Olivier Schmitt is a Professor and Head of Research at the Institute for Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College. He concurrently holds roles as a senior non-resident associate fellow at the NATO Defence College and an associate at RAND Europe. His primary academic appointment is at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), where he served as an associate professor before being promoted to full professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Management within the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences. Education: He holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London (War Studies Department), a post-doctoral fellowship from the University of Montreal’s CÉRIUM, and MA degrees from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva) and Sciences Po Aix. He is also a reserve officer in the French Air and Space Force with policy experience at the French MoD and NATO. Research interests focus on three core areas: 1) Multilateral military cooperation, defense policies, arms control, and military transformation; 2) Strategic narratives, influence operations, and far-right ideologies; and 3) Economic security and supply chain resilience in geopolitical competition. His work bridges theoretical analysis with practical policy contributions. Professional roles include editorial positions at the European Journal of International Security , Journal of Strategic Studies , and Review of International Studies . He founded the French Association for War and Strategic Studies (AEGES) and serves on the board of the European Initiative for Security Studies (EISS). Key projects include studies on NATO cohesion, French defense policy post-Cold War, and the transformation of armed forces in the 21st century. Recent work emphasizes the Ukraine conflict’s military implications and cybersecurity in supply chains.
