Deterring Russia at Sea in the High North

Thursday, Feb. 9 // 1:30–4:30 pm (ET)

What does maritime deterrence look like in the High North? What is the right balance to deter Russia without escalating? What lessons can be learned and applied from recent Navy and Allied exercises and operations? These questions inform how the US and its Allies characterize, prioritize, and implement naval strategy in the High North, and are of utmost importance during ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Join the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute and the Center for Maritime Strategy for an event exploring these questions and more. “Deterring Russia at Sea in the High North” will dive into strategic and operational considerations in achieving naval deterrence. The first panel will explore the challenges posed by Russia in the High North, and the strategic interests involved, and the second panel will feature senior leaders’ perspectives on developing and implementing strategy and operations.

Still To Come This Week

Kennan: A Life between Worlds

Monday, Feb. 6 // 4–5:30 pm (ET)

The conventional, reductive view depicts George F. Kennan as a grand strategist with some peripheral oddities. By contrast, Kennan A Life between Worlds illuminates a figure wrenched to his core. With a distinctly masculinist perspective and with a belief in Freudian theory as settled science, Kennan believed he had to somehow satisfy both “Eros” and “Civilization.” A sui generis thinker, Kennan was a pioneering environmentalist and a critic of industrial production who also had unparalleled insight into the problems of U.S. foreign policy both during and after the Cold War.

Water @ Wilson | Water and Conflict: Updates from the Russia-Ukraine War

Tuesday, Feb. 7 // 9:30–11:00 am (ET)

Join the Wilson Center and the U.S. Water Partnership for a discussion with a panel of experts—including two representatives of Lviv’s water utility—to better understand the enormous costs of Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure, and how the international community can better support Ukraine’s efforts to rebuild and modernize its water infrastructure.

Fostering National Security and Economic Prosperity in North America

Friday, Feb. 10 // 9:15–10:15 am (ET)

The Wilson Center's Canada Institute will host an armchair discussion with Canada’s Minister of National Defence Anita Anand and Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne. In a conversation moderated by Canada Institute Director Christopher Sands, the ministers will discuss Canada’s plan to innovate in national security, defense, and space.