The decisions by the governments of Sweden and Finland to apply to join NATO mark a major departure from both countries' longstanding policies of nonalignment. But how, specifically, will it affect these countries’ defense capabilities—and those of NATO? How much needs to be done to achieve interoperability? And most fundamentally, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine clearly triggered these decisions, why did both countries make this major decision at this particular moment? To unpack those questions and many more, John Amble is joined on this episode by Rasmus Hindren, the head of international relations at the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, and an experienced defense policy practitionerin his home country of Finland.
This episode features a discussion with retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges. He served until 2017 as the commanding general of US Army Europe and now holds the pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Listen as he shares his insights on the topic of European defense—including a range of issues that make it especially complex today and will make it even more so in the future. The conversation touches on everything from logistical challenges to interoperability to the nuances of European defense politics to the implications of a rising China on European security. ...
MWI sits down with Dr. Benedetta Berti, researcher, author, and TED speaker to discuss the rise of violent non-state actors and how security professionals should understand them. ...
We talk to Michael O'Hanlon from the Brookings Institution about the current state of the Army, what the future of the Army holds, and how juniors leaders and security professionals can prepare. ...
