Strategies XXI

CENTRE FOR DEFENCE AND SECURITY STRATEGIC STUDIES

THE COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC NATURE OF THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT 

BUCHAREST, FEBRUARY 26, 2026 

PROGRAMME

08.30-09.00 WELCOMING AND REGISTRATION OF PARTICIPANTS

09.00-09.30  OPENING REMARKS

• Major General Eugen MAVRIŞ, PhD, Commandant (Rector), “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• Brigadier General Cornel-Traian SCURT, PhD, Deputy Chief of Operations Directorate, General Staff, Bucharest, Romania
• Brigadier General Augustin-Emilian CHIREA, Deputy Chief of Staff for Support, HQ MNC-SE, Sibiu, Romania

09.30-09.45 GROUP PHOTO

09.45-10.45 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Mihaela RACOVIȚĂ, PhD, Expert, NATO IS, Brussels, Belgium
• Partner presentation INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SRL
• Rasmus G. D. HARDT, Program Manager (Head of Section) - Moldova, Centre for Stabilisation Section for Cooperative Security, Institute for Strategy & War Studies, Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark
• Marcus Boisen PETERSEN, Special Advisor, Danish Defence Command, Denmark
• Colonel Florian CÎRCIUMARU, PhD, Director of The Centre for Defence and Security Strategic Studies, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• Best Research Paper Award, CDSSS Strategic Impact Journal - Iulia COJOCARU, PhD, Editor

10.45-11.00 COFFEE BREAK

11.00-12.15  PANEL 1: CONTEMPORARY WARFARE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Moderators:

Colonel Florian CÎRCIUMARU, PhD, CDSSS Director

Alexandra SARCINSCHI, PhD, Senior Researcher, CDSSS

• THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DESTRUCTION IN THE RUSSIAN–UKRAINIAN WAR AND ITS IMPACT ON STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING - Artsrun HOVHANNISYAN, PhD, Colonel, Associate Professor RA MOD, Head of the Command and Staff Institute after “Vazgen Sargsyan” Military University of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia
• NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR - Mihai ZODIAN, PhD, Researcher, Centre for Defence and Security Strategic Studies, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• FROM POST–COLD WAR INTERDEPENDENCE TO STRATEGIC DECOUPLING: REDUCING THE EU’S DEPENDENCE ON ENERGY RESOURCES FROM THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (2022–2025) - Aurel LAZĂR, PhD, Teaching Assistant, “Petru Maior” Faculty of Science and Letters within the “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Romania
• PROMOTING STRATEGIC THINKING AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO STRENGTHENING REGIONAL SECURITY - Lucian Valeriu SCIPANOV, Captain (OF-5), PhD, Full Professor, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania; Iosif BOGDAN, Commander (OF-4), PhD Candidate in Military Sciences, Chief of Staff, 50th Corvette Squadron, Constanta, Romania
• COGNITIVE RESILIENCE AS A STRATEGIC ASSET IN CONTEMPORARY WARFARE: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS AND SECURITY IMPLICATIONS - Ruslana GROSU, PhD, Associate Professor, Armed Forces Military Academy “Alexandru cel Bun”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova; Cătălin-Victor POPESCU, PhD Candidate, Armed Forces Military Academy “Alexandru cel Bun”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
• SHAPING MINDS FOR SECURITY: COGNITIVE RESILIENCE AND THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN ROMANIA - Raluca LUȚAI, PhD, Lecturer, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Marius GRAD, PhD, Lecturer, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Q&A Session

12.15-13.00 LUNCH

13.00-14.15  PANEL 2: STATE AND NONSTATE ACTORS IN POWER RELATIONS

Moderators: 

Colonel Dan-Lucian PETRESCU, PhD, Deputy Commander, “Carol I” NDU

Mirela ATANASIU, PhD, Senior Researcher, CDSSS

• MANUFACTURING THREAT AND FRIENDSHIP: NORTH KOREAN STATE MEDIA AND THE EMERGENCE OF A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA - Jana CHAMROVA, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Arts, Charles University; Consultant at the Korea-Europe Network, Prague, Czech Republic
• STRATEGIC BALANCING IN TRANSITION: REASSESSING ARMENIA’S FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY PARADIGM - Rafik AVETISYAN, PhD, Associate Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Regional Strategic Studies, National Defence Research University of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia; Researcher, Institute for Armenian Studies, Yerevan State University; Colonel Kocharyan TIGRAN, Professor, Deputy Commandant National Defence and Research University, Head of the National Strategic Studies Institute, Republic of Armenia
• WAR DIPLOMACY IN THE BLACK SEA REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF FOUR YEARS OF WAR IN UKRAINE. THE GAME OF CHESS BETWEEN NATO, EU, RUSSIA, AND OTHER RELEVANT ACTORS - Ana-Maria FLOREA, PhD Candidate, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest; Daniela LICĂ, PhD, Researcher, Centre for Defence and Security Strategic Studies, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• ROMANIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE USA AND THE EU STRATEGIC AGENDA - Sînziana IANCU, PhD, Major, Expert, Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre (E-ARC), Bucharest, Romania
• VOLUNTARY RESERVE AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIAL COHESION AND EXTENDED NATIONAL RESILIENCE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION - Adriana BRUMARU, PhD Candidate, Armed Forces Military Academy “Alexandru cel Bun”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
• THE IMPACT OF AN ARMED CONFLICT ON CHILDREN - Marius Gabriel BOBOCEA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania

Q&A Session

14.15-14.30 COFFEE BREAK

14.30-15.30 PANEL 3: GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS

Moderators: 

Brigadier General (Ret.) Crăișor-Constantin IONIȚĂ, PhD, Researcher, CDSSS

Cristian BĂHNĂREANU, PhD, Senior Researcher, CDSSS

• E-ARC Report Presentation: ENHANCED ANALYTIC RESILIENCE INDEX 2025 - NATO FOCUS - Arpad TODOR, PhD, Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre (E-ARC), Bucharest, Romania
• SMART INFRASTRUCTURE, SMART DEFENCE: DIGITAL TWINS AND PREDICTIVE MONITORING FOR RESILIENCE - Maria Niamh BRATCOVICI, Master student, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• SECURING THE BLACK BOX: A TECHNO-DIPLOMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR AI INTEGRATION IN MODERN DEFENSE ALLIANCES - Dumitru-Cătălin VASILE, Dipl. Eng., PhD Candidate, National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest; Master student, “Carol I” National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania
• TWO PARADIGMS OF ALGORITHMIC SECURITY GOVERNANCE: CENTRALIZED INTEGRATION AND INTEROPERABLE FRAMEWORKS IN THE USE OF AI FOR STATE SECURITY - Mara-Mihaela MEREANU, Student, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Scholar at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
• THE RISE OF NAVAL DRONES AND THE REDEFINITION OF THE MARITIME BATTLESPACE - Adrian NIȚĂ, Commander, PhD Candidate, Doctoral School of Engineering Sciences, Mechanical and Computer Engineering; Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre (E-ARC), Bucharest, Romania

Q&A Session

• Partner presentation INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SRL

15.30-15.40  CLOSING SECTION

Colonel Florian CÎRCIUMARU, PhD, CDSSS Director