’ in Russian Academic Discourse” (2018).

Dr. Ieva Birka is Principal Investigator of two projects at the University of Latvia: Baltic Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer and Empowering Baltic Resilience: From Awareness to Action via Technology.

She specializes in crisis preparedness, emerging risks, societal resilience, and disaster response and her PhD research focused on Russian speaker sense of belonging and integration. Recognized by DG ECHO for advancing the EU’s Preparedness Union Strategy, she contributes to cross-border research of European relevance.

Stefano Braghiroli is an Associate Professor of European Studies at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu, where he also serves as Director of the Master’s programme in European Studies. He received his PhD from the University of Siena (Italy) in 2010 and has previously held positions at the ARENA Centre for European Studies (University of Oslo) and the Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM) in Istanbul.

His research focuses on party politics in the European Parliament, EU politics, Euroscepticism and populism, and comparative politics. His recent work has appeared in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Contemporary European Studies, New Perspectives, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Journal of Legislative Studies, East European Politics, and Religion, State and Society, as well as in edited volumes published by renowned academic presses.

Mr. Kaimo Kuusk assumed the position of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Estonia in September 2024.

Before being appointed as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Kaimo Kuusk served as Estonia’s ambassador to Lithuania. Prior to that he was the Estonian ambassador to Ukraine, where he coordinated the delivery of Estonia’s military aid following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

From 1998 to 2019, Kuusk held various positions in the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, with the last nine years as Deputy Director General. In 2019, he began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Bureau.

Kaimo Kuusk graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in political science and furthered his education in the Civil Servants’ Course at the Baltic Defence College and the University of Oslo.

Stuart Skeates served in the Army for 34 years, retiring as a lieutenant general, before becoming a Senior Civil Servant. Educated at the Judd School Tonbridge, King’s College London, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1988.

During his career, he served in the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Cyprus, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He has extensive leadership experience on military operations and spent the latter 20 years of his career in joint operations, with coalitions, with the US Marine Corps and with NATO. He was also Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He holds degrees from Kings College London, the Cranfield University Management School, he completed the advanced and Higher Command and Staff Course, the NATO Pinnacle Course and the Major Projects Leadership Academy. After leaving the Army, he worked on small boats and illegal migration initially in the Cabinet and subsequently in the Home Office.

Dr. Kai-Olaf Lang is a Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, a foreign-policy think-tank based in Berlin. He holds a diploma in public administration and a doctorate in Political Sciences.

Previously, he worked as a research fellow at the Federal Institute for Eastern and International Studies (Bundesinstitut für internationale und ostwissenschaftliche Studien, BIOst) in Cologne.

His fields of specialisation include: countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including their transformation, domestic political developments, foreign and security policy, bilateral relations with Germany; EU enlargement and implications; security issues in CEE and European Neighbourhood Policy.

He is a member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde, of the Council of the German-Czech Discussion Forum, of the Editorial Board of Przegląd Zachodni (Poznań), of the Advisory Board of Aspen Review Central Europe (Prague) and of the Scientific Council of Nowa Res Publica (Warsaw).

Languages: German and English (fluent), Spanish and Polish (conversational)
Areas of Expertise: Eastern Europe, Russia, armed conflict and military affairs, defence policy, missile defence, missile proliferation

Dr. Gustav Gressel is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the National Defence Academy of the Austrian Armed Forces. From 2014 to 2024, he served as a Senior Policy Fellow in the Wider Europe Programme at the ECFR Berlin Office, focusing primarily on the Russian-Ukrainian war. In 2024, he was a visiting fellow at the European Resilience Initiative Centre (ERIC).

Before joining the ECFR, he worked as a desk officer for international security policy and strategy at the Bureau for Security Policy in the Austrian Ministry of Defence (2006–2014) and as a research fellow for the Commissioner for Strategic Studies in the Austrian MoD (2003–2006). He was also a research fellow at the International Institute for Liberal Politics in Vienna. Prior to his academic career, he served as radar officer (air defence) in the Austrian Armed Forces.

Gustav earned a PhD in Strategic Studies at the Faculty of Military Sciences at the National University of Public Service, Budapest and a Master Degree in political science at Salzburg University. He is author of numerous publications regarding security policy and strategic affairs and a frequent commentator of international affairs. His opinions appeared in media such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Die Welt, NZZ, Bild, The Diplomat, New Eastern Europe, Foreign Policy, Gazeta Prawna, Rzeczpospolita, Kyiv Post, The Moscow Times, Capital, The Telegraph, The Economist, Newsweek, Deutsche Welle, RTL, Al Jazeera, TVP, TRT, Polskie Radio, RFI, FM4, Ukraine Today, and Radio Free Europe.

Col (ret) Dr. hab. Zdzisław Śliwa is the assistant professor at the Institute of International and Security Studies, the University of Wrocław. He was the Dean of Baltic Defense College in Estonia between 2016-2025 and professor at the Latvian National Defence University.

Educated in US Army Army Command and General Staff College, Polish and Chinese National Defense Universities, he served as J-3 Head in KFOR and J-5 Head in Polish Operational Command. He was working in Polish PME institutions.

Throughout his distinguished career, he has published numerous books and papers related to international security, contributing extensively to the field of strategic studies.