From 18–21 March 2024, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies convened a seminar-based dialogue on national strategic issues led by NESA Center faculty members Academic Dean Dr. Roger Kangas, Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, Professor Richard Wiersema, and Associate Dean Charles Marks. This engagement brought together 41 participants from the Armenian National Defense Research University (NDRU), comprising both faculty and students, alongside a group of students pursuing internships with the Ministry of Defense.

From the left: Dr. Roger Kangas, Dr. Gawdat Bahgat, NDRU Commandant Major General Genadi Tavaratsyan, Professor Richard Wiersema, and Charles Marks.

Topics addressed included the utility of economic sanctions, challenges in developing national security strategies, regional security dynamics, U.S. security strategy and policy in the South Caucasus region, diversification of economic interests in Armenia, and entanglements with Russia as the failure of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) from the Armenian perspective. This dialogue marks the third annual iteration of its kind, showcasing the enduring commitment of both the NESA Center and the NDRU. Plans are underway to convene another follow-up event similar in nature to this seminar in Yerevan, Armenia, in 2025.

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