Kalender

Background

Roger N. McDermott has recently published the book Russian Armed Forces: The Reform of Russia’s Conventional Armed Forces: Problems, Challenges and Policy Implications (The Jamestown Foundation, 2011). The book traces the complex origins of the reform, its numerous twists and assesses the key challenges it faces. He examines the obstacles confronting the Russian defense planners as they seek to transform the military education system, encourage high standards among the officer corps combined with forming suitable non-commissioned officers and overcoming the weaknesses of the domestic defense industry to facilitate modernization. Moscow’s long-term political and economic support will prove necessary, while pursuit of reform is likely to result in a lengthy period of transition for the armed forces. Whether, or to what extent, such challenges are sufficiently well resolved by Moscow will determine the Russian state’s future capability to project military power, preserve the country's territorial integrity or validate its claims to “great power” status.


Speaker

Roger N. McDermott has recently become an Affiliated Senior Analyst at DIIS. He specialises in Russian and Central Asian defence and security issues and is a Senior International Research Fellow for the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. McDermott is on the editorial board of Central Asia and the Caucasus and the scientific board of the Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies.


Programme

13.00-13.10 Introduction
Karsten Jakob Møller, Senior Analyst, DIIS

13.10-14.10 The Reform of Russia’s Conventional Armed Forces:
Problems, Challenges and Policy Implications
Roger N. McDermott, Senior International Research
Fellow, FMSO

14.10-14.30 Coffee Break

14.30-15.30 Open Discussion

Chair: Karsten Jakob Møller, Senior Analyst, DIIS


Practical Information

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use the registration form no later than Monday, 7 November 2011 at 12.00 noon.