Starting this autumn, Minna Ålander, research fellow at FIIA in Helsinki, will be joining Swedish think tank Stockholm Free Word Forum (Frivärld) and work on projects related to hybrid warfare and the new emerging security landscape of Northern Europe.
Minna Ålander has an outstanding expertise in areas as hybrid warfare and disinformation, knowledges and understanding that is of crucial importance in order to face the threats against democracies in our time. Stockholm Free World Forum wants to be a leading actor in this work and we do welcome Minna Ålander to take part in it, says Gunnar Hökmark, chairman of Stockholm Free World Forum.
Minna Ålander’s research focuses on NATO, security in Northern Europe, Nordic defence cooperation, Arctic security, as well as German and Finnish security and defence policy. Since August 2023, Ålander is a Non-resident Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Having worked closely with Stockholm Free World Forum over the past two years on several occasions, I am excited to join the team as non-resident senior fellow. Our region is facing serious challenges at the moment, both hybrid and conventional. I am looking forward to contributing to fostering links between Finland and Sweden, and in the wider Nordic-Baltic region, as a member of the Stockholm Free World Forum team, says Minna Ålander.
Minna Ålander’s specialization within Northern European security and Nordic defense cooperation, as well as German and Finnish foreign and security policy, will strengthen our analysis and work in a most favorable way, says Anna Rennéus Guthrie, Director Stockholm Free World Forum, and points to the newly published report “Tracking the Russian Hybrid Warfare – Cases from Nordic-Baltic Countries” where Minna Ålander is one of the editors.
-At this particular time in history, the Swedish and Finnish joint response to the threats posed to the Northern democracies is of great importance. Enhancing our understanding of the new emerging security landscape in which NATO will be one of the most central tasks for us as a think tank. More collaboration within policy and research over borders will be necessary. With Minna Ålander as senior fellow we will be able to include both Finnish and extended European security policy research to larger parts of our projects.