The second 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 24 February 2025. The second day featured three sessions devoted to studying cases from Ukraine, Estonia, Qatar, Kuwait, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

The day opened with a panel on “Ukraine and Smaller Forces’ Dilemmas”, chaired by Christina M. Paschyn. Viacheslav Semenenko presented first with his paper “Ukraine: Warfare in the Land and Air Domains”, delineating strategies for mitigating Russian superiority in both Land and Air operations, as well as for conducting focused multi-domain operations, drawing upon insights from the 2014-2024 Russian War on Ukraine. Hanna Shelest presented “The Power of Asymmetry: Ukraine’s Maritime Strategy as a Model for Small State Naval Defence”, examining how Ukraine effectively dismantled a third of Russia’s navy and significantly degraded its maritime capabilities, without even having a traditional fleet, using unmanned aerial and surface vehicles and creative, asymmetric tactics. Oleksandr Bogomolov connected via Zoom to present “How Ukraine Defends: From Societal Resilience to Integrated Defence”, arguing that Ukraine has demonstrated a remarkable societal and economic resilience and ability to achieve success. Speaking next, in “Small State Defence: An Estonian Perspective”, Henrik Praks argued that a small state can defend against military threats only with citizens who have a high will to defend, are equipped and trained, and whose actions are supported by integrated allies.

The next panel, “Smart Defence: Qatar’s Approach to Security”, was chaired by Rashid Hamad Al-Naimi. Khalid Al-Khulaifi presented “The Smart Power of Small States: Qatar Alliance Building and Deterring Strategies”, suggesting that a rational comprehension of small states’ smart power and applicability presents a vital, if not urgent mission for enhanced global peace and security. Danah Alenezi spoke next on “Soft-Power Strategies of Small States: A Comparative Study of Kuwait and Qatar”, comparing the soft power tools of Kuwait and Qatar, including diplomacy, media, education, sports, and humanitarian aid. Speaking next, Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari presented “The Gendarmerie as a Strategic Option: Enhancing Qatar’s Defence Capabilities amid Manpower Challenges”, rounding off the panel by proposing a strategic framework for integrating a gendarmerie force as a reserve component of the Qatari Armed Forces.

The last panel of the day, “Caucasus Confrontations: Tactical Evolutions and Strategic Lessons”, was chaired by Saban Kardash. Robert E. Hamilton presented “The 2008 Russia-Georgia War”, arguing that a Russian victory and military occupation of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008 was predictable, but not inevitable. Vasif Huseynov followed with “Azerbaijan-Türkiye-Pakistan Trilateral Format and the Karabakh War”, which analysed the role of this trilateral cooperation in Azerbaijan’s efforts to seize the Karabakh region, examining its impact on Azerbaijan’s defence strategy and armament before and during the Second Karabakh War (2020). Finally, Leonid Nersisyan presented “Armenia’s Defence Strategy and the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War”, contending that in light of the military defeat in Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenian Armed Forces is undergoing serious transformation with an attempt to create a working deterrence mechanism against Azerbaijan.

The conference will continue for one last day until Tuesday 25 February. All sessions will be livestreamed on Arab Center social media in Arabic and English.