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Dr Rod Thornton is a Senior Lecturer in Russian Defence and Security Studies at King’s College London, affiliated with the Defence Studies Department and School of Security Studies. He specializes in the Russian military's kinetic and sub-threshold warfare, with a focus on cyber capabilities, space warfare, and UK homeland resilience. His research includes recent British Academy-funded work on UK civil defense capacity during the pandemic, advocating for dedicated civil defense organizations. He has published extensively on Russian military tactics in Ukraine, AI-cyber integration, and space-based deterrence. Russian military cyber operations Space warfare dynamics UK resilience capacity gaps Scientific awards include a British Academy grant (2020). His students focus on asymmetric warfare, AI, cyber, and regional security issues. He teaches at the UK Defence Academy and has collaborated with institutions in Finland, South Korea, and the Freeman Air and Space Institute.

• Russian Armed Forces
• Sub-threshold Warfare
• Cybersecurity
• +3 more

Miguel R. Rueda is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Emory University, specializing in electoral manipulation, civil conflict, money in politics, and political methodology. He holds a PhD from the University of Rochester (2014), an M.Sc. in Economics, and a B.Sc. in Economics and Mathematics from La Universidad de los Andes. Before Emory, he was a visiting scholar at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (2013–2014). In Fall 2024, he will serve as a Visiting Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. His research has been published in top journals like the American Political Science Review , American Journal of Political Science , and Journal of Conflict Resolution . Key themes include electoral fraud mechanisms, civil war dynamics, and the intersection of political methodology with empirical policy analysis. Rueda's work spans theoretical models of strategic behavior (e.g., foreign aid allocation, partisan poll-watching) and applied analyses of electoral systems, conflict outcomes, and governance challenges. His methodological contributions address econometric issues like post-instrument bias and omitted variable effects. Contact: miguel.rueda@emory.edu , 315 Tarbutton Hall, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.

• Electoral Manipulation
• Civil Conflict
• Money in Politics
• +3 more

Russell A. Berman , the Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University , is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-chair of the Working Group on Islamism and the International Order. He holds dual appointments in the Department of German Studies and the Department of Comparative Literature , focusing on politics and culture in Europe and the Middle East. Berman served as chair of the Senate of the Academic Council at Stanford and as a Senior Advisor on the Policy Planning Staff of the State Department during the Trump administration. Education: BA (1972) from Harvard University Doctorate (1979) from Washington University Research Interests span US foreign policy, terrorism, international affairs, and the intersection of cultural studies with security strategy. His work examines how European political theology and Middle Eastern dynamics influence global stability, with a focus on post-9/11 jihadist evolution and US military exit strategies. Scientific Awards include the Mellon Faculty Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, and the Bundesverdienstkreuz. His publications address critical policy issues, such as Enlightenment or Empire (Winner of German Studies Association Outstanding Book Award, 2000), In Retreat: America's Withdrawal from the Middle East (2014), and recent analyses on Lebanon’s collapse, NATO’s future, and the implications of US Afghanistan withdrawal. Advising and Grants highlight his leadership in academic governance and policy formulation, including his role in shaping US strategic thinking through the Hoover Institution’s Working Groups and publications in Hoover Digest , Defining Ideas , and The Caravan . Labs and Teams include the Middle East and the Islamic World Working Group (Chairman), Military History in Contemporary Conflict Working Group (Participant), and contributions to the Human Prosperity Project and Global Policy and Strategy Initiative .

• Politics and culture in Europe and the Middle East
• US foreign policy
• Terrorism and counterterrorism
• +2 more

Daniele Rinaldo is an Assistant Professor (E&R Lecturer) at the University of Exeter Business School and a Research Fellow at the Land, Economics, Environment and Policy Institute (LEEP). His work bridges environmental, development, and mathematical economics. He holds a PhD in Economics from The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva), an MSc in Quantitative Finance from the University of Padua, and advanced music qualifications from the Royal Academy of Music (London) and Musik-Akademie Basel. Research Focus: Rinaldo examines drivers of deforestation, economic impacts of endemic diseases (e.g., schistosomiasis), and natural resource management under regime shifts/catastrophes. His mathematical work includes stochastic processes, nonlinear diffusion models, and probability theory applications. Notable contributions include analyzing Gaza's economic devastation via satellite data and exploring African traditional religions' ecological roles. Awards: EAERE Award for Outstanding Publication in Environmental & Resource Economics (Commended paper) Education: PhD Economics (2019), MSc Quantitative Finance (2009), MA Piano (2011), Soloist Diploma (2014) Labs/Teams: Active in LEEP's interdisciplinary research group on environment-policy linkages Teaching: Specializes in empirical methods for environmental economics, pandemic economics, and causal inference techniques. Courses include Topics in Empirical Economics and Economic Analysis and Pandemics .

• Environmental Economics
• Development Economics
• Mathematical Economics
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David R. Dorondo is a Professor of History in the Department of History at Western Carolina University's College of Arts and Sciences. He actively contributes historical-political analysis to NATO's Science and Technology Organization research on energy security within hybrid warfare contexts, bridging academic expertise with real-world geopolitical challenges. His educational foundation includes: BA cum laude in History from Armstrong State College (1980) MA in German and European Diplomatic History from the University of South Carolina (1984) D.Phil. from the University of Oxford (1988) Dorondo's research centers on German and European military history with deep specialization in cavalry and military horse evolution from the 17th century to 1945. His contemporary work examines hybrid warfare—defined as sub-threshold conflict involving disinformation, infrastructure disruption, and cyber operations—and energy security dynamics, particularly analyzing German-Russian relations through historical lenses like the Nord Stream 2 pipeline dispute. This interdisciplinary approach connects historical patterns to modern NATO-Russia tensions. His scientific recognition includes: Fulbright Graduate Research Fellowship for work at Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg Dorondo integrates field research into pedagogy, teaching History of International Relations and Modern European Military History courses while serving on the North Carolina Association of Historians' Program and Brewster Award Committees. His scholarly output spans monographs, encyclopedia contributions, and ongoing Cold War translation projects.

• German Military History
• European Military History
• History of Cavalry
• +3 more