Sweden’s sense of security has been gradually deteriorated by low-intensity conflict ushering in the era of “Hybrid Warfare.” Russian activity in the Nordic-Baltic region has taken various forms across multiple domains persisting over the past decade, and the threshold for what is now tolerable has been tested.
Welcome to a seminar focusing on military and non-military Russian activity in the Nordic-Baltic region, as well as their implications for the future of Northern European security.
The event will be the official launch of the Russian Activity Tracker, a digital timeline highlighting Russian activity in the Nordic-Baltic region between 2016 – 2018. The tracker is a collaborative project between Frivärld – Stockholm Free World Forum and the McCain Institute for International Leadership and will be presented by Frivärld’s International Research Fellow Will DuVal.
After the presentation, the event will feature a discussion with two leading defense and security experts: Karlis Neretnieks, Major General (Ret) and former President of the Swedish National Defense College and Oscar Jonsson, PhD candidate from King’s College, London and upcoming acting Frivärld Director for 2019. The discussion will be moderated by Katarina Tracz, Director of Frivärld.
DATE: November 14th, 2018
TIME: Lunch served at 11.30, Event runs from 12.00 – 13.00
LOCATION: Frivärld (Stockholm Free World Forum), Kungsgatan 60, Stockholm.
REGISTRATION: Mandatory Registration for attendance below.
*Please inform us of any allergies if you plan to join us for lunch.
About the Speakers:
Karlis Neretnieks is a retired Major General in the Swedish Armed Forces. He has served as head of department in the Army Staff, G-3 of an armored division, Commander of 18th Mechanized Brigade, Chief of Operations in the Central Joint Command and as President of the Swedish National Defence College (University). Neretnieks graduated from both the Swedish and Norwegian General Staff courses and also pursued academic studies at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. He has written extensively about security issues related to the Baltic Sea region. He is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences, a board member of the Swedish Atlantic Council, and a member of the Board at Institute for Security and Development Policy.
Oscar Jonsson is the new acting Director of the Stockholm Free World Forum, and a Russia and modern warfare expert who has just submitted his doctoral thesis on the Russian understanding of modern warfare at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He previously held positions as a visiting researcher at University of California-Berkeley and worked at the Swedish armed forces headquarters as an expert on hybrid warfare, Russian strategy and tactics as well as intelligence. Jonsson also previously worked at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris. He has a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Science from Uppsala University and an M.A. in International Peace and Security from King’s College London. Recently he has been active in the security policy debate as an expert commentator and freelance writer for major media outlets, magazines and thinktanks.
Will DuVal is the International Research Fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum for Fall 2018. He is a graduate of King’s College London with an M.A. in Geopolitics, Territory and Security with a U.S. Military background in Information Operations and Intelligence. Will was formerly an intern with the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels and U.S. Department of Defense Public Affairs and the Truman National Security Project in Washington, DC. Will is also a contributor to defense and security-related publications Modern War Institute, Task & Purpose and War on the Rocks.