“Allied Maritime Strategy – A Theory for Success?”

Dr. Sebastian Bruns directs the Center for Maritime Strategy & Security (CMSS) at the ISPK. His professional interests include on seapower, naval strategy, and the German and United States navies. Sebastian holds a PhD in Political Science (U of Kiel 2014) and an MA in North American Studies (U of Bonn 2007). His most recent, critically acclaimed book “US Naval Strategy and National Security. The Evolution of American Maritime Power” (Routledge: London 2018) follows American naval strategy from the Cold War into the 21st century. He is also one of the editors of the Routledge Handbook of Naval Strategy and Security (Routledge: London 2016). Before coming to Schleswig-Holstein, Sebastian served Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) as legislative aide in the 112th U.S. Congress (2010-2011) in Washington, D.C., handling defense and military policy affairs for the Congressman. Sebastian is an avid fan of soccer, photography, the sea, “The Simpsons”, and the epic music of Dire Straits.

Admiral (ret.) Mark P. Fitzgerald was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1973 and retired from active duty in December 2010.

Fitzgerald flew the A-7E Corsair II during numerous sea tours and commanded VA-46 (1990-1991) aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) leading the first Navy strike on Baghdad during the opening hour of Operation Desert Storm. He assumed command of Carrier Air Wing 14 (1994-95) while deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) supporting Operation Southern Watch.

Selected for flag rank in September 1998, he was deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, commanded Joint Task Force Determined Response in Aden, Yemen (2000) and Carrier Group 8 / Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001-2002). He served as Director, Air Warfare (N78), Director, Naval Warfare (N7) (2003-2004), and Commander, 2nd Fleet/Director, Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence (2004-2006). In December 2006 he was the Director, Navy Staff in the Pentagon.

From November 2007 to October 2010, Fitzgerald was Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples and held operational responsibility for NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq and the Mediterranean, was Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa, responsible for providing overall command operational control, and coordination of U.S. Naval forces in the European and African Command.

He currently consults with numerous defense, commercial maritime and aviation companies and national Think Tanks.  He is Chairman (Emeritus) of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Chairman of the Association of Naval Aviation, and appointed by Governor Scott as a member of the Florida Defense Support Task Force.  He holds a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Systems Engineering from the University of West Florida and is a graduate of the Naval War College, Newport, R.I.

Professor Dr. Eric Grove is an independent Naval Historian and International Strategic Analyst. Until January 2015 he was Professor of Naval History and Fellow in Security Studies at Liverpool Hope University. He was previously Professor of Naval History and Director of the Centre for International Security and War Studies at the University of Salford, and Deputy Head of Strategic Studies at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. His publications include:- World War Two Tanks;Vanguard to Trident;The Future of Sea Power; Fleet to Fleet Encounters; and The Royal Navy Since 1815. Professor Grove has taught and lectured in North America, Australasia and Asia. He frequently contributes to radio and television programmes on naval history and the wider security agenda.

Daniel Günther is the 14th Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein, serving since June 2017. As one of the state's representatives at the Bundesrat, he also serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is a Member of Parliament in Schleswig Holstein since 2009 and used to be the Managing Director of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Schleswig Holstein from 2005 - 2012.

Dr. Nicole Koenig is a senior research fellow and deputy head of research at the Jacques Delors Institut – Berlin. She works on current political and institutional challenges of the EU, as well as European foreign and security policy. Previously, she worked for the Trans European Policy Studies Association in Brussels, the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, as well as the Department of War Studies at King’s College in London among others. Nicole studied Politics and Management at the University of Constance and EU International Relations and Diplomacy at the College of Europe in Bruges. She holds a PhD from the University Edinburgh and the University of Cologne (co-tutelle). In her dissertation she analysed EU crisis management in Africa.

VADM Andreas Krause is the Chief of the German Navy since November 2014.

Born in 1956, VADM Krause joined the German Navy in 1976 and received a Diploma in Education from the Bundeswehr University in 1980. After starting his service as a Watch Officer aboard submarines, he finished the 32nd Admiral Staff Officer Course in 1992 and became an Operational Planning Officer for the Submarine Flotilla (A31) and later on the Commander of the Submarine Training Centre. From 2006 - 2008, Krause was Commander of Flotilla 1 in Kiel, Deputy Commander of the German Fleet in Gluecksburg (2008 - 2009) and the Director of Joint Operations Staff at the Ministry of Defense in Berlin (2009 - 2012). He served also as the Deputy Commander of the Allied Maritime Command in Naples (2012 - 2013) and was Vice Chief of the German Navy (2013 - 2014) before taking his current position in 2014.

Professor Dr. Joachim Krause is the director of the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK), and Chairman of both the Foundation Wissenschaft und Demokratie and the scientific council of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). He was previously an executive board member at Aspen Institute Germany (2009–15); Deputy Director of the research institute at DGAP; and Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Ebenhausen. Until summer 2016, Joachim Krause was a professor for international politics and the director at the Institute of Social Sciences (Department of Political Sciences) at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel.

Aletta Mondré studied Political Science at the FU Berlin and the University of Melbourne. She earned her doctorate from the University Bremen in 2012. From 2012 to 2016 she worked as research assistant in the group of International Relations and Development Policy at the University Duisburg-Essen, where she did research on the relationship between international institutions and the politics of states. Since March 2017 she is Professor of Political Science with focus on International Ocean Governance at Kiel University.

Magnus Nordenman is the director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center on Security and Strategy at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. He is an expert on the future of NATO, security and defense in Northern Europe, NATO in the maritime domain, and US military  affairs. His insights and commentary have been featured by, among others, CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, Defense News, Defense One, and US Naval Institute’s Proceedings. He has also provided advise to the US Department of Defense, the US Department of State, NATO, and defense and foreign ministries of US friends and allies. Before coming to the Atlantic Council Magnus served as a defense analyst with a Washington-based consulting firm. He is currently at work on a book about the re-emerging maritime competition in the North Atlantic, to be published by the US Naval Institute.

Dr Kęstutis Paulauskas is a staff officer at the Defence Policy and Planning Division, International Staff of NATO since 2012. He is the lead action officer currently responsible for the development of the Alliance’s Strengthened Deterrence and Defence Posture, the Alliance Maritime Posture and NATO’s approach to Space.  Previously, he has also developed NATO’s Defence Capacity Building Initiative, and the policy framework for NATO’s Projecting Stability efforts.  Before his NATO career, Kęstutis Paulauskas served in various positions in the national administration of Lithuania.

In an academic capacity, he was a lecturer at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University. He had been a visiting fellow at the Institute for Security Studies of the European Union in Paris; a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto; and at the KU Leuven (Belgium). He gained his PhD in political science in 2007.   He is the author of a number of books and articles on security and defence issues.  His most recent article ‘On Deterrence’ was published by NATO Review.

Kevin Rowlands is an independent academic and author, affiliated to the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies at King’s College London. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and a PhD from the University of London. He is the editor of the book 21^st Century Gorshkov which is a commentary and selected writings from the long-standing leader of the Soviet Navy. He has written numerous articles and is the Book Reviews Editor of the UK’s Naval Review. His next book, Naval Diplomacy in the 21^st Century, is due to be published by Routledge in October 2018.

Kevin Rowlands is also a full time naval officer. He joined the Royal Navy in 1990 and has served at sea in small ships, frigates, destroyers, assault ships and aircraft carriers. He has served alongside numerous RN, RM, Joint, Coalition, EU, NATO and Other Governmental Departments staffs. Ashore he has worked in the UK Ministry of Defence, and in Joint Forces Command. He joined EU Naval Force Mediterranean as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Joint Effects and the UK Senior National Representative between September 2017 and March 2018.

He appears at the conference in an independent capacity and his views and comments do not necessarily represent those of the Royal Navy, the UK Ministry of Defence, or the UK Government.

Eric V. Thompson, Ph.D., is vice president and director of CNA Strategic Studies. As a Middle East political and military affairs specialist, he has traveled extensively in North Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Levant, working closely with U.S. and regional military and civilian leadership. His most recent work has addressed counterterrorism operations, security cooperation activities, military-to-military relations with Egypt, interoperability with Turkish and Algerian maritime forces, and coalition building for military operations in the CENTCOM region.

Thompson's research and analysis extends beyond the Middle East. He has led studies addressing interoperability with NATO navies, global force structure requirements, the implications of the deployment of theater ballistic missile defense systems, the use of distance learning technology in preparing for coalition operations, the effectiveness of Partnership for Peace programs, and future security cooperation priorities for the U.S. military.

Thompson is also an adjunct professor at Catholic University of America, where he teaches graduate classes on terrorism and other national security issues. Prior to joining CNA, he was an adjunct professor of international relations and history at the Virginia Military Institute, where he taught courses in Middle East history, international relations and American government, and served as the director of the Model Arab League program.

Professor Geoffrey Till is a British naval historian and Professor of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department of King's College London. He is the Director of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies. He is the author of numerous books on seapower and maritime strategy, with "Seapower. A Guide for the 21st Century" forthcoming in 2018 (4th edition). 

Steven Wills is an expert in U.S. Navy strategy and policy, and U.S. Navy surface warfare programs and platforms. His research interests include the history of U.S. Navy strategy development over the Cold War and immediate, post-Cold War era, and the history of the post-World War II U.S. Navy surface fleet.

Prior to joining CNA, Wills completed a Ph.D in military history from Ohio University, and had a 20 year career as an active duty U.S. Navy officer. He served on a variety of small and medium surface combatants including an assignment as the executive officer (XO) of a Mine Countermeasures ship (MCM), and held shore-based billets at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD), and at NATO Joint Forces Command, Naples, Italy (JFCNP.)

Wills' articles have appeared in the United States Naval War College Review, the United States Naval Institute News, realcleardefense.com, cimsec.org, warontherocks.com, and informationdissemination.net. He has delivered presentations at Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) events. Wills holds a Ph.D and M.A. in History from Ohio University, an M.A. in National Security Studies from the United States Naval War College, and a B.A. in History from Miami University, Oxford, OH.