About BESA Intern Program

Emil Avdaliani

Emil Avdaliani specializes on former Soviet space and wider Eurasia with particular focus on Russia’s internal and foreign policy, relations with Iran, China, the EU and the US. He teaches history and international relations at Tbilisi State University and Ilia State University (Georgia). He has worked for various international consulting companies and regularly publishes various works with BESA on military and political developments across Eurasia. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Dr. Efrat Aviv

(Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University) Specializes in modern Turkey, Turkish history, and the Islamic-spiritual Gulen movement. Senior lecturer in the Dept. of General History at Bar-Ilan University and a research associate at BESA. Email: [email protected]

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Shay Attias

Dr. Shay Attias is a worldwide expert for Diplomatic Studies & International Communications who coined the notion of “Peer-Peer-Diplomacy Network.” His pioneering research of “Global Citizens & Digital Diplomacy” describes the latest development in diplomatic practice, wherein civilians, by virtue of social media, are not only consumers of government information but also information producers, with the potential to bypass existing official government bodies. Dr. Attias’s Ph.D. Dissertation (Political Science – Bar-Ilan Univ.) was dedicated to exploring the “Evaluation of Diplomacy” from “Modern time to the Digital Age” implemented on “US Foreign Policymaking” during the ‘Global War on Terror.’ As a former Senior Public Diplomat who founded the Israeli Agency for Public Diplomacy at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Attias carries vast practical experience in Diplomacy & Security. Today, he is a lecturer in the School of Communication at Bar-Ilan University, where he teaches Public Diplomacy and Global Diplomatic Crisis Management.

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Dr. Dana Barnett

Dr. Dana Barnett (Ph.D. King’s College London). Specializes in the nexus between post-Zionism and the Israeli academy. She focuses on the politicization of scholarship by activist academics who use their position to pursue a radical political agenda.
Barnett is the Director of Israel Academia Monitor (IAM), an NGO by a group of scholars which follows the boycott movement, delegitimization of Israel and anti-Israel activities, such as the writing of radical Israeli academics. She has been operating the israel-academia-monitor.com website since 2004.

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Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Shaul Bartal

Dr. Shaul Bartal, Lieutenant Colonel, IDF reserve. (Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University). Expert in Palestinian Affairs and fundamentalist Islam. specializes in Palestinian groups, the Arab minority in Israel and fundamental Islamic groups. Author of The Fedayeen Emerge, the Palestine-Israel Conflict, 1949-1956 (Bloomington: 2011) and Jihad in Palestine (Abingdon: Rutledge, 2016); New Forms of Palestinian Terror Against Israel: A Profile of the Al-Quds Intifada (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2017); with Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer, Hamas and Ideology, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi on the Jews, Zionism and Israel (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018) and many articles about the Palestinian problem.

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Edwin Black

Edwin Black is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling international investigative author of 140 award-winning editions in 17 languages in 65 countries. With more than 1.4 million books in print, his work focuses on human rights, genocide and hate, corporate criminality and corruption, governmental misconduct, academic fraud, philanthropic abuse, oil addiction, alternative energy and historical investigation.

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Col (Res.) Dr. Raphael G. Bouchnik-Chen

(Ph.D. Jinan University, China). Specializes in Middle Eastern and international affairs. Served for 26 years in IDF military intelligence in several senior assignments, including Head of the Review Department. Served for 3 years in the Prime Minister’s office and Ministry of Defense, and fulfilled a diplomatic mission in the Far East.

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Brig. Gen. (res.) Moni Chorev

Specializes in military and strategic doctrine, and evaluation of military performance. Former division commander, and commander of the IDF officer school. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Edy Cohen

(Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University) Specializes in inter-Arab relations, the Arab-Israeli conflict, terrorism, Jewish communities in the Arab world. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. James M. Dorsey

(Ph.D. University of Utrecht). Specializes in the Muslim world’s political, social, and economic fault lines as well as Chinese policy towards the region with a focus on geopolitics, social movements, and political and militant Islam. James also focuses on the nexus of sports, politics, and society. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Gil Feiler

(Ph.D. Tel Aviv University) Specializes in Arab markets and economies, Palestinian economic development, Mideast economic cooperation and Israel-Arab trade. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Jonathan Fox

(Ph.D. University of Maryland) Specializes in international and domestic conflict, especially ethnic and religious conflict. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Gabriel Glickman

(PhD King’s College London) Specializes in U.S. national security and foreign policy, as well as the history of American foreign policy. Email: [email protected]

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Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen

Served in the IDF for 42 years, commanding troops in battle on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. Was a Corps commander, and commander of the IDF Military Colleges. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Frank Musmar

Ph.D. Walden University, M.S University of Maryland. Dissertation Editing and Proofreading specialist | Best Selling Writer | Faculty | Researcher | Financial and Performance Management Specialist

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Dr. Eado Hecht

(Ph.D. Hebrew University) Defense analyst specializing in military theory and military history. Lectures at Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University and at the IDF Command and General Staff College. Serves on the Editorial Advisory Panel of The Journal of Military Operations. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Tsilla Hershco

(Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University) Specializes in Franco-Israeli relations, U.S.-French relations, France and the Mideast conflict, Muslims and Jews in France, E.U.-Israeli relations, and E.U. affairs. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Doron Itzchakov

(Ph.D. Tel Aviv University) Specializes in the history and politics of modern Iran, Iran-Israel relations, Iranian foreign policy. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Alex Joffe

Alex Joffe (Ph.D. University of Arizona). Specializes in ancient and modern Middle Eastern studies, American foreign policy, and American cultural politics.

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Prof. Efraim Karsh

Director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Professor Emeritus of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King’s College London; Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University; Principal Research Fellow (and former Director) of the Middle East Forum (Philadelphia), where he also edits the scholarly journal Middle East Quarterly; founding editor of the scholarly journal Israel Affairs, now in its twenty-fourth year, and founding general editor of a Routledge book series on Israeli History, Politics and Society, with over 60 books published. Email: [email protected]

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Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar

(Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University) Served for 25 years in IDF military intelligence specializing in Syria, Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups, and Israeli Arabs. Expert on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Ardavan Khoshnood

Dr. Ardavan Khoshnood (PhD, Lund University). Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Lund University in Sweden. Criminologist with focus on offender profiling and violent crimes inclusive terrorism. From Malmö University and Lund University he hold degrees in Political Science respective Intelligence Analysis. Specializes in Iranian foreign policy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as the Ministry of Intelligence. Email: [email protected]

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Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin is a Research Associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He specializes in Israel’s defense establishment, military affairs, and the Middle Eastern strategic environment. He is the author of the BESA study The Low-Profile War Between Israel and Hezbollah. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Udi Lebel

(Ph.D. King’s College, London U.) Specializes in civil-military relations, especially in the political psychology of bereavement, communities of trauma and national memory, and in the sociology of security communities. An associate professor at the School of Communication, Bar Ilan University. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Alon Levkowitz

(Ph.D. Hebrew University) Specializes in East Asian security, the Korean Peninsula (foreign, security, politics and history), and Asian international organizations. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Ze’ev Maghen

(Ph.D., Fordham University) Expert in Turkish Foreign Policy, Turkish-US Relations, Turkish-Israel Relations and American Foreign Policy. Mark is also a lawyer who teaches US Constitutional Law. Associate Professor at SUNY Maritime College [email protected]

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Dr. Doron Matza

Dr. Doron Matza (PhD Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) specializes in Palestinian issues, Israeli – Arabs, the Arab – Israeli conflict and Middle Eastern affairs. Held senior positions in the Israeli intelligence and security systems. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Mark Meirowitz

(Ph.D. Hebrew University) Specializes in East Asian security, the Korean Peninsula (foreign, security, politics and history), and Asian international organizations. Email: [email protected]

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Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Raphael Ofek

(Ph.D. Ben-Gurion University) Former senior analyst in IDF military intelligence and the Prime Minister’s Office. Specializes in WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) proliferation in the Middle East and North Korea. Email: [email protected]

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Amir Rapaport

(Ph.D. candidate, Bar-Ilan University) Former military correspondent of Yediot Ahronot and current defense analyst for Maariv. Publisher and editor of Israel Defense magazine. Expert on the IDF, military technologies, and Israeli military industries.

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Dr. Asaf Romirowsky

Dr. Asaf Romirowsky (PhD King’s College London) is the Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME), a fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Professor [Affiliate] at the University of Haifa. He specializes in the Arab-Israeli conflict and American foreign policy in the Middle East. Romirowsky is co-author of “Religion, Politics, and the Origins of Palestine Refugee Relief.”

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Uzi Rubin

Preeminent Israeli expert on missile defense. Founder and director of the Arrow defense program against long-range missiles in the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Jonathan Rynhold

(Ph.D. London School of Economics) Specializes in Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli peace process, U.S.-Israel relations, Israeli politics and foreign policy, U.S. public opinion, UK-Israeli relations, and issues related to NGOs and BDS. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Shmuel Sandler

(Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University) Expert on Israeli electoral politics, Israeli foreign policy and national security, U.S.-Israel relations, U.S. foreign policy, and Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Yechiel Shabiy

Dr. Yechiel Shabiy (PhD Bar-Ilan University). Specializes in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamist movements, and national-religious radicalization among the Israeli Arabs. Cell phone: 0506236001

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Dr. Hanan Shai

(Ph.D from the Hebrew University) expert in military and political strategic thinking and planning, as well as leadership development, decision making and staff work in these fields. His doctoral dissertation on the performance of Israeli leadership in past wars served as the basis for a surge of professional training manuals for the defense establishment as well as other government ministries and agencies and for the overhaul of leadership and staff training programs within the government. In the past few years, he has focused on the study of the roots of the growing moral tension within western democracies and the effects of this tension on their ability to cope with threats and crises.

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Dr. Eitan Shamir

(Ph.D. Kings College) Former head of the National Security Doctrine Department in the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs. Expert on insurgencies and combat doctrine. Email: [email protected]

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Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham

(Ph.D. Tel Aviv University) Former senior analyst in IDF military intelligence and the Ministry of Defense. Specializes in chemical and biological warfare in the Middle East and worldwide. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Shlomo Shpiro

(Ph.D. Birmingham University) Specializes in the study of intelligence services in Israel and Europe, the relationship between media and the security establishment, and NATO. Email: [email protected]

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Prof. Joshua Teitelbaum

(Ph.D. Tel Aviv University) Expert on the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Arab economies, and pan-Arab issues. Email: [email protected]

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Galit Truman Zinman

(Ph.D. Birmingham University) Specializes in the study of intelligence services in Israel and Europe, the relationship between media and the security establishment, and NATO. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. George N. Tzogopoulos

Dr. George N. Tzogopoulos (Ph.D. Loughborough University) specializes in media and international relations as well as Chinese affairs. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Roie Yellinek

Dr. Roie Yellinek (Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University). Specializes in the growing relationship between the Middle East and China, especially with regard to the soft power component of Chinese diplomacy and the local reaction to it. He is also a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, and an adjunct researcher at the IDF Dado Center. Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Jiri Valenta

Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University. Ing. Prague School of Economics. Former coord. Soviet and East European Studies, NSA Dept., U.S. Naval PG School. Brookings Fellow. Heritage Foundation Trustee. Received Jan Masaryk medal as head of post-revolutionary Czech think tank. CFR member, NYC,. Strategic Studies expert focusing on Russian Interventions, U.S. Nat’l security, terrorism, rogue regimes, NATO- Israel relations. E-mail: [email protected]

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Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program

PSCRP is a platform for analysis of FSU conflicts and involvement of regional superpowers.

The Baku Process: An Open Triangle in Israel–Azerbaijan–Turkey Relations

PSCRP

The Baku Process: An Open Triangle in Israel–Azerbaijan–Turkey Relations

By Vladimir (Ze’ev) KhaninJune 11, 2025PSCRP

Almost half a decade has passed since the diplomatic breakthrough in the previously informal relations between Israel and the "moderate" Sunni regimes of the Saudi-aligned Arab countries. The establishment, under U.S. auspices, of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emi, which was subsequently joined by Sudan (North) and Morocco. However, the widely anticipated "wave" of recognition of Israel by Arab states did not materialize at that time.

Monthly Monitoring of Analytical Publications on Post-Soviet Conflicts

PSCRP

Monthly Monitoring of Analytical Publications on Post-Soviet Conflicts

By PSCRPJune 8, 2025PSCRP

In the recent issue of monitoring, the reader will find many unexpected things—a study of a fragment of the post-Soviet world integrated into the EU, the Visegrad countries, and the connection between modern conflicts and the economic history of the period of reforms in the USSR, associated with the name of Kosygin. There will also be unusual methodological approaches, and there will be results that researchers admit that they did not expect.

Iran Expands Its Reach Into Central Asia Through Trade and Transport

PSCRP

Iran Expands Its Reach Into Central Asia Through Trade and Transport

By PSCRPJune 4, 2025PSCRP

Iran’s deepening engagement with Central Asia is no accident. It reflects a deliberate strategy to exploit power vacuum and turn the Islamic Republic into a central player in the region’s economic and political landscape.

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 20 (May 2025)

Homepage, PSCRP

BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Digest No. 20 (May 2025)

By Dr. Petr OskolkovJune 3, 2025Homepage, PSCRP

In May 2025, the operative analysis published by the PSCR program at BESA has extensively focused on the ongoing and potential conflicts in Central Asia, South and North Caucasus, Russia, and Moldova.

Moldova’s Path to the EU: Accession or Joining? Part I. The Revolt of the Gagauz Turks

PSCRP

Moldova’s Path to the EU: Accession or Joining? Part I. The Revolt of the Gagauz Turks

By PSCRPMay 26, 2025PSCRP

On May 21, the Chisinau Court of Appeal left the head of the Gagauz autonomy, Eugenia Gutul, under house arrest. Gutul was detained at the Chisinau airport and arrested in a criminal case related to the financing of her election campaign in 2023. This arrest opens the way for the initiation of the procedure for removing the head of the dissident autonomous region from office. The legitimate parliament of Gagauzia, the People's Assembly, has effectively come out against the supreme power of Moldova and has expressed full support for Gutul.

Armenia-Azerbaijan map. Image © 2025 Google

The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the South Caucasus: The End of “the Near Abroad” For Russia

PSCRP

The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the South Caucasus: The End of “the Near Abroad” For Russia

By PSCRPMay 23, 2025PSCRP

The overall situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan has undergone substantial changes in recent years. Both are engaged in peace negotiations that involve numerous difficult decisions on both sides - from border demarcation to the future of regional infrastructure projects such as the Zangezur Corridor. On April 19, 2024, Armenia agreed to return four abandoned border villages to Azerbaijan as an initial step in border delimitation.

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Russian Nationalists and Ethnic Conflicts in Southern Russia

PSCRP

Russian Nationalists and Ethnic Conflicts in Southern Russia

By PSCRPMay 18, 2025PSCRP

Russia officially became a nationalist state in the summer of 2020, when the constitution was amended to declare Russian the state language as “the language of the state-forming people”. That same summer saw the birth of the “Russian Community”. It has since grown into the most numerous and influential nationalist and “protectionist” movement, displacing both the neo-Nazis and the Cossacks.

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“Russian” Israel’s view of the Russian-Ukrainian War and Moscow’s Policies in the Middle East

PSCRP

“Russian” Israel’s view of the Russian-Ukrainian War and Moscow’s Policies in the Middle East

By Vladimir (Ze’ev) KhaninMay 14, 2025PSCRP

Since Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to power in February 2009, the intensification of Israel’s foreign policy toward Russia has been evident across nearly all levels — from intergovernmental and interparliamentary contacts to joint commissions on trade, economic and cultural cooperation.

Vorukh Exclave in the Fergana Valley: How to Overcome the Conflict Created by Stalin

PSCRP

Vorukh Exclave in the Fergana Valley: How to Overcome the Conflict Created by Stalin

By PSCRPMay 12, 2025PSCRP

All territorial conflicts of the former USSR, without exception, employ arguments based on Soviet bureaucracy and documents from the USSR authorities. The conflict around the exclave of Vorukh clearly shows that these documents cannot be considered as arguments. The communist leaders were interested in concealing disputes, not in resolving them.

Chechnya and Ingushetia (AI generated map)

Kadyrov vs. Ingushetia: From Territorial Disputes to Shootout at Wildberries Headquarters

PSCRP

Kadyrov vs. Ingushetia: From Territorial Disputes to Shootout at Wildberries Headquarters

By PSCRPMay 6, 2025PSCRP

Chechens (Nokhchi) and Ingush (Galgai) are two closely related peoples. Not only are they neighbors: they share religion (Sufi Sunnism), tribal (teip) social structure, traditions, mutually intelligible languages, and historical fate: both peoples were subject to deportation in 1944. The prerequisites for the territorial dispute were laid with the redrawing of the borders of the restored autonomy after the return of the Vainakhs from deportation.

BESA Internship Program

Each year, from June through July, BESA hosts it’s Summer Internship Program. The BESA Summer Internship Program offers undergraduate and graduate-level students and recent graduates a unique opportunity to engage in high-level strategic studies and policy analysis. Participants benefit from a structured program that includes lectures from subject matter experts, hands-on research projects, and one-on-one mentorship with leading scholars. Interns gain practical experience by contributing to ongoing research initiatives, assisting in preparing symposiums, and working on upcoming publications. Additionally, the program features excursions to significant strategic sites, providing interns with a comprehensive understanding of Israel’s security environment and geopolitical challenges. The culmination of the internship is the production of an original research paper on a relevant strategic or policy issue, which is published on BESA’s website, showcasing the interns’ contributions to the field.

Activities of the 2024 BESA Interns

In 2024, the BESA interns had a dynamic and enriching experience. They attended a series of insightful lectures, including topics like “IDF Innovation” by Eitan Shamir, “US Strategy in the Middle East” by David Levy, “Civil-Military Relations in Israel” by Elisheva Rosman-Stollman, and “Energy Politics in the Middle East” by Elai Rettig. The interns also participated in field trips, such as a tour of the Gaza Envelope area and a visit to the IDF Dado Center for strategic briefings. Beyond these activities, the interns collaborated closely with mentors on various research projects, contributing to forthcoming books and symposiums. Each intern also produced an original research paper on a current strategic or policy issue, subsequently published on BESA’s website, highlighting their analytical skills and understanding of contemporary geopolitical challenges.

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