Link to Event Recording
Abstract:
A consensus has emerged in the Russian General Staff that the utility of non-military means are increasing in relation to military means. This research sets out to analyze how this effects the role of the military instrument according to the General Staff and what its role is grand strategy today. Thereafter, the research analyzes the role of the General Staff in influencing grand strategy and the political leadership. Oscar Jonsson will present his latest ongoing research on the influence of Russian General Staff. He will be joined by Mike Kofman and Chuck Bartles as discussants to comment and critique the work.
A consensus has emerged in the Russian General Staff that the utility of non-military means are increasing in relation to military means. This research sets out to analyze how this effects the role of the military instrument according to the General Staff and what its role is grand strategy today. Thereafter, the research analyzes the role of the General Staff in influencing grand strategy and the political leadership.
Oscar Jonsson will present his latest ongoing research on the influence of Russian General Staff. He will be joined by Mike Kofman and Chuck Bartles as discussants to comment and critique the work.
Biographies
Oscar JonssonAcademic Director, Center for the Governance of Change
Dr. Oscar Jonsson is Academic Director for the Center for the Governance of Change. He holds a PhD from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He has earlier been Director of the Stockholm Free World Forum, a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley and a subject-matter expert at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters. Oscar has advised governments, armed forces’ leadership and financial institutions on strategic affairs and geopolitical risk, and featured in international print and broadcast media.Oscar’s research focuses on the impact of emerging technologies on modern statecraft and conflict, and in particular Russian modern warfare. He is the author of The Russian Understanding of War (Georgetown University Press) which is on the Commander of US Special Forces’ reading list for 2020 and finalist for the Association of American Publisher’s award for scholarly and professional excellence in social sciences 2020.
Michael KofmanSr. Research Analyst, CNA
Michael Kofman serves as a Senior Research Scientist in the Russia Studies Program at CNA and as a Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. His research focuses on the Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy. Previously, he served as a Program Manager and subject matter expert at National Defense University, advising senior military and government officials on issues in Russia and Eurasia. Mr. Kofman is also a Senior Editor at War on the Rocks, where he regularly authors articles on strategy, the Russian military, Russian decision-making, and related foreign policy issues. He runs a personal blog on the Russian armed forces at https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/
Mr. Kofman has published numerous articles on the Russian armed forces, security issues in Russia/Eurasia, and analyses for the US government. He holds an MA in International Security from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Charles BartlesAnalyst and Russian LinguistForeign Military Studies Office
Charles Bartles is an analyst and Russian linguist at the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His research areas include Russian and Central Asian military force structure, tactics, modernization, and Soviet/Russian military mapping. Chuck is also a Major in the US Army Reserve that has deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and has served as a security assistance officer at embassies in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. He is the co-author of the book The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and the Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces (Mentor, 2017).