Wargaming Future Conflict between NATO and Russia

The Centre for Science and Security Studies at King’s College London will present the results of two unclassified strategic gaming events held at the UK Defence Academy in May 2017 and February 2018.

The games, originally intended to examine missile defense and nuclear risks, pose urgent analytical and policy questions about deterrence and defense in a new era of major power strategic competition.

King’s researchers pitted teams representing US, NATO and Russian perspectives against the backdrop of domestic turmoil in Ukraine in 2023 and the Baltics in 2020. Players made informed decisions based on first-hand policymaking experience, and deep knowledge of military strategy and operations. Yet these decisions produced surprising outcomes.

Please join project staff and advisers for a discussion of the final game report followed by a wine reception at King’s Strand Campus.

Presenters

• Professor Wyn Bowen, Head, School of Security Studies
• Ms Ivanka Barzashka, lead researcher and game director, Project on Missile Defence, Nuclear Deterrence and Stability, Centre for Science and Security Studies

Discussants

• Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham, former Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff
• Professor Philip Sabin, Professor of Strategic Studies, Department of War Studies
• Dr Brad Roberts, Director, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy

The games comprise the experimental component of a three-year project funded under the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s disruptive technologies initiative.