The Institute of World Politics
by The Institute of World Politics
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From 15 epsHosts
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Resources, Power, and Nation Building: Critical Minerals and the New Geopolitics of the 21st
Jun 9, 2026
52m 46s
Why Poland Is Inconvenient for EU’s Left-Liberal Elites
May 19, 2026
27m 29s
Remembered Homelands, Divided Lands: Ottoman Legacies and the Roots of Ethnic Conflict
May 19, 2026
27m 29s
The Life and Fate of Paweł Z. Woś. Methodology of Research on the Polish War Generation
May 19, 2026
26m 25s
Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War
May 6, 2026
53m 41s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/9/26 | ![]() Resources, Power, and Nation Building: Critical Minerals and the New Geopolitics of the 21st✨ | critical mineralsnation building+4 | Dr. Haroon Hakimi | Institute of World PoliticsAmerica–Eurasia Center+1 | AfghanistanWashington, D.C. | critical mineralsnation building+5 | — | 52m 46s | |
| 5/19/26 | ![]() Why Poland Is Inconvenient for EU’s Left-Liberal Elites✨ | sovereigntyEuropean Union+4 | — | Institute of World Politics | PolandEuropean Union+1 | PolandEuropean Union+5 | — | 27m 29s | |
| 5/19/26 | ![]() Remembered Homelands, Divided Lands: Ottoman Legacies and the Roots of Ethnic Conflict✨ | ethnic conflictOttoman legacy+4 | Csaba B. Horváth | Hungarian Academy of Sciences | Southeast EuropeKosovo+6 | ethnic conflictOttoman period+4 | — | 27m 29s | |
| 5/19/26 | ![]() The Life and Fate of Paweł Z. Woś. Methodology of Research on the Polish War Generation✨ | Polish War Generationanti-communist resistance+3 | Dr. Sebastian Bojemski | Institute of World PoliticsWarsaw University+6 | — | Paweł Z. Wośhistorical truth+5 | — | 26m 25s | |
| 5/6/26 | ![]() Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin’s Secret War✨ | Russian espionageintelligence operations+4 | Sean M. Wiswesser | Central Intelligence AgencyUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill+5 | — | Russian Intelligenceespionage+7 | — | 53m 41s | |
| 4/1/26 | ![]() The European Union as a Defense Actor✨ | European Uniondefense+4 | Jovita Neliupšienė | European UnionNATO | LithuaniaUnited States | European Uniondefense actor+5 | — | 51m 25s | |
| 3/31/26 | ![]() Wife, Mother, Spy: An Extraordinary Life Filled with Ordinary Days.✨ | CIAundercover operations+4 | Ann Butler | Central Intelligence AgencyWife, Mother, Spy: An Extraordinary Life Filled with Ordinary Days | Upper Peninsula of MichiganEndicott, New York+2 | CIAspy+5 | — | 1h 03m 56s | |
| 3/26/26 | ![]() AI-Powered Simulation Training for Diplomacy, Negotiation, and Crisis Communication✨ | AI in diplomacynegotiation training+4 | Jan Kasprzycki-Rosikon | Convrsy, Inc.MillionYou+1 | EuropeMiddle East+1 | AI simulationdiplomacy training+5 | — | 1h 04m 58s | |
| 3/20/26 | ![]() Private Military Contractors: Understanding the Non-State Actors Changing the Institution of War✨ | Private Military ContractorsNon-State Actors+4 | Dr. Caroline Batka | Comenius UniversityBay Atlantic University+2 | SlovakiaEuropean Union+1 | Private Military ContractorsWagner Group+5 | — | 1h 01m 10s | |
| 3/12/26 | ![]() The CEE Region and the 21st-Century Window of Opportunity✨ | geopoliticsEast-Central Europe+3 | Csaba B. Horváth | Corvinus University of BudapestEötvös Loránd University+1 | Indo-PacificEast-Central Europe+6 | geopoliticsEast-Central Europe+3 | — | 20m 37s | |
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| 3/12/26 | ![]() Polish Foreign and Security Policy in the Context of the Russian Ukrainian War✨ | Polish foreign policysecurity policy+4 | Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski | University of LodzEuropean Institute in Łódź+4 | PolandUnited States | PolandRussian Ukrainian War+5 | — | 58m 06s | |
| 3/12/26 | ![]() Challenges to Poland’s National Security in the Changing Geopolitics✨ | Poland's national securitygeopolitics+3 | Dr. Sebastian Bojemski | Institute of World PoliticsKosciuszko Foundation+6 | PolandBelarus+1 | Polandnational security+6 | — | 25m 17s | |
| 3/12/26 | ![]() Solidarity across borders: London’s support for Poland’s Solidarity Movement✨ | PolandSolidarity Movement+4 | George Byczynski | UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on PolandAnders de Wiart Associates+3 | PolandUnited Kingdom | Solidarity MovementGeorge Byczynski+5 | — | 54m 04s | |
| 2/24/26 | ![]() The War in Ukraine - An Update from The Front✨ | Ukrainewar update+3 | Glenn Corn | The Institute of World Politics | Ukrainemultiple cities/locations | Ukrainewar+4 | — | 1h 08m 52s | |
| 2/10/26 | ![]() Standing With a Witness of Faith During the War in Ukraine✨ | war in Ukrainefaith+4 | Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi | Chalice of MercyRoman Catholic Church | UkraineKyiv–Zhytomyr+3 | UkraineBishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi+6 | — | 1h 17m 03s | |
| 2/6/26 | ![]() Book Lecture: The Israeli | About the Lecture: The Israeli, a novel by veteran journalist Phil Kurata, is set in the years 1947 to 1965, after the end of World War II, when in the Middle East, newly independent countries were shaking off the colonial powers of Britain and France. It reimagines the life of famed spy Eli Cohen. Beginning in Alexandria, Egypt, it transitions to a nascent Israel and then to Syria, where Cohen spies for the Israelis. Steeped in the food and the culture of the Middle East at that formative period, it takes a hard-eyed view of racism and prejudice on both the Israeli and Arab sides. It takes the reader on a deep dive into the intractable and often vicious conflicts that split the region today. About the Speaker: Phillip Kurata is a novelist and former journalist who grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and earned a bachelor’s degree in French literature and a master’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of Kansas. He studied at the University of Tunis in the mid-1960s, and—as a fluent French speaker—he returned to Tunisia as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a public health educator. He got into journalism while studying Chinese in Taiwan, writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He later worked for United Press International, Agence France Presse and Voice of America in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, France, and Washington, DC. Phil served for many years as a writer with the U.S. Department of State, based in Washington, DC. His first novel, The Reluctant Agent, was published by Washington Writers’ Publishing House as the Fiction Prize winner. His most recent novel, The Israeli, published in 2024, is a fictionalized story of the legendary Israeli spy, Eli Cohen, and examines the destructive power of ethnic hatred. Dr. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie is a forensic psychiatrist with special expertise in military and veterans’ issues. She has been Chief of Psychiatry at Medstar Washington Hospital Center since 2018. She retired from the Army in 2010, after holding numerous leadership positions within Army Medicine, including Psychiatry Consultant. She trained at Harvard, George Washington, Walter Reed, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and has completed fellowships in both forensic and preventive and disaster psychiatry. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Georgetown University, and George Washington University School of Medicine. An internationally recognized expert, she brings a unique public health approach to the management of disasters and combating mental health issues. Her assignments and other missions have taken her to Korea, Somalia, Iraq, and Cuba. She has over 250 publications, mainly in the areas of forensic, disaster, suicide, ethics, military combat psychiatry, and women’s health issues. Recent volumes include: “Forensic and Ethical Issues in Military Behavioral Health”, “Women at War”, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Diseases in Combat Veterans”, “Intimacy After Injury: Restoring Sexual Health on Return from Combat”; “Psychiatrists in Combat, Clinicians Experience in the War Zone”, “Gay Mental Healthcare Providers and Patients in the Military: Personal Experiences and Clinical Care” and “Clinical Management of the Homeless Patient: Social, Medical and Psychiatric Issues." **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=3 | — | ||||||
| 1/30/26 | ![]() Artificial General Intelligence: America's Next National Security Frontier | About the Lecture: This lecture will discuss the dangers that advanced AI would pose to the United States, the world, and humanity if developed and deployed without proper safeguards. These dangers would include its impact on our economy, geopolitical relations, and our national security. About the Speaker: Brendan Steinhauser is a Partner with Steinhauser Strategies, a public affairs firm based in Austin, Texas. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Government from The University of Texas in 2004 and earned his M.A. in Statecraft and International Affairs from The Institute of World Politics in 2013. Brendan served as an adjunct professor of Political Science and Global Studies at St. Edward's University in Austin, where he taught courses on Global Issues and State & Local Government. He has been published in the peer-reviewed academic journal, The Journal of South Texas. Brendan has led campaigns for candidates and causes in more than 40 states, including for Senator John Cornyn, Congressman Michael McCaul, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw. TIME magazine named Brendan as one of "40 Under 40" rising stars in American politics. Campaigns & Elections magazine awarded him a "Rising Star" award in 2012. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey called working with Brendan one of the highlights of his career. Over the years, Brendan has worked as a Director of Federal and State Campaigns, Communications Director, and Chief Strategy Officer of various nonprofit organizations. He is a frequent media commentator and has appeared on Fox News, Comedy Central, MSNBC, CNN, the BBC, NewsNation, and Newsmax. He has also been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many more newspapers, magazines, books, and journals. Some of his clients have included the Republican Party of Texas, Texas Right to Life, State Senator Angela Paxton, and the War Veterans Fund. Brendan serves as a First Lieutenant and Company Commander in the Texas State Guard, the premier state defense and emergency response force in the U.S. He graduated from Officer Candidate School and received his commission in 2021, at the age of 39. He earned a certificate in Counterintelligence Awareness from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. Mark Beall is a leading expert at the intersection of AI policy and national security. After serving as the inaugural Pentagon AI Policy Director at the Department of Defense’s Joint AI Center, he became the Senior Advisor at the AI Policy Network, an organization that builds bipartisan support for legislation that will help the United States prepare for the future capabilities of AI systems. Beall also co-founded Gladstone AI, an entity that advocates for the responsible development of AI and guardrails to protect the country against national security threats from AI. He has publicly spoken on these issues numerous times through speeches, interviews, and more, and is a voice critical in the mission to prioritize security in the development of AI. Beall holds a BA in Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an MA in Statecraft and National Security from the Institute of World Politics. **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=3 | — | ||||||
| 11/17/25 | ![]() At Sea Against the Soviet Fleet, A Conversation with the Author | Overview Book talk and signing with Capt. Bryan Leese on At Sea Against the Soviet Fleet—the evolution of U.S. naval intelligence in the Cold War. ***This lecture is sponsored by the IWP IAFIE Alpha Student Chapter*** About the Lecture: At Sea Against the Soviet Fleet examines the critical transformation of naval intelligence during a pivotal era marked by the Cold War and the Vietnam conflict. Bryan Leese meticulously details how U.S. Navy operational intelligence evolved to meet the complexities of modern naval warfare, particularly in response to the increasing threats posed by the Soviet Navy. Structured into four main parts, this book begins by examining the Vietnam War and the institutionalization of shipboard operational intelligence, or what Navy intelligence calls Opintel. The book highlights the establishment of Integrated Operational Intelligence Centers as part of the RA-5C Vigilante program and the innovative strategies that emerged in air combat and targeting. Leese goes on to underscore the necessity of Opintel to the U.S. Navy’s close and distant blockade strategy in the 1960s and 1970s. He delves into the decentralization of intelligence processes, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and the need to prevent surprise attacks. This evolution is framed within the transition to the Navy’s Ocean Surveillance Information System, a decentralized and responsive operational intelligence system. The ongoing developments of shipboard intelligence capabilities are explored, demonstrating how these advancements empowered naval commanders. In the 1970s, the organizations evolved as the revolutionary Opintel adaptations of the 1960s that leveraged cooperation without hierarchy became formalized. Leese highlights the revolution to evolution process by introducing Opintel support to shipboard tactical decisions to integrate operational intelligence into comprehensive naval strategies. Capturing the essence of this transformative period, the author discusses the cultural dynamics within the Navy that fostered innovation and interdepartmental collaboration. These developments not only contributed to maintaining a strategic edge over the Soviet Union, but also laid the groundwork for future naval operations in the digital age. Leese’s work reveals the intricate interplay between technology, strategy, and personnel in creating an effective intelligence framework that allows the U.S. Navy to assert influence at sea, setting conditions for sea control in conflict. By blending rich archival research with firsthand accounts, this book offers a nuanced understanding of how the Navy adapted to an ever-changing operational landscape, ultimately preserving peace while navigating the complexities of high-stakes maritime conflict. About the Speaker: Capt. Bryan Leese, USN (Ret.), was a career naval intelligence officer with extensive experience in operational intelligence, including key roles supporting ground combat operations and tours at sea, including as the N2 (head of intelligence) of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and the George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group. He has held senior positions across the intelligence community, most notably as Chair, Defense Intelligence Department at the National Intelligence University, and as Branch Chief, Transregional and then North/West Africa in J2 (Joint Intelligence) Africa Command, during the 2011–2012 crisis in Libya. Before joining the Joint Forces Staff College in September 2023, Dr. Leese served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College’s Joint Military Operations Department. He holds a PhD in war studies from King’s College London and lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, with his wife, Elizabeth. **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduat... ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/W... | — | ||||||
| 11/12/25 | ![]() The Demise of Democracy? Lessons from Ancient Athens on the Ideology and Pathology of Democracy | About the Lecture: "Our democracy is getting self-destroyed, for it abused the rights of freedom and of equality; for it taught the citizens to regard insolence as a right, illegality as freedom, impertinence as equality, and anarchy as happiness." Isocrates, Athenian orator (436-338 BC) Democracy first emerged in ancient Athens in 507 BC following a long turbulent period of aristocracy and tyranny, when a nexus of intertwined geopolitical, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments led to the morphogenesis of this new political constitution. Athenian Democracy formulated the political ideology and fundamental principles that were later canonized by modern democracies, formalized defensive mechanisms against undue concentration of power and employed innovative integrative mechanisms to propagate its ideology and educate the citizens. Pathogenic traits-catalysts, however, such as the extreme polarization between mass and elite, demagogy, populism, failure of justice, apathy, and poor education caused extensive political ankylosis. Internal corrosion and changing historical conditions caused the decline and fall of Democracy three centuries later.Isocrates’ aphorism, therefore, rings alarmingly all too pragmatic and relevant today, 250 years since the resurgence of Democracy in the modern era. Are we running a similar cycle, repeating old mistakes, standing at the same juncture, heading towards the same dead end? To navigate forward, find solutions, and shape our future, we need first to study our past. About the Speaker: With over 35 years of experience in archaeology, teaching, and administration, Prof. Christofilis Maggidis is a faculty member at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C., President of the Mycenaean Foundation, and Field Director of Excavations at Mycenae and Lamia. Throughout his career, Prof. Maggidis has combined academic leadership with a commitment to innovative teaching and interdisciplinary research. He earned the BA at the University of Athens, the Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed postdoctoral research at Brown University. Prof. Maggidis taught at Campus College and the University of Indianapolis, Athens, Greece, and held the distinguished Christopher Roberts Chair in Archaeology at Dickinson College for two decades, where he created and chaired the Department of Archaeology, designed the archaeology academic curriculum, and directed study abroad programs. In 2022 Prof. Maggidis joined the Institute of World Politics in Washington D.C. where he teaches at graduate level and directs "Hermes," the Institute's study abroad program in Greece. His research focuses on Minoan and Mycenaean archaeology, Classical Greek art and architecture, and archaeological methodology. With 40 years of field experience, Prof. Maggidis has led excavations at prominent sites in Greece, including Mycenae, Glas, and the Spercheios Valley, making significant discoveries and directing acclaimed field schools that trained over 450 students from 44 universities worldwide. Maggidis has secured substantial external and institutional funding for his research and fieldwork ($2.8million), and his findings have been widely disseminated in scholarly publications and international media. His scholarly publications comprise 26 articles, numerous field reports, one book submitted for publication and three forthcoming books. Furthermore, Prof. Maggidis has presented 45 international conference papers and delivered 42 invited lectures at prestigious universities and institutes worldwide. | — | ||||||
| 11/7/25 | ![]() Book Lecture: Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) in U.S. Security Cooperation | Overview Join Dr. Susan Yoshihara for a lecture, reception, and signing of "Women, Peace, & Security in U.S. Security Cooperation." About the Lecture: The authors of this groundbreaking book explore the origins, rationale, and evolution of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) efforts in the context of US security cooperation. Focusing on real-world policy and practice, they draw on cases ranging from post–World War II Japan to contemporary Ghana to demonstrate how including women in security cooperation efforts, while not without challenges, has improved operational effectiveness across the US military, built better security relationships, and advanced civil-military relations and human rights. About the Speaker: A faculty member at IWP, Dr. Susan Yoshihara, is founder and president of American Council on Women Peace and Security, a non-partisan, nonprofit think tank in the nation’s capital advancing peace and security for women, their families, and communities through education, on-the-ground engagement, policy analysis, and advocacy. Dr. Yoshihara was a senior advisor on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) to NORAD and USNORTHCOM, and WPS Advisor to Defense Security Cooperation Agency and University, where she led the team that integrated the requirements of the WPS Act of 2017 into education and training for the U.S. security cooperation workforce. Dr. Yoshihara participated in UN negotiations on development, security, and human rights as part of civil society, served on the Holy See delegation and advised the UN Security Council. She served twenty years as a U.S. Naval Aviator, leading helicopter combat logistics missions in the Gulf War and humanitarian assistance and search and rescue missions in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Dr. Yoshihara holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, M.F.A. in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, and B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy. This is her third book. **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=18 | — | ||||||
| 9/26/25 | ![]() KC Military Lecture in Honor of General Walter Jajko: Could Poland Have Helped the Russian Whites Against the Bolsheviks? | About the Lecture: In the summer and fall of 1919 not only the fate of Russia, but also that of Europe and the world, was hanging in the balance as the White anti-Bolshevik forces approached Moscow from the south. Lenin’s Bolshevik regime was teetering on the edge and appeared increasingly close to total collapse. However, the Red Army eventually counter-attacked and, turning a fighting retreat into a full-scale rout, pushed the White armies into the Crimea, thereby taking the decisive upper hand in the Russian Civil War. The sudden White defeat, and the survival and strengthening of Soviet communism, is generally attributed to White inflexibility, imperialistic rhetoric, failure to build a viable state apparatus and make national or economic concessions where necessary, and general lack of political sophistication and realism. However, the staunch hostility of Polish head of state Jόzef Piłsudski to the Whites, and his refusal to help the Whites, was an equally important factor. About the Speaker: Paweł Styrna was born in Poland and earned a PhD in history from American University in Washington, DC, writing a dissertation on the attitudes of the Russian Whites towards Poland and Poles in 1918 – 1921. He is also a graduate of the Institute of World Politics and the University of Illinois Chicago, holding MA degrees from both institutions. Dr. Styrna works in immigration policy and has written numerous articles on history, current affairs, and mass migration. | — | ||||||
| 9/16/25 | ![]() The Halabja Massacre: Remembering, Reflecting and Rebuilding | About the Lecture: Dr. Saeed speaks about the Halabja Massacre that occurred on March 16, 1988—a chemical weapons attack under the direction of Ali Hassan al-Majid (“Chemical Ali”), a cousin of Saddam Hussein. The attack claimed between 7,000 and 10,000 civilian lives. Dr. Saeed will discuss the lasting impact on Kurdish and Iraqi history, its role in the discussion of genocide, and his own experience as a survivor of the attack. About the Speaker: Yerevan Saeed is the Barzani Scholar in Residence and the Director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University’s School of International Service and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington He is a TEDx speaker and former lecturer at the University of Kurdistan Hewler. Saeed previously was a visiting scholar and research associate at AGSIW. Saeed is a political analyst who researches and writes on security, political, and energy issues in the Middle East, focusing on Iraq, Turkey, Iran, the Gulf, and the Levant. He has served as White House correspondent for the Kurdish Rudaw TV, and his work has been published in the Washington Institute’s Fikra Forum, the Diplomatic Courier, The New York Times, the London-based Majalla magazine, Rudaw, Global Politician, and several Kurdish newspapers. In addition, he has been interviewed by Voice of America, NPR, CNN, Voice of Russia, and Kurdish television programs and newspapers. From 2009-13, Saeed worked with Stratfor; additionally, he worked for several media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, BBC, and The Guardian, as a journalist and translator in Iraq from 2003-07. Saeed holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, with a focus on Middle East studies and international negotiation and conflict resolution. He received his PhD from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. He speaks Kurdish and Arabic and has a command of Farsi. | — | ||||||
| 9/16/25 | ![]() The Future of U.S. Involvement in the Middle East | About this Event: Join us for a fireside chat, “The Future of U.S. Involvement in the Middle East,” featuring House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), in conversation with journalist Dr. James Robbins. The discussion will be moderated by Haley Byrd Witt, Senior Reporter at NOTUS. This event will examine the evolving role of the United States in the Middle East through perspectives from Congress, the media, and policy experts. About the Speakers: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) is currently serving his eleventh term representing Texas' 10th District in the U.S. Congress. He previously served as Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and is currently Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to Congress, he served as Chief of Counter Terrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, and led the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He also served as Texas Deputy Attorney General under Senator John Cornyn and as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section in Washington, DC. A fourth-generation Texan, Congressman McCaul earned a B.A. in Business and History from Trinity University and a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law. He and his wife Linda are the proud parents of five children. Dr. James S. Robbins is IWP faculty and the current Dean of Academics. He is also a national security columnist for USA Today and Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council. Dr. Robbins is a former special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and in 2007 was awarded the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He is also the former award-winning Senior Editorial Writer for Foreign Affairs at The Washington Times. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and other publications, and he appears regularly on national and international television and radio. Dr. Robbins holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and has taught at the National Defense University and Marine Corps University, among other schools. His research interests include terrorism and national security strategy, political theory, and military history. Haley Byrd Witt is a Senior Reporter at NOTUS, covering politics and Congress with a focus on the Republican Party, foreign policy, human rights, and domestic legislation. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Policy, and Christianity Today. She previously covered Congress for The Dispatch, CNN, and The Weekly Standard. | — | ||||||
| 9/10/25 | ![]() Russian Information and Cyber Warfare Threats: What We Know from the Russian Attack on Ukraine | About the Lecture This presentation will explore the scope and evolution of Russian information and cyber warfare, drawing key lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Ambassador Smith will begin with an overview of Russia’s cyber capabilities and principal actors, then examine how Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine have developed over time and the implications for Ukraine, the United States, and the future of modern warfare. About the Speaker Ambassador David J. Smith is a foreign policy professional with over 40 years of experience spanning the U.S. military, Pentagon, State Department, Congress, diplomatic delegations, defense industry, research institutes, and democratic development initiatives. His expertise includes NATO, the former Soviet Union, the Caucasus and Black Sea regions, arms control, missile defense, and cybersecurity policy. A former U.S. Air Force officer and Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at Utica College, Ambassador Smith has served as the U.S. Chief Negotiator at the U.S.-Soviet Defense and Space talks, a Senior Fellow at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, and founder of the Georgian Security Analysis Center. His work in Georgia from 2002 to 2014 placed him at the forefront of studying the first combined kinetic and cyber war during Russia’s 2008 attack on Georgia. Ambassador Smith has delivered his continually updated presentation, Russian Cyber Capabilities, Policy, and Practice, to audiences around the world since 2010. | — | ||||||
| 8/1/25 | ![]() Chinese Espionage Operations and Tactics | About the Lecture: China’s espionage activities are changing the global balance of power, impacting the U.S. and foreign economies, and providing challenges to domestic, national security, and foreign policy formulation. China's "whole of society" intelligence approach provides a sophisticated and expanding global reach to target individuals for recruitment and collection. This briefing analyzes more than 865 cases of Chinese espionage operations and tactics including espionage, economic espionage, covert action, and illegal exports of technology. The briefing identifies tradecraft methodologies, recruitment motivations, and key indicators. About the Speaker: Nicholas Eftimiades is a professor of homeland security at Penn State University. He retired from the US Department of Defense in 2017. His 34 year government career includes employment in CIA, as a Special Agent in the US Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and a Senior Intelligence Officer in Defense Intelligence Agency. Mr. Eftimiades held positions in analysis, human and technical intelligence collection, and leadership. He served overseas for 10 years. Mr. Eftimiades is recognized as a leading authority on China and its espionage activities. His book Chinese Intelligence Operations was the first ever scholarly examination of the structure, operations, and methodology of the intelligence services of the People's Republic of China. His recent book Chinese Espionage: Operations and Tactics (Second Edition) updates that work and is the most detailed account ever published on China’s intelligence operational tradecraft. Eftimiades testified numerous times before Congress, as a certified expert in US courts, and advises government agencies and private industry. Nick is a frequent lecturer and public speaker on China and national security issues. He has appeared as an expert on dozens of television and radio broadcasts. He has been quoted in hundreds of newspapers and magazines across the world. He has taught over 1,000 US government counterintelligence officers and commercial industry insider threat specialists. Mr. Eftimiades has an M.S. Strategic Intelligence, National Defense Intelligence College, and a B.A. East Asian Studies, George Washington University. He has lived and studied in Asia for five years. Mr. Eftimiades held senior appoints on the DoD Defense Science Board, DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council/Economic Security Subcommittee, and as an Intelligence Community Associate for the National Intelligence Council. Eftimiades was also a Senior Research Fellow for six years at King’s College War Studies Department, London UK. | — | ||||||
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