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The War in Ukraine

In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, CWS brings you this dossier gathering a wide range of contributions by CWS members and friends. The views expressed by the authors of these contributions are theirs and theirs only. They do not necessarily represent all CWS members’ view on the matter.

Are drones the future of warfare?

Drones are the latest in a long line of technological developments to offer military superiority on the battlefield, as demonstrated by the resilient defence of Ukrainian forces in the face of Russian aggression. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in war is becoming ubiquitous raising the question, are drones the future of warfare? Dr. James Rogers takes a closer look at how drones are changing the battlefield landscape in a new episode of “The Inquiry” from BBC, alongside Professor Sarah Kreps, David Hambling, and Professor Caroline Kennedy. Picture: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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Understanding the war between Russia and Ukraine - a conversation with Dr. Hanna Shelest

On April 7, CWS had a conversation with Dr. Hanna Shelest about understanding the war between Russia and Ukraine. Hanna is Security Studies Program Director and Editor-in-Chief of UA: Ukraine Analytica and Head of the Board of the NGO “Promotion of Intercultural Cooperation”. She is uniquely suited to provide her insights on the context of the war, what is happening on the ground now, what is needed to help and support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and what the future might hold. The talk was moderated by CWS' Amelie Theussen. Picture: Pixabay License.

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A paradigm shift in (dis)information warfare: How TikTok content and deepfakes become threatening weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war

Propaganda and disinformation are integrative parts of warfare. However, during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, TikTok videos and deepfakes have emerged as new tools for pro-Russia disinformation to spread. PhD Fellow at DDC Selma MarthedalI argue that the spread of misleading content through TikTok can have serious consequences on Russian public sphere. Picture: Pixabay License.

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AI and Drones in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Challenging the Expectations?

In this blogentry, Ingvild Bode and Anna Nadibaidze highlight the importance of observing uses of AI and drones in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, even though so far these practices challenge the expectations set by the Russian leadership. Picture: Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Old Order is Dead - Long Live the New Order

24 February 2022 will go down in history not only as the day when Russia invaded Ukraine and brutally shattered the lives of millions of Ukrainians, but also as the day when the global rules-based order ended, and the contours of a new global order started to solidify. To better understand what is happening and what lies ahead, it is useful to take a closer look at what processes of order transformation entail. In this short article, professor Trine Flockhart gives a brief overview of what we know about order transformations, and what kind of global order might currently be unfolding. Picture: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

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Bombing Culture: The Cultural Destruction of Ukraine?

Putin targets civilians to tear up Ukrainian resistance, flash monolithic power and aggravate the international community. Along with soaring civilian casualties and destruction of urban space, culturally significant places, so-called ‘cultural heritage’, suffers increasing damage. Hence there is a need for considering how Putin may choose cultural destruction as a military strategy to undermine a nation and its people. The article is written by Frederik Rosén, Ph.D., Director Nordic Center for Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflict. Picture: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.

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NATO and the war in Ukraine - a conversation with General Wesley Clark

The Center for War Studies and the Center for American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark held the event “NATO and the War in Ukraine – A Conversation with General Wesley Clark” on Tuesday March 15, 2022. Wesley K. Clark is a businessman, educator, writer and commentator who serves as Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic consulting firm. Clark retired as a four star general after 38 years in the United States Army, having served in his last assignments as Commander of US Southern Command and then as Commander of US European Command/Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. The Zoom-based conversation was moderated by Trine Flockhart, Professor at University of Southern Denmark.

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Some perspectives on the use of cyber-attacks in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Mikkel Storm Jensen provides some perspectives on the use of cyber-attacks in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His analysis is based on the first impressions from what can be gleaned from reputable media’s reporting. He is a major, cand.polit and military researcher at the Department of Strategy and War Studies. Picture: CC 3.0 - Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego.

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3 reasons why Putin is not a madman

Putin is often described as a "madman" or "insane". In Amelie Theussen’s view, this is an analytical dead-end. A madman's actions are unpredictable and follow no discernible logics - they cannot be addressed or stopped. This is not the case with Putin and the war in Ukraine. Quite to the contrary, we need to understand the logic underlying Putin's actions to adequately address them. Amelie has filmed a short video series with SDU's communications department unpacking 3 reasons why Putin is not a madman: 1. Russia feels threatened, 2. Putin uses international legal principles in his attempts to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 3. the timing.

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NATO is the future of European security

To reflect the 2022 crisis in Ukraine, Dr. James Rogers and Professor Sten Rynning has updated their article “NATO is the future of European security”, previously written for Forum.eu in 2021. They argue that NATO’s ability to defend Europe is not a given and present four distinct ways in which Europe can contribute. Picture: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

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What is NATO and why does Putin care?

Check out the latest DIAS and CWS Virtual Briefing, where Professor Jamie Shea, president of the Center for War Studies and former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Emerging Security Challenges, sheds light on these questions. Picture: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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