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  4. Annual Symposia

Human Security Challenges

Past - Present - Future

This symposium will explore the role of state, non-state, and international actors in solving or mitigating human security challenges. Human security, as a governing principle, emphasizes freedom from want and freedom from fear as opposed to traditional national security, which emphasizes sovereignty and territorial integrity. Threats to human security manifest in several different ways, including economic, food, healthcare, and environmental challenges for institutions that may have a role in addressing. The symposium will bring together scholars, practitioners, and students from all over the world to discuss this impactful and important topic.

The University of North Georgia is partnering with the Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, the Army Strategist Association, the Association of the U.S. Army and the Atlanta Council on International Relations to host this symposium on the Dahlonega Campus of the University of North Georgia, one of six senior military colleges in the United States, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northeast Georgia. From 5-6 April 2023, participants will hear from a series of noteworthy speakers interspersed with panel discussions and question and answer sessions.

  • Symposium Planning Group

    Eddie Mienie, Ph.D., Executive Director, Strategic Studies Program & Partnerships and Professor of Strategic Studies & Security Studies

    Michael Lanford, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UNG College of Education, Department of Social Foundations and Leadership Education

    Bonnie (BJ) Robinson, Ph.D., Director, University of North Georgia Press

    Keith Antonia, Ed.D., Associate Vice President for Military Programs & Executive Director of the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies

    Heath Williams, Director of UNG Federal Liaison and Military Education Coordinator

    Dlynn Williams, Ph.D., UNG Department Head and Professor of Political Science & International Affairs

    C. Anthony Pfaff, Ph.D., Research Professor for Strategy, the Military Profession and Ethic Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College

    Jan (Ken) Gleiman, Ph.D., President, Army Strategist Association

    Wes Pirkle, UNG Director of Global Military Programs

    Wendy Walker, Ph.D., UNG Associate Dean and Professor, Mike Cottrell College of Business

    Patrick Scanlan, Major, U.S. Army (Retired), Association of the United States Army, Program Manager, Education and Programs Directorate

  • Symposium Sponsors
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  • 2023 Symposium Flyer (PDF)
  • Symposium Will Explore Human Security Challenges Article
  • ILSS Symposium to Examine Human Security Article

Date

April 5-6, 2023

Location

University of North Georgia
Dahlonega Campus
Convocation Center

Virtual Participation

This symposium is designed to be an in-person event. If you are unable to attend in person, participation via Zoom will be an option. You must register for the symposium to receive the Zoom link, which will be e-mailed to you.

Accessibility

If you need closed captioning for this event, please email Keith Antonia or call 706-867-4576.

Disclaimer

Advertisements, promotions, statements and logos are those of the individual parties or other organizations participating in this event. The individual parties neither state nor imply any endorsement or recommendation with regard to these organizations.

  • Schedule
  • Speakers
  • Panels
  • Individual Presentations
  • Call for Abstracts
  • Admin Info

Schedule

Schedule details will be updated as symposium planning progresses.

5 April 2023

Time Activity
8:00 a.m.

Check-In at the Convocation Center, Dahlonega Campus, University of North Georgia

8:45 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

9:00 a.m.

Keynote Address: Major General Joseph (Joe) Jarrard, United States National Guard Bureau Joint Staff Director of Operations

9:45 a.m.

Break

10:00 a.m.

Featured Speaker: Volker Franke, Ph.D., Founding Director, Ph.D. Program in International Conflict Management and Professor of Conflict Management, Department of Political Science and International Affairs, Kennesaw State University

10:45 a.m.

Break

11:00 a.m.

Panel 1 Theme: Human Security Challenges in Post-Conflict Societies

12:15 p.m.

Lunch - No Host

1:45 p.m.

Featured Speaker: Sarah Dawn Petrin, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Transatlantic Security Initiative

2:30 p.m.

Break

2:45 p.m.

Panel 2 Theme: Role of National Defense in Mitigating Human Security Challenges

4:00 p.m.

Break

4:15 p.m.

Featured Speaker: Tony Pfaff, Ph.D., Research Professor for Strategy, The Military Profession, and Ethics, U.S. Army War College

5:00 p.m.

Break

6:30 p.m.

Social at The Smith House 

9:00 p.m.

End of Day 1

6 April 2023

Time Activity
8:15 a.m.

Check-In at the Convocation Center, Dahlonega Campus, University of North Georgia

8:30 a.m.

Welcome Remarks

8:40 a.m.

Panel 3: Topics in Human Security Challenges

9:50 a.m.

Break

10:00 a.m.

Featured Speaker: Eeben Barlow, Founder and Chairman or Executive Outcomes; Best-selling Author

10:45 a.m.

Featured Speaker: Igor Chirikov, Ph.D. (University of Moscow), Senior Researcher and SERU Consortium Director, University of California, Berkeley 

11:35 a.m.

Featured Speaker: Lieutenant General Patricia McQuistion, U.S. Army (Retired), former Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Materiel Command

12:10 p.m.

Lunch - No Host

1:10 p.m.

Panel 4: It's a Jungle Out There: The Growing Threat of Environmental Crimes to National Security

2:00 p.m.

Panel 5: Putting the Past on Ice: Evolving Security Considerations Among Human Populations in a Warming Arctic 

2:55 p.m.

Closing Remarks

3:00 p.m.

End of Symposium

*All times U.S. Eastern Daylight Time

Speakers

  • Volker C. Franke - Ph.D., Founding Director, Ph.D. Program in International Conflict Management
    volker-franke

    Dr. Volker Franke is a Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. Prior to coming to KSU, Dr. Franke was Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. From 2006-2008, he served as Director of Research at the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), one of Germany’s premier peace and conflict research and capacity building institutes. Currently, Dr. Franke also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Foundation of Peace Research. From 1998-2007, he was Director and Managing Editor of the National Security Studies Case Studies Program at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dr. Franke holds a Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina State University and a MA in political science and sociology from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is the author of Preparing for Peace: Military Identity, Value-Orientations, and Professional Military Education (Praeger 1999) and more than 30 journal articles, book chapters, case studies and research reports on issues related to peace and security studies, conflict management, civil-military relations, development policy and social identity. He is also the editor of Terrorism and Peacekeeping: New Security Challenges (Praeger 2005) and Security in a Changing World: Case Studies in U.S. National Security Management (Praeger 2002).

    Abstract

    In societies that experience prolonged social trauma, human security, conflict transformation, and sustainable development are compromised because when the everyday challenge is to assess whether a person or situation is safe, peace is difficult. In this address, I will discuss a unique approach for addressing prolonged social trauma in conflict or post-conflict societies by creating space for psychological rehabilitation by strengthening the self-care and cooperative capacities among individuals suffering from prolonged social trauma and by developing an enabling environment for promoting human security and supporting societal healing. Using data and experiences from an ongoing adaptive peacebuilding program in Liberia, the presentation illustrates how trauma healing interventions can strengthen and sustain human security in post-conflict societies.

  • C. Anthony Pfaff, Ph.D. - Research Professor for Strategy, the Military Profession, and Ethics
    pfaff.jpg

    Dr. Tony Pfaff is currently the Research Professor for Strategy, the Military Profession, and Ethic at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA. and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. A retired Army colonel and Foreign Area Officer (FAO) for the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Pfaff recently served as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council Staff. His last active duty posting was Senior Army and Military Advisor to the State Department from 2013-2016, where he served on the Policy Planning Staff advising on cyber, regional military affairs, the Arab Gulf Region, Iran, and security sector assistance reform. Prior to taking the State Department position, he served as the Defense Attaché in Baghdad, the Chief of International Military Affairs for US Army Central Command, and as the Defense Attaché in Kuwait. He served twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom, once as the Deputy J2 for a Joint Special Operations Task Force and as the Senior Military Advisor for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team. He also served as the Senior Intelligence Officer on the Iraq Intelligence Working Group and as a UN observer along the Iraq-Kuwait border. Prior to becoming a FAO, Dr. Pfaff served on the faculty at West Point as an assistant professor of Philosophy. As a company grade Army officer, he deployed to Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm with 82nd Airborne Division and participated in Operation Able Sentry with the 1st Armored Division.

    Dr. Pfaff has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Economics from Washington and Lee University, where he graduated cum laude with Honors in Philosophy; a master’s degree in Philosophy from Stanford University, with a concentration in the History and Philosophy of Science and where received a graduate fellowship at the Center for Conflict and Negotiation; a master’s in National Resource Management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, where he was a Distinguished Graduate; and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Georgetown University. Dr. Pfaff has authored numerous articles in professional and scholarly publications.

  • Sarah Dawn Petrin - Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Transatlantic Security Initiative
    Sarah Petrin

    Sarah Dawn Petrin is a nonresident senior fellow at the Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Petrin is an author, humanitarian, and peace and security advisor. She recently served as a peace operations and human security analyst with the US Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, where she provided expert advice on army, joint and multinational concepts, doctrine, and training, and monitored trends in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping exercises and NATO operations in cooperation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

    Petrin formerly served as a senior civilian advisor to NATO on the protection of civilians and advised the Military Contributions to Peace Support Operations working group. She supported revisions to the US Peace Operations Manual, NATO’s Stability Policing concept, and planning scenarios for UN Peacekeeping exercises. She also contributed to the Military Reference Guide on the Protection of Civilians and the Mass Atrocity Response Operations project. She previously served as the managing director of Protect the People where she facilitated trainings for the US military and partner nations on vulnerable populations including refugees, migrants, and victims of human trafficking. 

    Petrin has over twenty years of experience in the humanitarian sector, leading teams in complex emergencies and advising United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental organizations in over twenty countries. She has managed programs for refugees and internally displaced people along the borders of Afghanistan-Pakistan, Kenya-Somalia, and Thailand-Myanmar and responded to major disasters such as the global Ebola response, Southeast Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Haiti earthquake. Early in her career, she served as a legislative aide to US Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME).

    She has written numerous publications including ”Human Security in US Military Operations;” ”The US Women Peace and Security Agenda and UN Peacekeeping” for the US Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security; and “Syrian Women in Crisis” for the Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She advised the Center for Strategic and International Studies Task Force on Women’s and Family Health, providing policy recommendations in ”Health Implications of the Global Refugee and Migrant Crisis.” Her first book,  Bring Rain: Helping Humanity in Crisis, is a guide for anyone who wonders how to make a difference.

    Petrin graduated from Oxford University with a master of studies in forced migration from the Refugee Studies Center and a distinction for her research on refugee return and state reconstruction. She also holds a BA in international relations, African studies, and French from Gordon College in Massachusetts, where she was a Pike scholar and AJ Gordon scholar.

    Abstract:

    What human security trends matter the most?

    In this talk, Sarah Petrin will analyze the seven parts of human security – economic, health, political, food, environment, personal and community – and discuss data on emerging trends in the concept of security. Petrin will provide updated analysis from her 2021 paper on Human Security in U.S. Military Operations: A Primer for DoD on what shapes military decision making. Pointing to civilian reports on armed conflict, climate change, disasters, development, and pandemics, Petrin will discuss whether the response to complex crises are driven by data or other factors. What trends matter the most, and who should pay attention to the indicators? Join us for the discussion.

    Petrin Abstracr

  • Eeben Barlow - Founder and Chairman, Executive Outcomes; Author of Best-selling Books
    eeben barlow

    Born and educated in Africa, Eeben Barlow served as a commandant (Lieutenant Colonel)―and later temporary colonel―in several conventional, unconventional, and covert South African Defence Force (SADF) units.

    Commissioned in the SADF’s Corps of Engineers, he served as the sapper commander with 101 Task Force as well as for the 53rd and 54th Infantry Battalions. He went on to become the second-in-command of 32 Battalion’s famed Reconnaissance Wing. He was the first commander of ‘P Troop’, 44 Parachute Brigade while attached to the SA Army headquarters, Directorate Engineers. During this period, he was also an active member of the SADF’s EOD/IED teams.

    Following that deployment, he served as an agent handler for South Africa’s Military Intelligence Division (MID), and thereafter, as a covert operative and commander of a covert SA Special Forces’ unit (Region 5: Europe & Middle East).  

    He was the founder and chairman of Executive Outcomes. Upon leaving Executive Outcomes he served as a political and defence/security adviser to numerous African governments. From 2009 until 2020, he was the Chairman of STTEP International Ltd. In 2020, he reactivated Executive Outcomes on request of several African governments.

    He has served as a Major General in several African armed forces and as a political and military advisor, military campaign strategist, intelligence advisor, and commander of several newly created, highly-successful operational units.

    Additionally, and on behalf of several African armed forces and their governments, he has assisted with the development and implementation of sustainable intelligence strategies, doctrines, and policies to assist, guide and reduce uncertainties while gaining national security advantages.

    He served as the Honorary Consul of São Tomé and Príncipe to South Africa from 2019 to 2022.

    He has contributed to numerous academic papers and book chapters and is a regular speaker at foreign conferences and seminars. He also lectures at military colleges and universities across Africa and abroad and remains a trusted advisor to several African governments and military and political leaders.

    He is the author of three highly acclaimed books (Executive Outcomes: Against all Odds; Composite Warfare: The Conduct of Successful Ground Force Operations in Africa; and The War for Africa: Conflict, Crime, Corruption and Foreign Interests). His book on HUMINT operations in Africa is due for publication in 2023.

    Abstract

    Strategic Intelligence as a Mitigator to Human Security Challenges in Africa

    Africa frequently suffers human security deficits as a result of multiple challenges, challengers, problems and threats that emanate from numerous violent and non-violent quarters. The negative impact is often devastating and long lasting and contribute substantially to the degrading of the Pillars of State—and result in both fragile and failed states.

    These conflicts and wars highlight the intelligence collection deficit in numerous African security forces. Whereas the increased use of collection technology, artificial intelligence, cyber intrusions and such like have proven to be intelligence collection multipliers, Africa’s vastness and its generally poor infrastructure preclude these technologies from being fully exploited.

    Each country in Africa has its own nuances and intricacies, and no state can be viewed through a Western or Eastern lens. Subsequently, assessing the current and predicted threats, challenges, and challengers to human security cannot be evaluated according to non-African models.

    In locating, identifying, and negating (or exploiting) the threats to human security, African governments require better intelligence collection assets and approaches, especially at the strategic level. It is at the strategic level that the human intelligence collector can play a valuable role as a mitigator to the human security challenges the continent faces.

  • Igor Chirikov, Ph.D. – Senior Researcher and the Director of the Student Experience, Research University Consortium, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley
    igor chirikov

    Throughout his career, Igor has successfully balanced research, teaching, and senior leadership roles in higher education. Before joining UC Berkeley in 2018, he worked as a Vice-Rector (Vice-President) and a Senior Research Fellow at HSE University Moscow in Russia. He has experience designing and implementing large-scale international research projects in higher education and has published over 20 papers in peer-reviewed publications, including in Science Advances, Nature Human Behaviour, and PNAS. One of his research areas is the internationalization of higher education under authoritarian regimes. His co-edited book International Status Anxiety and Higher Education: Soviet Legacy in China and Russia (Springer, 2018) explores how the Soviet model of higher education and global competition impacts higher education systems in China and Russia. He contributed a chapter discussing the role of universities in Putin's Russia in the recent book Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats, and the Future of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021). Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has focused his efforts on supporting Ukrainian academics and students by fundraising, increasing awareness of the impact of the war on universities and volunteering for Ukraine Global Scholars.

    Abstract

    Scholars at Risk: The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Higher Education

    The war in Ukraine resulted in widespread destruction and hardship, including in higher education. As of early 2023, more than 3,000 education institutions in Ukraine have been damaged, and more than 400 have been completely destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian students and faculty have been displaced from their homes. Many of them joined armed forces or territorial defence to protect their country. Despite these hardships, Ukrainian universities have been able to adapt and continue their operations supporting society during the war. In Russia, tightening ideological control has eliminated the remaining islands of academic freedom, forcing outspoken anti-war and anti-Putin academics to leave the country or be imprisoned. Many Russian universities have transformed into weapons of propaganda and indoctrination, creating risks for the global academic community and future generations of students. The presentation will address current challenges and security threats to universities, faculty and students in Ukraine and Russia brought by the war. It will also discuss mitigation strategies, including recent initiatives to support scholars at risk. 

  • Major General Joseph Jarrard – United States National Guard Bureau Director of Operations
    joseph jarrard

    Maj. Gen. Joe Jarrard assumed his duties as the National Guard Bureau’s Director of Operations, J3/4/7 in September 2022 after serving as U.S. Army Europe and Africa Deputy Commanding General for Army National Guard.

    Maj. Gen. Jarrard graduated from North Georgia College and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1988. He served on active duty for more than 20 years.

    Appointed by the governor of the State of Georgia in 2014, Maj. Gen. Jarrard served as the 42nd Adjutant General of Georgia. Previously, he served for more than three years as the Assistant Adjutant General - Army and Commanding General of the Georgia Army National Guard.

    Under his leadership, the Georgia Army National Guard was selected by U.S. Army Forces Command to lead the way in implementing the Army's Associated Unit Program - the only state organization to have both division and battalion level associations with the Active Army component. Additionally, the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing won their 21st Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, the most of any Air Force Unit.

    Furthering international theater security cooperation initiatives, the Georgia National Guard was selected by the National Guard Bureau in 2016 for a second partner country (Argentina) as part of the State Partnership Program. This is in addition to the 24-year partnership with the country of Georgia. Georgia was also selected to establish one of the three initial National Guard Cyber Protection Teams, placing Georgia in the forefront of cyber defense.

    While on active duty, Maj. Gen. Jarrard served at numerous duty stations to include Germany; Fort Stewart, Georgia.; Fort Riley, Kansas.; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His operational deployments were to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2005. He also worked as a defense contractor in Afghanistan from April 2010 to Sept. 2011.

  • Lieutenant General Patricia McQuistion, U.S. Army (Retired)
    Patricia McQuistion

    General McQuistion joined the staff of the Association of the United States Army, where she served as vice president of membership & meetings, after completing 35 years of uniformed service in a variety of positions primarily in logistics and supply chain solutions. She is a life member of AUSA.

    She finished her Army career as the deputy commanding general for the Army Materiel Command and senior commander of Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. As a general officer, she commanded the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, headquartered at Rock Island, Illinois, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command for U.S. Army-Europe and Seventh Army in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Supply Chains in Columbus, Ohio.

    She has served in numerous command and staff assignments in Hawaii, Germany, Virginia, Kansas, Texas, Egypt, Pennsylvania, and Kuwait, (plus three tours at the Pentagon).

    She is a graduate of the University of Akron (Ohio), where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a commission in the U.S. Army through the ROTC program. She subsequently earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Acquisition Management) from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and a Master of National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

    Abstract

    Personal Insights into International Supply Chain Issues Affecting Human Security

    I will discuss aspects of managing large, complex supply chains based on my 35 years of experience as an Army and Defense logistician. I will explore impacts on human security issues that planners might consider when formulating logistics support for military operations across the spectrum of conflict.

Panels

Panel 1: April 5, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Theme: Human Security Challenges in Post-Conflict Societies

Moderator

  • Dan Papp, Ph.D

    Daniel S. Papp, Ph.D

    Consultant, Pendleton Group & Scholar of International Affairs and Policy, Former President of Kennesaw State University

    Dr. Daniel S. Papp retired as President of Kennesaw State University (KSU) in 2016.  Since his retirement, he has served as President of Papp Consulting LLC.

    During his 10 years as president, Papp led the consolidation of KSU and Southern Polytechnic State, making KSU one of the 50 largest U.S. universities; initiated its first doctoral programs; led KSU’s first capital campaign; added over $500 million of facilities; guided KSU into NCAA Division I athletics including intercollegiate football; expanded KSU’s external funded research; and doubled KSU’s study abroad program, including opening KSU’s first international campus.

    Before becoming KSU President, Papp was Senior Vice Chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs of the University System of Georgia (USG); Interim President of Southern Polytechnic; Executive Assistant to the President of Georgia Tech; Founding Director of Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; and Director of Tech’s School of Social Sciences.

    Papp has been Senior Research Scholar at both the Center for Aerospace Doctrine of the Air War College and the Strategic Studies Institute of the Army War College.  The Army twice awarded him the “Outstanding Civilian Service” medal.  He also has been Visiting Professor at Western Australia Institute of Technology in Perth; Visiting Professor at Fudan University in Shanghai; and led study abroad programs to the Soviet Union, France, Germany, and Italy.   

    A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Papp earned his Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami.  He is the author, co-author, or editor of 14 books and over 80 articles on U.S. and Soviet/Russian foreign policy and international relations, including former Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s autobiography, As I Saw It.

Panelists

  • Nilofar Sakhi, Ph.D

    Nilofar Sakhi, Ph.D

    Professorial Lecturer of International Affairs at Elliott School of George Washington University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council

    Dr. Nilofar Sakhi is a professorial lecturer of International Affairs at Elliott school of George Washington University. She is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. She served as course coordinator and instructor at U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute and a Director of Policy and Diplomacy at McColm & Company. Sakhi also taught at George Mason University and American University of Afghanistan. She also served as a country director of the Open Society Foundation and an executive director at the American University of Afghanistan where she serves as a trustee.

    A former Fulbright fellow, Sakhi has written extensively on various aspects of traditional and nontraditional security, geopolitics of peace, peacemaking and peacebuilding processes and human security. Her recent book is on Human Security and Agency: Reframing productive power in Afghanistan. Currently she is working on regional security with a case study of Afghanistan-South and Central Asia and exploring the domestic and external incongruences that impact regional peace diplomacy.

    Nilofar has been involved in assisting peace, development, and counter insurgency policy formulation. A former visiting fellow at National Endowment for Democracy and Columbia University, and a fellow at Asia Society and International Center for Tolerance Education, Nilofar has researched a wide range of research projects pertaining to politics of peace, security, negotiations and mediation in peacemaking processes.


    Abstract 

    Human Security in Afghanistan with Reflections on Iran

  • Eric Wolterstorff, Ph.D.

    Eric Wolterstorff, Ph.D

    Chief Executive Officer, Sovereignty First

    Dr. Wolterstorff’s expertise is cultural psychosocial development and group trauma, in particular the behavior of societies responding to existential, long-term threats. He founded and leads Sovereignty First.

    Dr. Wolterstorff’s methodology is at the core of a current 5-year program in Liberia, and past projects in Afghanistan and Syria. 

    Since 2012, Dr. Wolterstorff has worked with the US stability operations and nation-building community, including the Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction, the US Army War College, the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy and other peacebuilding NGOs, active and retired ambassadors, generals and colonels, politicians, and investors to develop tools to improve self-governance, the quality and likelihood of success of stability operations, and investments in politically and culturally opaque countries with weak rule of law and contract enforcement. 

    As the head of a crisis management firm, he led five successful turnarounds in the United States and Indonesia, and is part-owner and serves a senior advisor Cooperative Capacity Partners. As a psychotherapist, he trained hundreds of trauma psychotherapists in the United States and Germany. 

    Dr. Wolterstorff’s goal is to help social impact investor ecosystem builders trying to solve complex problems in frontier markets.


    Abstract

    Human Security and the Safety Spiral 

    In societies that experience prolonged social trauma, conflict transformation, sustainable development and democratic governance are compromised because when the challenge is to assess whether a person or situation is safe, peace is difficult. In this paper, we introduce a model for addressing prolonged social trauma in conflict or post-conflict societies. Grounded in the work of psychoanalyst Lloyd deMause, who argued that culture is transmitted largely through a society’s childrearing practices, we propose to create space for psychological rehabilitation in peacebuilding. In this paper, we discuss empathy, impulse control, collaborative reasoning and moral reasoning as skills to strengthen the capacity to cooperate among individuals suffering from prolonged social trauma, and appeal to integrate healing from social trauma into post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding.

  • Jaroslaw Jarzabek Ph.D.

    Jaroslaw Jarzabek Ph.D.

    Associate Professor in the Institute of International Studies, University of Wrocław

    Associate professor in the Institute of International Studies, University of Wrocław. His research interests focus on the international relations, politics of security and armed forces in the Middle East. He is an author and co-author of four monographs and numerous journal articles and book chapters. He has been a Fulbright scholarship holder and holds the position of a coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Global Studies program at the University of Wroclaw.

    E-mail address: jaroslaw.jarzabek@uwr.edu.pl

    Academia: https://wroc.academia.edu/JaroslawJarzabek

    Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.pl/citations?user=9H7YCsQAAAAJ&hl=pl

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0539-8444


    Abstract

    Responsibility to Protect and Human Security – A Failed (?) Attempt to Secure Civilian Lives in the Armed Conflicts

    The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is an international norm that seeks to ensure that the international community does not fail to halt the genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity. The traditional doctrine of international security, based on the United Nations Charter, focused on conflicts and threats of an interstate nature. However, war crimes and crimes of genocide committed during internal conflicts in the 20th century revealed serious shortcomings and flaws in the existing solutions. It became an impulse to develop and present new solutions in the form of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. It is not regulated by any specific act of international law, instead it rests upon other legal acts. The main responsibility of states under the R2P doctrine should be the use of non-military measures to protect the population at risk. The R2P doctrine proposes numerous measures to halt the violence in a state that is able or willing to properly protect the lives of their own population. Among them are mainly the non-military measures (eg. mediation, political pressure, economic sanctions, arms sales embargoes etc.) with the use of military force as a measure of last resort. This paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of R2P doctrine as a tool to protect the security of human beings in the internal and international armed conflicts.

  • Cristina Matiuta, Ph.D., and Raluca Viman-Miller, Ph.D.

    Cristina Matiuta, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor at the University of Oradea, Romania, Department of Political Science and Communication

    Dr. Cristina Matiuta teaches in the areas of Civil Society, Political Parties and Theories of Democracy. She is a Jean Monnet professor in the field of European integration studies and founder and editor of the Journal of Identity and Migration Studies.


    Raluca Viman-Miller, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor at the University of North Georgia, Georgia, USA

    Dr. Raluca Viman-Miller has a Ph.D. from Georgia State University, a master’s degree from Georgia Southern University and she completed her undergraduate work at “Babes-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca Romania.  She has completed research and published on issues such as: the impact of migration on political behavior, political communication, regional and bilateral relations with implications on the European security. She teaches classes on Global Issues, Comparative Politics, European Politics, Russian Foreign Policy, International Relations, and American Government at undergraduate and graduate level.


    Abstract

    Human Security and War: Case Study on Ukrainian Refugees in Romania

    Starting from the definition of human security: to protect individuals and their communities from threats to their well-being and physical security, this study looks at the role of the state and non-state actors in protecting the Ukrainian war refugees in Romania. Looking at the systemic, state, and individual levels of analysis, this paper applies these theoretical perspectives to the case study of Romania as transit or destination country. It explores the involvement of the Romanian government structures, private sector, civil society, and local communities in assisting these people in need.

  • Volker C. Franke, Ph.D.

    Volker C. Franke, Ph.D.

    Founding Director, Ph.D. Program in International Conflict Management

    Dr. Volker Franke is a Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. Prior to coming to KSU, Dr. Franke was Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. From 2006-2008, he served as Director of Research at the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), one of Germany’s premier peace and conflict research and capacity building institutes. Currently, Dr. Franke also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Foundation of Peace Research. From 1998-2007, he was Director and Managing Editor of the National Security Studies Case Studies Program at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dr. Franke holds a Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina State University and a MA in political science and sociology from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is the author of Preparing for Peace: Military Identity, Value-Orientations, and Professional Military Education (Praeger 1999) and more than 30 journal articles, book chapters, case studies and research reports on issues related to peace and security studies, conflict management, civil-military relations, development policy and social identity. He is also the editor of Terrorism and Peacekeeping: New Security Challenges (Praeger 2005) and Security in a Changing World: Case Studies in U.S. National Security Management (Praeger 2002).

Panel 2: April 5, 2023 at 2:45 p.m.

Theme: Role of National Defense in Mitigating Human Security Challenges

Moderator

  • Kevin D. Stringer, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

    Kevin D. Stringer, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

    Chair of Education for the US Irregular Warfare Center and Visiting Associate Professor at the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania

    Dr. Stringer commissioned as an active-duty Army Aviator in 1987 and was a Eurasian Foreign Area Officer and Strategist assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command Europe and U.S. Special Operations Command. For interagency assignments, he was Director, Plans and Strategy (J5) for a transregional special operations task force in the Middle East and U.S. Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) Liaison Officer to the Department of State in Washington. He served as a military faculty member at the U.S. Army War College in 2021.

    As a civilian, Dr. Stringer has served as a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State and as an Associate Professor of International Affairs. Currently, he is the Chair of Education for the US Irregular Warfare Center and Visiting Associate Professor at the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania.

    He earned a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Zurich, a Master of Arts in International Relations from Boston University, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a B.Sc. degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Dr. Stringer was a distinguished graduate of both the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Army War College.

    With over 30 years of active and reserve military service, his research focuses on irregular warfare, special operations, Russian indirect action, and multinational operations. The author of the book Military Organizations for Homeland Defense and Smaller-Scale Contingencies (2006, Praeger), Dr. Stringer has published in Naval War College Review, Joint Force Quarterly, Military Review, Parameters, Special Operations Journal, and the Journal on Baltic Security. He is the holder of the Estonian Defence Forces Meritorious Service Cross for his work on resistance and resilience initiatives in that country. 

Panelists

  • Ieva Gajauskaitė, Ph.D.

    Ieva Gajauskaitė, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor at General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania

    For the last ten years, Ieva Gajauskaitė she has specialized in the analysis of strategic partnerships, social constructivism, and resilience to hybrid threats. She lectures on China’s strategy towards Europe at Vytautas the Great Army Command and Staff Course (ACSC) and The Air Force Command and Staff Course (AFCSC). She is a head of the national project on Resilience to hybrid threats and hybrid operations (in cooperation with MoD).

    Abstract

    Deterrence by Democratic Resilience: The Sixth Column

    Hybrid warfare no longer allows the distinction between peace and war to be made without political will, which determines whether the damage inflicted on a state meets the threshold for war. Accordingly, defence policymaking becomes dependent on the vulnerability of other areas of public policy and the characteristics of the state system itself. In this context, foreign interference is deemed to be a threat to national security rather than a deterrent capability that could be fostered. The idea of positive peace is rooted in the concept of human security, the ultimate goal of which entails the resilience of society based on unity and non-violent societal attitudes arising out of common good.     

    The era of hybrid threats and hybrid warfare has put the fifth column back on the Defence Policy Studies agenda. While members of the fifth column are regarded as potential traitors, the sixth column can be appreciated as potential allies, enabling the transformation of undemocratic hybrid actors from within. Thus, the intervention of democracies in the process of resilience of authoritarian regimes is made more feasible by the support of internal groups that seek to rebuild or to reinforce the democratic processes that still exist.  The aim of the paper is to introduce the concept of how democratic resilience based on human security could lead to a positive peace in the setting of hybrid warfare.

  • Tiia-Triin Truusa, Ph.D

    Tiia-Triin Truusa, Ph.D

    Manager of Academic and Outreach Activities, Baltic Defense College

    Tiia-Triin Truusa works at the Baltic Defence College in the Dean’s office as Manager of Academic and Outreach Activities. She is also a Research Fellow in Military Sociology at the University of Tartu and a lecturer in the Community Development and Social Well-being Master’s Programme. Her thesis “The entangled gap: the male Estonian citizen and the interconnections between civilian and military spheres in society” investigated the multiple civil-military nexus, the various intersections between the civil and military spheres over a man’s lifetime in a broad-base security system. Her research areas include veteran’s issues, military families, conscripts, voluntary defence and will to defend. She is the President of the European Research Group on Military and Society since 2019 and she has been a member of the Women’s Voluntary Defence Organization since 2002.

    Abstract:

    Human Security Perspectives Within Comprehensive Defence: How Does “Will to Defend” Figure Into Human Security?

    States that have adopted the national comprehensive defence approach have to varying degrees moved away from the understanding that security is something that is solely in the states’ purview. The underlying principle has become that the whole of society is engaged in security and defence practices. Thus, one of the more perhaps unconventional ideas is that all members of society are not only consumers of security and defence but are active participants in producing societal security and national defence.  

    Public opinion polls in Estonia indicate high levels of “the will to defend” – a concept that traditionally has been connected mainly to taking up arms in the defence in case of an attack on sovereignty. Willingness to do one’s part according to one’s abilities in crisis, including war has become more important only in recent years. Our research also indicates that the will to be a part of security and defence mechanisms and structures varies for individuals by intensity and intent.  

    When adopting the human security view, the view that security needs to counterbalance all manner of vulnerabilities, we also need to acknowledge that the actual insecurities must drive our response mechanisms. In that sense concrete human security practices will become context-specific, though adhering to general humane values.  

    This presentation concentrates on how can the concept of “the will to defend” be used as a tool for enhancing human security within the national comprehensive defence paradigm. 

  • Lieutenant Colonel Karl Salum

    Lieutenant Colonel Karl Salum

    Lecturer, Baltic Defense College, Tartu, Estonia

    Lieutenant Colonel Salum has served in the Estonian Defence Forces since 1998, mostly in staff and professional military education assignments. In 2006 he deployed to Iraq as a staff officer in the Coalition headquarters. LtCol Salum holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program and is a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College Blended Seminar Program.

    Abstract

    Resilience Against Russian Threats: The Baltic States Experiences and Perspective

    The Baltic states have been subjected to pressure from Russia across the whole PMESII (Political, Military, Economy, Social, Information, Infrastructure) spectrum since regaining their independence in 1991. Russia’s focus on a particular Baltic state or a specific domain has been shifting throughout the decades, depending mostly on Russia’s own interests and the dynamics of Russia’s relations with the West. Russia’s pressure on the Baltic states, however, has remained constant. The Baltic states have reduced their vulnerabilities in multiple domains and are conducting an active battle against Russian disinformation efforts both at home and in the wider West. The Russian minority population in Estonia and Latvia are a significant factor that Russia seeks to exploit. The main vulnerability of the Baltic states continues to be their military inferiority when compared to Russia. This has been partially alleviated by the deployment of allied units in accordance with the decisions taken at NATO Wales Summit of 2014 and enhanced by the decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit in 2016. In light of Russia’s rhetoric and activities across the PMESII spectrum before and during the expanded aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, the Baltic states have had to pay even more attention and devote significantly more resources to all aspects of resilience, not just military acquisitions. This continues to be a financial challenge. Fortunately, membership in the EU and NATO is the most vital guarantee of continuing stability, security, and sovereignty of the Baltic states.

  • Steven Fleming, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

    Steven Fleming, Ph.D, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

    Professor of Geospatial Science and Intelligence, University of North Georgia

    Steven Fleming, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), is a Professor of Geospatial Science and Intelligence with the Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis at the University of North Georgia where he teaches courses in geospatial intelligence, military geography, and the spatial sciences. From 2015-2022, he served as a Professor at the University of Southern California’s Spatial Sciences Institute and Institute for Creative Technologies. Prior to joining USC, he served on active duty for 30 years in the U.S. Army, fulfilling Joint and NATO duties on multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He culminated his military career at the United States Military Academy where he was an Academy Professor of Geospatial Information Science. His research specialties focus on applications of geospatial technologies for national defense (military operations, homeland security, and disaster management).

    Abstract

    Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) – Applications for Security and Safety Operations

    Integrated and coordinated international, national, and local operations enable resilience and resistance to human security and safety threats. These threats come in many forms including (but not limited to) natural disasters, humanitarian crises, environmental risks, public health issues, military conflicts, terrorist attacks, genocide, political violence, and resource accessibility and/or competition. GEOINT applications leverage geospatial science and technologies as intelligence tools to address these threats. This presentation outlines some of the GEOINT resources and applications that assist in informing decision-makers charged with managing disaster response, humanitarian relief efforts, and local/regional/national security.

Panel 3: April 6, 2023 at 8:40 a.m.

Theme: Topics in Human Security Challenges

Moderator

  • Robert H. “Robin” Dorff, Ph.D.

    Robert H. “Robin” Dorff, Ph.D.

    Consultant for Two US-based Companies, Carl Marks Advisors and The Leadership Collaborative, and as Senior Advisor for Gables Group Strategies, Inc.

    Dr. Dorff currently serves as a consultant for two US-based companies, Carl Marks Advisors and The Leadership Collaborative, and as Senior Advisor for Gables Group Strategies, Inc. He specializes in formulating and applying strategy and in developing strategic leadership in higher education, non-profits, and international business. Until his retirement in 2020, Dr. Dorff spent more than 40 years in higher education that included administrative leadership roles as Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean, and with the rank of Full Professor of Political Science and International Affairs. He served as the General Douglas MacArthur Research Professor of National Security Affairs (2007-2012) at the U.S. Army War College with a special focus on US-Transatlantic Relations, NATO, and International Security. Prior to that he was Professor of National Security Policy and Strategy in the Department of National Security and Strategy (1997-2004), held the General Maxwell D. Taylor Chair (1999-2002), and served as Department Chair (2001-2004). Dr. Dorff also served as Executive Director of the Institute of Political Leadership in Raleigh, NC, a multi-party non-profit that worked with people who wanted to run for elected office.

    He lectures and consults frequently on strategy, leadership, and international security issues for corporate as well as national security audiences and has spoken all over the U.S. and in Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Dr. Dorff is the recipient of the U.S. Army Superior Civilian Service Award, the U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, and the U.S. Secretary of State Distinguished Public Service Award. He received his B.A. from Colorado College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He lives in Holderness, New Hampshire.

Panelists

  • Joanna Dyduch, Ph.D.

    Joanna Dyduch, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Political Scientist and International Relations Scholar, and Head of the Department of Israel at the Institute of Middle and Far East

    Joanna Dyduch, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, political scientist and international relations scholar, and head of the Department of Israel at the Institute of Middle and Far East.

    Her research interests lie in the area of Israeli and European studies, specifically foreign policy analysis, European integration processes (Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation especially in the filed of foreign and security Policy and energy policy). Additionally, her research activities touch upon intersections between the foreign policy and energy related issues.

    Joanna’s papers were published in: Journal of European Integration, Israel Studies Review, Energy Policy, Applied Energy, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, and the edited collection published by Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan.

    Form 2019 she serves as the president of the European Association for Israeli Studies and since 2021 as a Board Member of the Association of Israel Studies based in US.

    She has been a visiting scholar at the University of Vienna (2017), Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica (2019), the University of Potsdam (2020), the University of Maryland (2022) and a research fellow of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in 2018.

    Finally, she has participated in several research projects and currently she is a principal investigator in research project “Energy security and increasing international interdependence. Israeli energy policy in transition” funded by Polish National Science Center (OPUS -2022-2025) and the European project SHAPEDEM-EU: Rethinking and Reshaping the EU’s democracy support in its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood, HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01 (2022.10.01-2025.09. 30)

    Recent Publications (most relevant):

    • Dyduch, (2023). Israel and the EU: Ambivalent Relations in a Changing World. In: Kumaraswamy, P.R. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Israel. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2717-0_89-1
    • Dyduch, R.M. Elavarasan, R. Pugazhendhi, G.M. Shafiullah, Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar, Mohammad Taufiqul Arif, Taskin Jamal, Shauhrat Singh Chopra. Impacts of COVID-19 on Sustainable Development Goals and effective approaches to maneuver them in the post-pandemic environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17793-9
    • Dyduch & M. Müller, (2021). “Populism meets EU Foreign Policy: The de-Europeanization of Poland's Foreign Policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, Journal of European Integration, forthcoming Special Issue on de-Europeanization. DOI: 10.1080/07036337.2021.1927010
    • Dyduch, Israel and East-Central Europe. Case Studies of Israel Relations with Poland and Hungary, Israel Studies Review, Volume 36, Issue 1, Spring 2021: 7–25, doi:10.3167/isr.2021.360103
    • Dyduch, Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan, Rishi Pugazhendhi, Taskin Jamal (et.al.) Envisioning the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the lens of energy sustainability (SDG 7) in the post-COVID-19 world, Applied Energy, April 2021,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116665
    • Dyduch, A. Skorek, Go South! Southern dimension of the V4 states’ energy policy strategies – An assessment of viability and prospects, "Energy Policy", Volume 140, May 2020, 11137.
    • Dyduch, Bilateralism within the European Union: Examining the explanatory power of horizontal Europeanisation and interdependence, in: Poland and Germany in the European Union. The Multi-dimensional Dynamics of Bilateral Relations, ed. E. Opiłowska, M.Sus, Routledge, 2021

    Abstract

    Why Individuals Matters

    The Case of ‘Human Security’ Perception in the Light of the Securitisation and De-securitisation of Israeli Energy Policy.

  • Varun Gupta, Ph.D.

    Varun Gupta, Ph.D.

    Varun Gupta, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Logistics and Analytics, University of North Georgia, Mike Cottrell College of Business

    Varun Gupta teaches logistics and supply chain management courses. He earned a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. He also has an MBA and an MS in Supply Chain Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. Varun’s research interests broadly include supply chain risk management, revenue management, logistics, and applications of game theory to different supply chain issues. Before joining academia, he worked as a Business Analyst for Consumer Goods. For research, student engagement, etc., Varun has collaborated with various national and global retailers (Michaels, Target and Home Depot), small to medium-sized manufacturing (Zeyon, Truck-Lite), and different-sized logistics firms (Logistics+ and Syfan Logistics).

    Abstract

    In today’s globalized world, threats to humanity can come in different forms, including cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions, epidemic breakouts, natural disasters, or violent conflicts. Specifically, supply chains responsible for delivering essential survival products during peacetime or critical supplies during conflict for civilians and military can experience unplanned disruptions. These disruptions can result in delivery delays or, worse, no availability of essential products (food, water, medicine, PPE, etc.), putting human lives at risk. We will discuss some of these supply chain challenges and how the United States government is working to secure these supply chains in the national interest.

  • José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Ph.D.

    José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Ph.D.

    Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics at Georgia Southern University

    Research Unit at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) in Washington, D.C., a visiting scholar at the Prague University of Economics and Business, Department of International and Diplomatic Studies and a visiting Professor at the University of South Bohemia, the Czech Republic, and former Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, Carlisle, PA.

    Dr. da Cruz is currently visiting professor at the Strategic Landpower and Futures Group (SLFG), Center for Strategic Leadership (CSL), Homeland Defense & Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College  

    Dr. da Cruz is on the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of America. Dr. da Cruz is also a CISCO Certified CyberOps Officer, Certified INFOSEC Cybersecurity Administrator, Certified HIPAA Compliance Officer, a certified US Department of Homeland Security Military Resources in Emergency Management, Computer Security Incident Handler, and a Certified Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Cyber Intelligence.

    Abstract

    Drones, Crime, Emerging Technologies, and Human Security Challenges in the Americas

    Drones are becoming integral to criminal organizations’ toolboxes, challenging law enforcement agencies. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or systems (UAVs or UAS), are becoming more common along the US-Mexico border. Drones can transport drugs without putting resources at risk, be used as lookouts or spies, and provide up-to-the-minute intelligence information for criminal organizations as observation platforms for reconnaissance and surveillance. Drones also complicate the fight against criminal organizations and terrorist groups. This presentation illustrates the challenges Latin American law enforcement organizations face with the rise of innovative technologies of criminality. The presentation also discusses how these recent technologies are impacting regional human security. 

  • Mark Grzegorzewski, Ph.D.

    Mark Grzegorzewski, Ph.D.

    Dr. Mark Grzegorzewski is affiliated with the Irregular Warfare Center and is also an Army Cyber Institute Non-Resident Fellow. His recent publications include: "Cybersecurity and Strategic Deterrence: Changing Adversary’s Risk Versus Reward Calculations,” “In Search of Security: Understanding the Motives Behind Iran’s Cyber-Enabled Influence Campaigns,” “Why the United States Must Win the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Race,” "Technology Adoption in Unconventional Warfare,” and “Incorporating the Cyberspace Domain: How Russia and China Exploit Asymmetric Advantages in Great Power Competition.” Dr. Grzegorzewski holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida, along with a graduate certificate in Globalization Studies.

    Abstract

    Advancements in information collection, communications, weapons, and their associated technologies have often propelled their wielding armies to extraordinary successes. These product advances and their supply chains have always required protections against exploitation, sabotage, and attack. Through advances in communications technology, reductions in trade barriers, production and shipping costs, and an increase in international connections, the cyberspace vulnerabilities to military products and their supply chain have become progressively inherent in a product’s life cycle. From concept to disposal, product interaction with precarious and often murky supply chain realities - consisting of multiple tiers of outsourced contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, and material suppliers that are increasingly diversified, fluid, and global - and the DOD’s current acquisition strategies make it increasingly challenging to determine cyberspace risks in, or to, the delivered products. Modern warfare has transformed into blended - physical and cyber -operations, and the supply chain is under increasing compromise by cyber threats. The stated compounding variables exponentially increase the potential exploitation of cyberspace product vulnerabilities by nefarious adversaries. This access may readily concede product security, integrity, and operating capability and have profound implications for mission success.

Panel 4: April 6, 2023 at 1:15 p.m. 

Theme: It's a Jungle Out There: The Growing Threat of Environmental Crimes to National Security

Moderator and Presenter

  • Michele Devlin, DrPH, RN, EMT

    Michele Devlin, DrPH, RN, EMT

    Professor of Environmental Security, U.S. Army War College and Professor of Arctic Health and Human Security, National Science Foundation, UNI ARCTICenter

    Michele Devlin is a Doctor of Public Health, registered nurse, and emergency medical technician. Her primary specialty areas include the circumpolar human terrain of the North, environmental migrants, civil-military response to climate disasters, indigenous populations, and cross-cultural engagement with diverse and underserved populations.

    Prior to joining the US Army War College, Dr. Devlin was Professor of Global Health at the University of Northern Iowa for 27 years. She was the founding director of the UNI Global Health Corps and the Iowa Center on Health Disparities, a model agency established by the National Institutes of Health to improve health equity for underserved populations.

    Michele Devlin completed her doctorate degree in international public health at the University of California at Los Angeles. She has published more than 150 articles, reports, and books including “Health Matters: A Guide to Working with Diverse and Underserved Populations”; “Postville USA:  Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America”; and “Tactical Anthropology: A Practical Guide for Emergency Responders in Culturally Complex Communities.”  In addition to her academic and center director expertise, Dr. Devlin has 25 years of experience providing technical assistance on cross-cultural issues to thousands of military members, first responders, public health professionals, and emergency managers at the national and international levels.

    Dr. Devlin has served as a frequent cultural awareness trainer for the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Law Enforcement Academies. She is an international disaster relief team member with the American Red Cross and has deployed to both Haiti and the Philippines.  Dr. Devlin has led or participated in multiple medical missions around the world, and is also a wilderness medic with the US National Park Service. She is a member of the California Medical Reserve Corps; the Iowa Disaster Medical Assistance Team; Disaster Mortuary Operational Team; Team Rubicon; and other humanitarian organizations.

    Dr. Devlin is the recipient of the One Iowa Award, the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame Award, the Iowa Civil Rights Award, and other honors for outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service.  She has extensive travel experience in 65 nations around the world, and most recently spent six months living and working above the Arctic Circle with indigenous Inupiaq communities on health and human security issues.  Dr. Devlin is honored to have served with the U.S. Army Corps of Civilians during Operation Enduring Freedom as a lead social scientist in Afghanistan.

     

  • Panel 4 Abstract

    Abstract

    It's a Jungle Out There: The Growing Threat of Environmental Crimes to National Security

    Environmental Security is a relatively new field that has numerous definitions and specialty areas. In general, it recognizes that a secure and stable environment is necessary for peace and prosperity of communities, and that environmental insecurity can contribute to conflict, poverty, social destabilization, forced migration, and war. While environmental security specialists in the military during the post-World War II era worked on addressing pollution and fallout from nuclear weapons, the scope of the field has grown substantially. For instance, in more recent years, environmental security is increasingly focused on the impact that climate change is playing on global security, peace, and development.

    Climate change is linked to a myriad of national security concerns that range from reducing the carbon footprint of tactical vehicles to designing military bases that are resilient to extreme weather and severe disasters. However, social scientists are increasingly recognizing how human populations themselves are becoming impacted by climate change, such as through food and water security, exposure to violent extremist and transnational criminal organizations, increased conflict and forced migration, and other challenges that affect human rights, development, and peace across borders.

    One of the least researched areas of the human impact that climate change is having on communities is on the weaponization of environmental insecurity through global, organized environmental crime networks. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that environmental crimes are growing by approximately 7% per year, or 2-3 times the rate of the global economy. Illegal mining, wildlife trafficking, black market deforestation, dumping of waste, overfishing, and other related activities are now the fourth leading global crime sector and a primary source of revenue for violent non-state actors around the world. INTERPOL estimates that upwards of $250 billion dollars may be stolen each year through environmental crime operations.

    These activities prey upon vulnerable, poor populations, particularly minorities and indigenous groups, and may involve collusion with government officials and/or cross-border entities. Transnational organized crime organizations and violent extremist organizations may integrate environmental crimes into their networks of human, sex, drug, and weapons trafficking. Large-scale environmental crimes can destabilize regions, compound conflict, amplify forced migration, permanently damage ecosystems, negatively impact local economies through lost revenue and taxes, and create human rights abuses. They can create a level of overall environmental insecurity that non-state actors can use to prevent progress in promoting peace and security.

    These crimes are both exacerbated by, and can contribute to, increased climate change with implications that spread beyond local borders, and they can impact both national and global security. This panel presentation provides an overview of the rapidly growing phenomena of environmental crimes, discusses its impact on human security, and provides recommendations for US military involvement in addressing this growing threat to national security. Case studies will also be featured of environmental crime patterns in several countries in two different regions of the world: Brazil in South America and Sierra Leone in West Africa. 

Panelists

  • José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Ph.D.

    José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Ph.D.

    Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics at Georgia Southern University

    Research Unit at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) in Washington, D.C., a visiting scholar at the Prague University of Economics and Business, Department of International and Diplomatic Studies and a visiting Professor at the University of South Bohemia, the Czech Republic, and former Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, Carlisle, PA.

    Dr. da Cruz is currently visiting professor at the Strategic Landpower and Futures Group (SLFG), Center for Strategic Leadership (CSL), Homeland Defense & Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College.  

    Dr. da Cruz is on the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of America. Dr. da Cruz is also a CISCO Certified CyberOps Officer, Certified INFOSEC Cybersecurity Administrator, Certified HIPAA Compliance Officer, a certified US Department of Homeland Security Military Resources in Emergency Management, Computer Security Incident Handler, and a Certified Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Cyber Intelligence.

  • Abubakarr Jalloh, EdD

    Abubakarr Jalloh, EdD

    Assistant Professor of Global Health, Hollins University

    Dr. Jalloh is a former refugee from Sierra Leone, West Africa, and a certified International Civil Servant by the United Nations (U.N.) with an extensive global experience; a social science researcher with a multi-disciplinary academic and professional background; as well as multi-lingual (speaks six languages).

    Dr. Jalloh is an Assistant Professor of Global Public Health at Hollins University. His research agenda focuses on global health, including environmental health, [social] determinants of health, with an interest in global health security. As a native of Sierra Leone, Dr. Jalloh is familiar with environmental crimes, which is not only plaguing the country, but also the West Africa region. For example, illegal fishing and logging are rampant in West Africa, including Sierra Leone.

    Within the realm of global health security, for example, his doctoral dissertation examined social and cultural factors that contributed to the transmission and spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during the 2013-2016 outbreak in West Africa. While conducting the study, Dr. Jalloh became aware of the increasing threat of bioterrorism due to the potential weaponization of the Ebola virus by bad actors that could have a global implication.

    Dr. Jalloh is deeply interested and invested in human rights. As such, he has extensive experience working with refugees/immigrants in Egypt and the U.S. While in Egypt as a refugee, he worked for the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies program at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Also, he previously worked for the Iowa Migrant Education Program at the Iowa Department of Education, where he coordinated with school districts in the northwest region of Iowa, as well as provided needed support to migrant students and their families across the state. In this role, Dr. Jalloh was also a mentor to underserved high school students and helped them navigate the college process as first-generation college students. 

    Globally, Dr. Jalloh is a member of the Youth Ambassador’s Committee for the World Leisure Organization (WLO), where he works with young people across the world with a focus on youth well-being and empowerment. His work has taken him around the world: from Hungary to South Africa, Senegal and Kenya, to Brazil and China. Previously, he served as a member of the Board of Directors, the U.N. Representative, and Program Manager for African Affairs for WLO – a global non-governmental organization with a consultative status with the U.N. Also, he previously worked at the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

    Dr. Jalloh holds a doctoral degree in allied health, recreation, and community services and a Master of Public Policy degree with a specialty in global health policy.

    Feel free to follow him on Twitter: @jalloh711

Panel 5: April 6, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.

Theme: Putting the Past on Ice: Evolving Security Considerations Among Human Populations in a Warming Arctic

Moderator and Presenter

  • Michele Devlin, DrPH, RN, EMT

    Michele Devlin, DrPH, RN, EMT

    Professor of Environmental Security, U.S. Army War College and Professor of Arctic Health and Human Security, National Science Foundation, UNI ARCTICenter

    Michele Devlin is a Doctor of Public Health, registered nurse, and emergency medical technician. Her primary specialty areas include the circumpolar human terrain of the North, environmental migrants, civil-military response to climate disasters, indigenous populations, and cross-cultural engagement with diverse and underserved populations.

    Prior to joining the US Army War College, Dr. Devlin was Professor of Global Health at the University of Northern Iowa for 27 years. She was the founding director of the UNI Global Health Corps and the Iowa Center on Health Disparities, a model agency established by the National Institutes of Health to improve health equity for underserved populations.

    Michele Devlin completed her doctorate degree in international public health at the University of California at Los Angeles. She has published more than 150 articles, reports, and books including “Health Matters: A Guide to Working with Diverse and Underserved Populations”; “Postville USA:  Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America”; and “Tactical Anthropology: A Practical Guide for Emergency Responders in Culturally Complex Communities.”  In addition to her academic and center director expertise, Dr. Devlin has 25 years of experience providing technical assistance on cross-cultural issues to thousands of military members, first responders, public health professionals, and emergency managers at the national and international levels.

    Dr. Devlin has served as a frequent cultural awareness trainer for the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Law Enforcement Academies. She is an international disaster relief team member with the American Red Cross and has deployed to both Haiti and the Philippines.  Dr. Devlin has led or participated in multiple medical missions around the world, and is also a wilderness medic with the US National Park Service. She is a member of the California Medical Reserve Corps; the Iowa Disaster Medical Assistance Team; Disaster Mortuary Operational Team; Team Rubicon; and other humanitarian organizations.

    Dr. Devlin is the recipient of the One Iowa Award, the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame Award, the Iowa Civil Rights Award, and other honors for outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service.  She has extensive travel experience in 65 nations around the world, and most recently spent six months living and working above the Arctic Circle with indigenous Inupiaq communities on health and human security issues.  Dr. Devlin is honored to have served with the U.S. Army Corps of Civilians during Operation Enduring Freedom as a lead social scientist in Afghanistan.

     

  • Panel 5 Abstract

    Abstract

    PUTTING THE PAST ON ICE: Evolving Security Considerations among Human Populations in a Warming Arctic     

    The polar regions of the earth have increased in global strategic security importance in recent decades due to significant environmental change occurring on the planet. For example, the Arctic is warming approximately four to seven times faster than other regions on earth, and climate change is creating new threats and opportunities from a global security perspective. The United States, Russia, China, and other powerful nations have become increasingly competitive in the polar north, as global warming is soon likely to contribute to a reliably ice-free Northwest Passage for maritime commerce at least part of the year. Additionally, large amounts of the world’s energy resources such as rare earth minerals, 15% of the world’s oil, and 30% of its natural gas are believed to be located in the circumpolar North.

    Environmental security is a relatively new area of military research and focuses heavily today on the immediate impact that global warming and severe weather have on installations, infrastructure, logistics, and transportation. A greater need now exists, though, to explore the second- and third-order effects of climate change from a social science perspective on humans and communities, and to understand the strategic security implications of these environmental transformations on the populations within military areas of responsibility. Nowhere is this need more urgent than in the circumpolar world, whose four million people and nearly 100 unique populations remain relatively unknown to many in the US military, despite the increased presence of security forces in the northern polar region.

    To that end, this panel presentation highlights several case studies of how human populations are changing in the Arctic, and what the implications are for security operations from a strategic standpoint. The case studies are presented by colonels and lieutenant colonels from the US Army War College “Polar Bears”, a community of practice on Arctic and Antarctic environmental security issues. These teams of student scholars and their faculty advisors participated in research projects this academic year that were sponsored by senior military leaders from the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska, as well as the Department of Defense’s Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage. The purpose of these four research projects was to explore the impact of climate change in the Arctic from a human security standpoint. The four case studies featured in this Arctic environmental security panel include the following topics:

    • How can the US enhance civil-military relationships with growing indigenous populations in a warming American High North to improve security operations? 
    • As the Arctic warms, what are the lessons learned from COVID-19 and the 1918 Flu Pandemic to mitigate future mass infectious disease outbreaks in the circumpolar north?
    • How is climate change impacting global human migration into the Arctic, and what are the security implications of this evolving ethnic diversity in such a strategic region?
    • With the Arctic becoming more important strategically as it warms, how should the US military address evolving command and control needs of its personnel and operations in the High North? 

    This panel presentation features US Army War College faculty and student scholars who will discuss each of these four research projects, define the challenges from an environmental and human security standpoint, and discuss strategies to address these situations within an Arctic region that is increasing in strategic importance as it warms.

Panelists

  • COL Davin Bridges, DrPH
    Additional information about this panel will be updated here when available.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Shannon Thompson

    Lieutenant Colonel Shannon Thompson, U.S. Army

    Army Acquisition Officer (Basic Branch Armor), US Army War College Student

    • Current Assignment: US Army War College Student.
    • Future Assignment: Military Deputy to the Aviation and Missile Center in Huntsville, AL.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Deborah Fisher, Ph.D.

    Lieutenant Colonel Deborah A. Fisher, U.S. Army

    Army Logistic Officer, US Army War College Student
    • Current Assignment: US Army War College Student
    • Future Assignment: Deputy G4, JFHQ, PAARNG, State Safety and Occupational Health Manager
  • Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Nelson

    LtCol Jeremy Nelson

    Marine Logistics Officer

    • Current Assignment: US Army War College Student
    • Future Assignment: Joint Staff J4

Individual Presentations

Presentation details will be updated as symposium planning progresses.

Call for Abstracts

Human Security Challenges: Past - Present - Future

We are no longer accepting abstracts for panel presentations.

  • Symposium Topic and Questions

    This topic will explore the role of state, non-state, and international actors in solving or mitigating human security challenges. Human security, as a governing principle, emphasizes freedom from want and freedom from fear as opposed to traditional national security, which emphasizes sovereignty and territorial integrity. Threats to human security manifest in several different ways, including economic, food, healthcare, and environmental challenges for institutions they may have a role in addressing. The symposium will bring together scholars, practitioners, and students from all over the world to discuss this impactful and important topic.

     Potential questions that may stimulate ideas for abstract submissions and discussion include the following:

    •  What is the history and meaning of human security?
    • What are current and anticipated threats to human security? (e.g., climate change, natural disaster, non-state actors, armed conflict, emerging technologies, etc.)
    • What are the current and anticipated roles for the military in providing human security or supporting human security efforts? 
    • What are the current and future roles of international organizations such as the UNSC, NATO, etc., in human security?
    • How does the International Humanitarian Law and other relevant customary international law apply to human security?
  • Abstracts for Panel Presentations
    We are no longer accepting abstracts for panel presentations.
  • Papers for Publishing in Symposium Proceedings

    Due August 7, 2023

    Following the symposium, presenters are invited to submit papers to be considered for publication in the peer reviewed 2023 ILSS Symposium Proceedings, to be published by the University of North Georgia Press.

    2023 ILSS Symposium Proceedings Article Submission Milestones and Guidelines

    Milestones:

    • May 8 - Invitations sent to symposium presenters to submit articles from their papers for inclusion in the peer reviewed Symposium Proceedings
    • Aug 7 - Invited article submissions due. Article submissions should be emailed to Keith Antonia. Submissions should be in an attached Word Document, not in the body of the email. Put “Human Security Challenges” in the subject line
    • Oct 23 - Symposium Proceedings double blind review reports completed
    • Dec 18 - Article post-peer review revisions due

    Guidelines for article submissions:

    • The article should be preceded by an abstract of up to 150 words and a list of up to 10 keywords in alphabetical order.
    • The article should be preceded by an abstract of up to 150 words and a list of up to 10 keywords in alphabetical order.
    • Submit by email to (Keith.antonia@ung.edu) with Word Document attachments.
      • Use single-line spacing and single spaces following quotation marks.
      • Use double quotation marks and in-text parenthetical references after quotations, citing author, date, and page, i.e., (Smith 1990: 35), placed immediately after the end of a clause or sentence (i.e., following a comma or full stop).
      • For additional explanatory notes, please use automatic endnotes, indicated via superscript numerals (1-2-3 format) in the body of the text; like references, these should be placed immediately after punctuation marks.
      • Long quotations over three lines in length should be indented from both margins without quotation marks and set apart from the main body of the text via a blank line above and below.
      • Please include a full bibliography in Chicago Manual of Style form. 
      • Bibliography examples

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    I am currently writing/have written an article, [TITLE], to be published by the University Press of North Georgia in a peer-reviewed, academic, digital and print Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic 2021 Symposium Proceedings monograph. The provisional date of publication is scheduled for March 28, 2024. I am writing to request permission to include the following material in my article:

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About the Area

The University of North Georgia is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Dahlonega, Georgia, site of the first major gold rush in the United States. UNG is also home to the Army’s 5th Ranger Training Battalion, the mountain phase of the elite Ranger School.

Information about lodging and things to do is at the Discover Dahlonega website.

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Where to Eat

The University of North Georgia campus dining facility is a five-minute walk from the convocation center. Breakfast ($7.79), Lunch ($9.29), and Dinner ($9.29) – these prices include tax and credit cards are accepted. There are also many restaurants on the square downtown Dahlonega – a walking distance of 10 minutes from the convocation center.

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