The final day of the ACRPS Strategic Studies Unit Fifth Annual Conference, “Defence Strategies of Small States and Smaller Forces: Tactical Adaptations and Operational Innovations”, took place on 25 February 2025. The third day featured three sessions devoted to studying cases from East Asia, the Baltics and Scandinavia, and the Balkans and Caribbean.

The day opened with a panel on “Asia’s Security Landscape: Enduring and Evolving Strategies”, chaired by Hani Awad. Fu-Kuo Liu began with “Beefing up Taiwan’s Defence Capability in Countering Potential Conflict in the Taiwan Strait”, which argues that Taiwan will have to select adequate approaches to strengthen defence capabilities to deter potential conflict, in order to face up to a more challenging strategic environment. Insoo Kim followed with “South Korea’s Defence Strategy and Its Dilemma: Alliance or Self-reliance First?”, outlining why an alliance with the United States is indispensable for deterring North Korea’s threat of war and the process through which the weakening of US security commitments and the subsequent pursuit of an independent defence policy led to the development of a world-class defence industry. Inbum Chun followed with “North Korea’s Military Capabilities: From East Asia to East Europe”, arguing that North Korean collaboration with Moscow bolsters Russia’s military efforts while providing North Korean forces with practical battlefield experience, potentially influencing future military strategies and regional security dynamics. Ong Wei Chong rounded off the panel with his paper “Singapore’s Total Defence at Forty: An Evolutionary Response to Hybrid Threats and Grey Zone Ambiguity”, addressing how TD in Singapore has evolved over the last 40 years to address hybrid threats and adversaries that thrive in the ambiguity of the grey zone.

The next panel, “Nordic Shields: Baltic and Scandinavian Defence Strategies”, was chaired by Ghassan Elkahlout. Margarita Šešelgytė presented “Guarding the Frontline: Lithuania’s Defence Policy in the Context of Russian Geopolitical Assertiveness”, highlighting Lithuania’s focus on air defence, total defence, and expedited procurement processes to address emerging threats. Sintija Broka followed with “Small-States’ Defence Strategies: The Transformation of Latvian Armed Forces”, underscoring how Latvia effectively balances alliance dependence with domestic readiness to address evolving threats, offering insights into small-state defence adaptation in contemporary geopolitics. Mikael Weissmann then spoke on “Sweden’s Alliance and Defence Transformations: Strategic Shifts in the Wake of Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine”, assessing defence transformations to providesinsights into how small states can effectively respond to evolving threats through strategic alliances and military reforms.

The last panel, “Forgotten Performances: The Balkans and Caribbean in Focus”, was chaired by Adham Saouli. Gordan Akrap presented “How Croatia Won the Homeland War: Organization and Transformation of Armed Forces and Intelligence Community”, relying on his experience as a direct witness and participant in the organization and transformation of the armed forces and intelligence community during low- and high-intensity conflicts. Zoran Ivanov spoke on “Small State Internal Defence and Intelligence Resilience: How North Macedonia avoided a Civil War?”, revealing how Macedonia navigated a volatile situation to restore stability without descending into widespread violence. Ramadan Ilazi next presented “Post-Conflict Military-Building Process in the Western Balkans: A Comparative Analysis of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Kosovo”, offering policy recommendations to enhance the civilian-military relations, and regional interoperability of these forces, to strengthen their roles as pillars of peace and security in the Western Balkans. Finally, Rut Diamint rounded off the panel and the conference with “The Military in Cuba”, exploring the history and the transformation of Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and its role in the present day.

Concluding the conference, Omar Ashour, Director of the Strategic Studies Unit at the Arab Center, thanked the participating researchers, the attendees, and the Arab Center team that contributed to organizing the conference. He then indicated that the conference outcomes will be published in a book titled The Defence of Small States: Strategic Transformations and Tactical Adaptations, which will include selected chapters from the conference papers, to be published in Arabic by the Arab Center, and in English by a Western university publishing house. Several more research papers will be published under the “Strategic Papers” series published on the Arab Center website.