In the brief Strike first and strike hard? Russian military modernization and strategy of active defence, Karsten Friis Senior Research Fellow and Maren Garberg Bredesen, Junior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), discusses the evolution of the Russia military capabilities and concept of active defence. The strategy of active defence was suggested by the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and it discusses how Russia can gain by striking first.
Dr. Karsten Friis is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Security and Defence Research Group at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). He holds a PhD from the University of Groningen and an MSc from the London School of Economics. His main area of expertise is security and defense policies and cyber security. His latest publications include: “Norway: ‘NATO in the North?”, i Vanaga and Rostoks (red.) Deterring Russia in Europe, Routledge 2018 and NATO and Collective Defence in the 21st Century: An Assessment of the Warsaw Summit.
Maren Garberg Bredesen is a junior research fellow, at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Her research interests are military theory and strategy, security policy (in particular NATO-Russia relations), and security- and defence cooperation in Europe with a focus on the Nordic countries. Currently, she is investigating Nordic defence cooperation (NORDEFCO) in view of the security landscape in the Baltic Sea and High North. She holds a BA in International Relations from Queen Mary University of London and a MA in War Studies from King’s College London.