The University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Programme and the Centre for the Study of Subversion, Unconventional Interventions and Terrorism (SUIT) present a roundtable with experts on Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and China. The discussion will focus on the war in Ukraine and assess its implications for democracies defending their sovereignty against ambitious authoritarian neighbours.  

Ukraine and Russia-Taiwan and China

Speakers include:

• Professor Volodymyr Dubovyk, Mechnikov National University in Odesa, Ukraine
• Dr Natasha Kuhrt, King’s College London, UK
• Professor Arthur Ding, Professor Emeritus, National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei
• Peter Mattis, Former Deputy Staff Director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Washington DC.

Speaker biography

Volodymyr Dubovyk is an Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies, Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine). V. Dubovyk has conducted research at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1997, 2006-2007), at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland (2002), taught at the University of Washington (Seattle) in 2013 and at St. Edwards university/University of Texas (Austin) in 2016-17. He is the co-author of “Ukraine and European Security” (Macmillan, 1999) and has published numerous articles on US-Ukraine relations, regional and international security, and Ukraine’s foreign policy. Areas of expertise: Ukraine, Transatlantic Relations, U.S., Black Sea security.

Natasha Kuhrt is a lecturer in International Peace & Security in the Dept of War Studies, King's College London, UK. Her research interests include international law, conflict, and intervention, as well a regional focus on Russian foreign and security policies, particularly in Asia. She is co-convenor of the British International Studies Association Working Group on Russian & Eurasian Security .

Arthur Shuhfan Ding is a Professor Emeritus, National Chenghi University (NCCU), Taipei. He now is adjunction professors at both the NCCU and Taiwan’s National Defense University. His research focuses on China security, including China’s security policy and China’s defence, party-military relations in China, as well as China’s defence industry.

Peter Mattis is a national security professional living in Washington, DC. He previously served as the Deputy Staff Director of the Congressional-Executive Commission of China (CECC). He has worked at The Jamestown Foundation, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, and The National Bureau of Asian Research. Mattis also worked as a counterintelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. He is the author of Analyzing the Chinese Military: A Review Essay and Resource Guide on the People's Liberation Army (2015) and coauthor of Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer (2019). Mr. Mattis is speaking in a personal capacity.

Co-chaired by Prof. Bettina Renz and Dr. Chun-yi Lee, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham