Europe in the Shadow of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Speakers for this event

• Dr. Cynthia Watson

  Dr. Cynthia Watson

  Moderator

  Professor Emerita, National War College Provost Emerita, National Defense University Dr. Cynthia A. Watson joined the Faculty of the National War College in August 1992, serving as Dean of Faculty & Academic Programs from March 2018 through July 2021 when she assumed the Interim Provost position for the National Defense University. Dr. Watson taught across the curriculum and served in academic leadership roles across the College over her twenty-nine years there. Dr. Watson earned a MA from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. Her undergraduate alma mater, University of Missouri Kansas City, honored her as Alumna of the Year in 2011. She is an expert in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions. She is currently on the Boards of Directors for the National Bureau of Asian Research and the National War College Alumni Association. She is also a member of both the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Society for Military History. Her first edition (2002) of U.S. National Security received CHOICE's designation as a Book of the Year. Other publications include Nation-Building, U.S. Military Service, Military Education, US National Security (2nd edition), Political Role of the Military (co-edited with Constantine Danopoulos), _Interest Groups in National Security, and_ Geographic Combatant Commands. Dr. Watson has functional expertise in curriculum development; economic/political history; strategic foundations; and professional military education. She reads bilingually in Spanish and English for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Dr. Watson is a keen photographer and calligrapher. She writes Actions Create Consequences at https: //CynthiaWatson.substack.com

  Moderator

• Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich

  Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich

  Associate Professor if Instruction at the University of South Florida School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

  Dr. Tatsiana Kulakevich is an Associate Professor if Instruction at the University of South Florida School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, research fellow and affiliated faculty at the USF Institute on Russian, European, amd Eurasian Studies. Her research focuses on democratization, international securit, migration, and ethnic politics. Dr. Kulakevich’s analyses appeared in media and academic journals, including The Washington Post, The Conversation, The Globe Post, The New Eastern Europe, International Migration, SAIS Review, Journal of Belarusian Studies, Canadian Slavonic Papers, Nationalities Papers, and East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures.

  Associate Professor if Instruction at the University of South Florida School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies

• Nikolas Gvosdev

  Nikolas Gvosdev

  senior fellow for U.S. Global Engagement, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs

  senior fellow for U.S. Global Engagement, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and senior fellow for national security studies at the Foreign Policy Research Institute Nikolas K. Gvosdev is a senior fellow for the U.S. Global Engagement program at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. He is also a senior fellow for national security affairs at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and editor of its journal Orbis. Gvosdev is professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School, Harvard University. He is a co-author of Decision-Making in American Foreign Policy (2019),  U.S. Foreign Policy and Defense Strategy: The Evolution of an Incidental Superpower (2015) and Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors and Sectors (2013). He was a co-editor for the Oxford Handbook of U.S. National Security. Gvosdev is a frequent commentator on U.S. foreign policy and international relations, the intersection of geopolitics and geo-economics, Russian and Eurasian affairs, and developments in the Middle East.

  senior fellow for U.S. Global Engagement, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs

• Robin Quinville

  Robin Quinville

  Robin Quinville spent more than 30 years as a U.S. diplomat, serving primarily in Europe.  Her postings included two multilateral organizations (the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO) and bilateral postings to Cyprus (2000-2003), Bosnia (2004-2006), Greece (2006-2008), the United Kingdom (2009-2012) and three postings to Germany (1988-89; 2012-2015; 2018-2021). She also spent a year (2008-2009) in Baghdad, Iraq. In Washington, she directed the Office of Western European Affairs at the Department of State and spent a year as a Wilson Center State Department Fellow. Quinville’s last diplomatic assignment was as DCM and then Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Berlin; she left the diplomatic service after returning to Washington in July 2021. Quinville then spent a semester as the Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of International Affairs at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in the spring of 2022; she also taught for the Bush School of Government in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2022.  She joined the Wilson Center as Director of the Global Europe Program in May 2022. A native of California, Quinville lives in Arlington, Virginia.

• Tad Schnaufer II

  Tad Schnaufer II

  Moderator

  Dr. Tad Schnaufer II is the Strategy and Research Manager at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute (GNSI). In this position, he oversees the planning and execution of GNSI conferences and events. Additionally, he manages the institute’s internal research and publication programs. He is the host of the “What’s Really Happening” Podcast with General (Ret) Frank McKenzie (USMC), and he has hosted several GNSI speaker series interviews. Outside of GNSI, Dr. Schnaufer serves in the Florida Army National Guard as an Infantry Officer. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2011, where he received his commission from Army ROTC. He has served in both line and airborne infantry units. From 2016-2017, he commanded Bravo Company 1-124 IN during its mission to secure Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. He has participated in two United States Southern Command Tradewinds Exercises in Barbados (2017) and Guyana (2021). In 2021, he deployed as a Battalion Tactical Group Advisor Team Leader in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine (JMTG-U). His unit was relocated from Ukraine to Germany just prior to the Russian invasion of February 2022. He finished this deployment serving on the Partner Force Liaison Team (PFLT) in eastern Poland. He is a graduate of Army Ranger, Airborne, Air Assault, and Pathfinder schools and the Combat Advisor Training Course (CATC). Dr. Schnaufer earned his Ph.D. in Security Studies from the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs (SPSIA) at the University of Central Florida. He earned a master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University. Dr. Schnaufer has published a book chapter in “The Challenge to NATO: Global Security and the Atlantic Alliance” titled, NATO Burden Sharing in the Age of Hybrid Warfare. He has published articles in journals, including the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs and the Journal of Strategic Security. Dr. Schnaufer’ s research interests include alliance theory, NATO burden-sharing, hybrid warfare, and strategic competition.

  Moderator