Navigating Great Power Rivalry
Description
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China's growing assertiveness, and shifting patterns of global leadership have complicated the strategic choices facing small and middle powers. Longstanding assumptions about deterrence, alliances, economic interdependence, and strategic autonomy are being reassessed as states confront increasing geopolitical uncertainty and intensifying great power competition.
Supported by the Security & Defence Initiative of the PLuS Alliance (S&D+), this roundtable brings together researchers from Arizona State University, King's College London, and UNSW Sydney, alongside scholars, analysts, and policymakers from Australia, for a comparative discussion of how states navigate increasingly turbulent international environments. The discussion builds on an ongoing international research project examining the conditions under which smaller and middle powers succeed or fail in preserving security, sovereignty, and strategic flexibility amid great power rivalry.
The roundtable is intended not only as a forum for presenting emerging ideas, but also as an opportunity for mutual learning and exchange. Australia’s experience of adapting to a rapidly changing regional security environment offers valuable insights for understanding strategic resilience under conditions of heightened uncertainty. By bringing together perspectives from Europe, North America, and the Indo-Pacific, the discussion seeks to identify common challenges, compare regional experiences, and generate new thinking on resilience, alliance management, strategic hedging, and the future of international order.
The event will combine brief opening remarks from the three members of the project team with a broader discussion among participants, fostering a candid exchange of views between academic researchers, policy practitioners, and security experts.
Lineup
Keith Brown
Keith Brown is the current Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in American Studies at the University of Helsinki, and Director of the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies at Arizona State University, where he is also a Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a BA in classics from Oxford University, and has held fellowships at the United States Institute of Peace, the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute and the Helsinki Collegium. His scholarly work has its roots in the history, culture and politics of the Western Balkans, with a particular emphasis on 20th century Macedonia. He has spent extended time in the region, and his published works include The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation (Princeton University Press, 2003) and Loyal Unto Death: Trust and Terror in Revolutionary Macedonia (Indiana University Press, 2013). His recent projects, including this one, extend this research to explore the significance of transatlantic flows of people (including citizen diplomats), ideas (including civic norms) and goods (including humanitarian and development assistance) in wider geopolitical relations.
Samuel Greene
Keith Brown is the current Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in American Studies at the University of Helsinki, and Director of the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies at Arizona State University, where he is also a Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a BA in classics from Oxford University, and has held fellowships at the United States Institute of Peace, the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute and the Helsinki Collegium. His scholarly work has its roots in the history, culture and politics of the Western Balkans, with a particular emphasis on 20th century Macedonia. He has spent extended time in the region, and his published works include The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation (Princeton University Press, 2003) and Loyal Unto Death: Trust and Terror in Revolutionary Macedonia (Indiana University Press, 2013). His recent projects, including this one, extend this research to explore the significance of transatlantic flows of people (including citizen diplomats), ideas (including civic norms) and goods (including humanitarian and development assistance) in wider geopolitical relations.
Alexander Korolev
Alexander Korolev is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International relations in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Prior to joining UNSW, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (2015-2018). He holds an MA in International Relations from Nankai University’s Zhou Enlai School of Government (2009) and a PhD in Political Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2012). He has been a visiting researcher in the Political Science Department at Brown University (2011-2012). His research lies at the intersection of International Relations theory and comparative politics, with particular expertise in great-power politics, strategic alignment, smaller power hedging, and China–Russia relations. Alexander is the author of When Hedging Fails: Structural Uncertainty, Protective Options, and Geopolitical (Im)Prudence in Smaller Powers’ Behaviour (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and China–Russia Strategic Alignment in International Politics (Amsterdam University Press, 2022). His research has appeared in leading journals, including International Studies Review, International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of Strategic Studies, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Pacific Affairs, Asian Security, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, and other journals.
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