Tallinn, Estonia

The International Centre for Defence Studies is the first think- tank in Estonia, a new institution devoted to the analysis of security and defence policy questions. It was founded in March 2006.

The Centre’s roles are to analyse global developments in the security and defence field, and to examine narrower topics that are of special interest to Estonia. The ICDS’ independent expertise should both help the state’s institutions develop more effective policies, and raise the general public’s awareness of issues that influence Estonia’s security and defence. The ICDS’ researchers are creating their expertise on topics such as Defence Planning and Force Structure, Security Sector Reform, Participation in international Missions and Operations, NATO, EU and Transatlantic Relations, CIMIC and Military Sociology. In terms of foreign policy expertise, the ICDS deals specifically with Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Afghanistan and the Baltic Sea Region. Several think tanks from different countries whose profile is similar to that of ICDS have worked with the Centre on various projects. Among them the DCAF, Swedish Defence Research Agency and the Swedish Defence College.

Main tasks

The main tasks of ICDS are to organise the final seminar of the project on “The EU and Europe’s Sea Basins” and to contribute to the WPs 1-5 with the relevant research concerning the Baltic Sea Region.

Researchers:

Riina Kaljurand ICDS, Deputy Director

Riina Kaljurand is the Deputy Director of the International Centre for Defence Studies and her main research interest lies in the Security Sector Reform and the Nordic-Baltic co-operation in this area. She has only recently started to research on the topic of the Baltic Sea Security. She holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Stockholm. She has worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defence as an Assistant to the Secretary General and Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including tours in the Embassies in Oslo and Stockholm. She also worked in Kyiv within the framework of the „Public Administration Reform” project run by SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency).

María Mälksoo ICDS, Reasearch Fellow

Dr. Maria Mälksoo works as a researcher at the ICDS. She recently obtained her doctorate from the Centre of International Studies at the University of Cambridge where she also received her M.Phil. in International Relations. She has previously studied sociology and political science at the University of Tartu, Estonia, and the University of Montana, USA. Maria has worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defence and lectured at the University of Tartu, the Estonian Business School and the University of Cambridge. At the ICDS, her fields of research are transatlantic relations and the role of “New Europe” in the global war on terror, and European memory politics. Maria will contribute to the WPs 1 and 2.

Julian Tupay ICDS, Junior Researcher

Julian Tupay is the junior researcher of the ICDS. He is working with other ICDS researchers on Russia and energy policy, Baltic Sea security and NATO’s new strategic developments.   Julian holds a B.A. in Political Sciences from Roger Williams University, RI, USA; and an M.A. in International Relations and Diplomacy from Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands. His master thesis was a game-theory analysis of the conflict resolution process in Colombia.  Julian works as a project assistant throughout the whole project period.