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Category: Conference Page 1 of 2

Expert Workshop on Collaborative AI-Enabled Sensemaking at USC Capital Campus, Washington, DC

On 25–26 February 2026, I had the pleasure of co-hosting the workshop “Collaborative AI-Enabled Sensemaking: Strategic intelligence in an era of hybrid threats, cognitive warfare, and disinformation” together with Mind-Alliance Systems in Washington, DC. The workshop was held at the USC Capital Campus.

Bringing together senior practitioners working on intelligence and security issues, the workshop explored how AI-enabled collaborative analysis can strengthen strategic intelligence in an increasingly complex threat environment shaped by hybrid threats, cognitive warfare, and disinformation.

A central feature of the workshop was the “Frostbite Fracture” scenario, a realistic grey-zone operations exercise involving Russian hybrid threats to Swedish infrastructure. Within this setting, an AI-enabled decision-support prototype called Sentinel was used to stress-test how intelligence is framed, challenged, disseminated, and acted upon at the intelligence–policy nexus.

The workshop provided an excellent opportunity to examine how human expertise and AI-supported analytical tools can be combined to improve shared situational awareness, sensemaking, and decision support under conditions of uncertainty. It also offered a valuable forum for discussion on the future of strategic intelligence and the practical implications of AI for professional analytical work.

Many thanks to David Kamien & Mind-Alliance Systems, to all participants, and to USC Capital Campus for hosting an engaging and timely workshop.

Workshop at the Swedish Defence University – Studying military transformation amid ongoing technological uncertainty (Stockholm, 15–16 December 2025)

On 15–16 December 2025, I participated in a workshop at the Swedish Defence University on military transformation under conditions of sustained technological uncertainty.

I presented themes from an upcoming article, “Assessing National Hybrid Fighting Power: Qualitative Factors and the Role of AI and the Private Sector co-authored with Andrew Borne and Doug Livermore.

My presentation was based on a broader framework for assessing fighting power that combines traditional quantitative measures, with a specific focus on the role of public–private collaboration in strengthening these assessments.

Conference on Psychological Defence – Lund, October 2025

I attended the Conference on Psychological Defence in Lund, Sweden (14–15 October 2025), hosted by the Psychological Defence Research Institute (PDRI) and the Swedish Psychological Defence Authority.
This year’s theme explored the intersection between research and policy, addressing resilience, threat intelligence, strategic communication, and deterrence in an evolving security landscape.

Read more: Exploring the Intersection of Research and Policy at the Conference on Psychological Defence

Expert Round Table on EU, China, and Central Asia

My presentation, “Resilience by Design: How Central Asia Keeps Agency between Brussels and Beijing without Choosing Sides,” highlighted findings on the hierarchy of needs for post-colonial states and introduced a three-layered model of resilience, developed in collaboration with Dr. Johan Engvall (Swedish Defence Research Agency). I also shared concrete policy recommendations on what Europe should—and should not—do in its approach to Central Asia.

Seminar on Central Asia, Europe and the Nordic Region

On May 27 I attended a seminar on “Central Asia, Europe and the Nordic Region: Opportunities and Challenges” organised by the Institute for Security & Development Policy.

It was a very productive event, with presentations and discussions between participants from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Sweden.

Recommended read on the topic by the organisers in The National Interest by Dr Johan Engvall and Dr Svante E. CornellHow the Nordic Countries Can Engage Central Asia.

Proud to Announce My Participation at the Zagreb Security Forum 2024

 I am honored to share that I will be participating as a panelist at the Zagreb Security Forum 2024 in Zagreb, Croatia 🇭🇷 on October 11-12, 2024.

I will be presenting on “An Analytical Framework for Countering Hybrid Threats and Malign Foreign Influence and Interference: Building Psychological Defence and Resilience for the Threats of Today and Tomorrow” This framework was developed together with Björn Palmertz, Niklas Nilsson, and Johan Engvall. You can read our full report here: psychologicaldefence.lu.se/report

Looking forward to engaging discussions and valuable exchanges with esteemed colleagues and experts from around the world.

For detailed information on the program and speakers, please visit: zagrebsecurityforum.com/Program

Presentation on War Games and Staff Rides in PME at the ISMS Annual Conference 2024

From 10-12 September, the Swedish Defence University is hosting the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) Annual Conference 2024, with the theme “Scaling up, Learning Lessons, Ensuring Quality.”

I am excited to present Major Jonas Björkqvist and my own on “From the Battlefield to Classroom: Incorporating War Games and Staff Rides in Professional Military Education (PME) to Enhance Urban Combat Preparedness.

This presentation focuses on integrating war games and staff rides into military education, both in general and in relation to improving preparedness for urban combat scenarios. I am looking forward to engaging with fellow experts and sharing innovative ideas during the conference.

Presentation on Urban Warfare and Ukraine at the ISMS Annual Conference 2024

From 10-12 September, the Swedish Defence University is hosting the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) Annual Conference 2024, with the theme “Scaling up, Learning Lessons, Ensuring Quality.”

I am pleased to present on “Reevaluating Urban Warfare: Lessons and Strategies from the Ukraine Conflict” together with Prof. Douglas W. Winton from the Dwight D Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University, US.

This presentation explores critical lessons from the Ukraine conflict and proposes strategic insights to rethink urban warfare in the light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

I look forward to discussing these findings and contributing to the broader conversation on war studies, operations and tactics during the conference.

International Society of MilitarySciences Conference 2024

From 10-12 September the Swedish Defence University is host for the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) Annual Conference 2024. This years theme is “Scaling up, Learning Lessons, Ensuring Quality.”

I am co-chairing WG 1: War Studies, Operations and Tactics with LtCol Dr Lars Henåker. The program contains a range of interesting papers and presentations on the themes WAR IN UKRAINE, OPERATIONAL ARTS AND STRATEGY, INFORMATION SPACE AND THE COGNITIVE FRONTIERS OF WARFARE, and HYBRID/PRIVATE/AI. Conference Program

I am presenting three papers:

“Reevaluating Urban Warfare: Lessons and Strategies from the Ukraine Conflict” co-authored with Prof. Douglas W. Winton of the Dwight D. David Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University, US.

“From Battlefield to Classroom: Incorporating War Games and Staff Rides in Professional Military Education (PME) to enhance Urban Combat preparedness” co-authored with
Major Jonas Björkqvist of the Land Operations Division, Department of War Studies, Swedish Defence University

“Operationalizing Psychological Defense: A framework for assessing, addressing and evaluating hybrid threats in democratic societies”, discussing the findings of the report Building Resilience and Psychological Defence – An analytical framework for countering hybrid
threats and foreign influence and interference
which I have co-authored with Björn Palmertz, Lund University Psychological Defence Research Institute, Docent Niklas Nilsson, Swedish Defence University and Dr Johan Engvall, Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.

Attending conference on Psychological Defence

On 10-11 October I attended a research conference organised by the Psychological Defence Research Institute at Lund University. I participated in a panel on the role of narratives in information influence and disinformation.

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