RSI Connect - Russian Military as an Instrument of Foreign Policy

Fredrik Westerlund
Deputy Research Director
Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI)

Mr Fredrik Westerlund is an expert on Russian military power. He is currently Deputy Research Director at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI).The past 15 years, he has served as Security Policy Analyst at the FOI and the Swedish Department for Defence. Before that, Fredrik worked for nine years as Signals Intelligence Analyst at the Swedish Defence Radio Establishment (FRA). His areas of expertise include Russia’s Armed Forces, its defence industry and intelligence services, as well as nuclear weapons and arms control issues.
Fredrik holds BAs in Political Science as well as in Law, both from Uppsala University (Sweden). He is currently finishing a PhD thesis on the role of the military in Putin’s foreign policy at the Åbo Akademi University (Finland). Fredrik also serves as officer in the Swedish Armed Forces reserve, holding the rank of Captain.
In 2019, Fredrik co-edited the latest edition of the report Russian Military Capability in a Ten-Year Perspective (https://www.foi.se/en/foi/reports/report-summary.html?reportNo=FOI-R--4758--SE). He has authored chapters in four previous reports in the series as well as several other FOI reports, most recently The role of the military in Putin´s foreign policy: An overview of current research (https://www.foi.se/rapportsammanfattning?reportNo=FOI-R--5070--SE).

Bettina Renz Professor of International Security School of Politics and International Relations University of Nottingham, UK

Dr. Renz is a Professor of International Security at the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations. Having completed her MA and MSc degrees in Russian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, she graduated with a PhD from the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Russian and East European Studies in 2006. She has previously lectured for King’s College London at the Royal Air Force College and was a distinguished visiting professor at the Canadian Forces College in 2020. Dr. Renz's major area of research expertise is Russian security and defence policy in the post-Cold war era. She has published widely on military reforms, strategic thinking, civil-military relations and military operations other than war. Her latest monograph , Russia's Military Revival, was published with Polity in 2018. Professor Renz has extensive experience in collaborating with networks of scholars both in the UK and internationally, as well as in knowledge-exchange with non-academic audiences and military practitioners. A full list of publication and further information is available on Professor Renz’s profile on the University’s website: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/bettina.renz

Hanna Smith
Director of Research and Analysis
Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats
Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Brugge