Dr. Chris J. Dolan, director and professor, master of science in intelligence and security studies, published “NATO, the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, and the 2022 Strategic Concept” on Nov. 9 in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Dr. Chris Dolan, director of the Master of Science in Intelligence and Security Studies Program and professor of political science, co-authored the chapter, “The Ghost of Trump: ‘This with Donald Trump in the White House Would not Have Happened,’” in the edited book, Putin’s Disinformation War: Debunking the Fallacies About the Invasion of Ukraine. The book was published on Oct. 5 and edited by Pedro Rivas Nieto, José Antonio Muñiz-Velázquez, and Fernando Delage of the Universidad Loyola Andalucía in Spain. Dolan is working in partnership with the co-editors, the Max van der Stoel Institute in North Macedonia, and the Strategic Communications team at the think tank GLOBSEC in Slovakia on cyber and disinformation operations and malign influence.

Dr. Philip Benesch, chair of social sciences and associate professor of political science, presented a paper, “The Religious Neutrality Principle in the Governance of an Open Society,” at an international conference on noted philosopher Karl Popper. The conference, which featured presentations from scholars based in the U.S., United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, France, Poland, Israel, and Australia, was coordinated from the United Kingdom. Dr. Benesch, who is also LVC’s director of pre-law and external scholarships and fellowships programs, examined “Lockean and Rule of Law principles requiring the separation of church and state, and drew from these principles ethico-legal arguments for privacy and equality in adult consensual relations, and for abortion rights” in his paper and presentation. 

Dr. Chris J. Dolan, professor of political science, published “NATO After Madrid: A Strategic Concept or Strategic Ambiguity,?” in Tempos Novos on September 3. The piece, co-authored by Dr. Jared Larson, explores the consequences of NATO’s Strategic Concept that was developed at the Madrid Summit in June.

Dr. Chris J. Dolan’s peer-reviewed article, “Hybrid Warfare in the Western Balkans: Structural Vulnerability, Maligned Powers, and Hostile Influence,” was published in Volume 17, Issue 1 of South East Europe Review, pp. 3-25. Dr. Dolan, director of the Master of Science Program in Intelligence and Security Studies and professor of political science, “analyzes the domestic political, economic, and social conditions in the Western Balkans that provides a fertile ground for hostile and maligned actors to manipulate and exploit governments and societies with hybrid war measures…” in his study.

Dr. Philip Benesch, chair of social sciences; associate professor of political science; and director of pre-law and external scholarships and fellowships, was a featured Zoom speaker for a July 28 event to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Popper’s birth. Dr. Benesch’s presentation, Karl Popper and the Reconstruction of Progressive Politics, begins about the 11-minute mark of the video.   

Dr. Chris J. Dolan, professor of political science, published “NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept Must Enhance Digital Access and Capacities,” in Just Security on June 8, 2022. He also published “Challenges to Democracy and Development in the Contemporary Western Balkans” in Rule of Law, Governance and Society in the Western Balkans. 

As part of his Fulbright U.S. Scholar work, Dr. Chris J. Dolan’s research team at the Max van der Stoel Institute at South East European University was awarded a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant, titled: “SEEU Students 5.0: Media and Information Literacy in the Age of Disinformation.” The USAID project will be implemented in association with IREX: Media Literacy in North Macedonia/You Think. Dr. Dolan, a two-time Fulbright Scholar, is a LVC professor of political science.

Dr. Chris J. Dolan, professor of political science, published “How the U.S. Can Navigate Cold War 2.0.: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the Rise of China” in 19FortyFive on May 24.

Dr. Chris J. Dolan, professor of political science, was recently quoted in the Newsweek article, “Will Russia Invade Moldova Next? Experts Weigh In.” Dr. Dolan, serving a Fulbright appointment in The Republic of North Macedonia, “The problem for NATO is that the presence of Russian troops in Transnistria allows Russia to rapidly use its military forces to defend its interests in Eastern Europe, and maintain its presence on behalf of Russian speakers and minorities.”