OPEN Echoes - EP009 - Dr. Michal Smetana

OPEN Echoes

OPEN ECHOES Episode #9 An interview with Dr. Michal Smetana — Michal Smetana is an Associate Professor at the Institute of International Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Director of the Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP), and Head Researcher at the Experimental Lab for International Security Studies (ELISS). Previously, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). His main research interests lie at the intersection of security studies, international relations, and political psychology, with a specific focus on nuclear weapons in world politics, arms control and disarmament, contestation of international norms, and the use of experimental survey methodology to study public and elite attitudes towards foreign policy. His articles have been published in many international scholarly and policy journals. He is the author of Nuclear Deviance. In addition to his academic work, he is frequently invited to talk about international security matters in the media and conducts policy analyses for NATO, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Czech Ministry of Interior. — This OPEN Echoes interview explores: - The need for more public awareness and debate on the topic of his article — "Is NATO losing the strategic communication campaign to remain a nuclear alliance?" — especially in light of the changing geopolitical context. - The geostrategic evolution, particularly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the impact on viewpoints within NATO. - Challenges in advancing arms control with Russia, given the current political obstacles and the suspension of New START. - The importance of strategic communication for public engagement. - The need for NATO to close the gap between its rhetoric and actions. - The importance of crafting a persuasive narrative behind NATO's actions to ensure that its message prevails among the public in allied countries. — Dr. Smetana’s article, “Is NATO Losing the Strategic Communication Campaign to Remain a Nuclear Alliance?" is available on the OPEN Publications website here. — Welcome to OPEN Echoes. OPEN stands for “Other Perspectives Exchange Network.” Our mission is to explore diverse, insightful, and sometimes disruptive viewpoints on matters crucial to NATO. OPEN Echoes reflects the original thoughts, analyses, and viewpoints shared by academics, thought leaders and non-military experts — spreading ideas, perspectives, and insights across the globe. It’s our hope that the insights shared in these episodes will help to impact and influence thinking and conversations long after you take off your headphones. OPEN Echoes alternates episodes between compelling interviews with non-NATO subject matter experts, and readings from OPEN's wide range of publications. In this episode, we interview Dr. Michal Smetana . The lightly-edited transcript of this episode’s interview with Dr. Smetana follows: Dave Summers: Michal, it's so nice to meet you. Welcome to the Open Echoes podcast program. Dr. Michal Smetana: Hello, Dave. Thank you so much for inviting me and for giving me this opportunity to talk about my work. Dave: Michal, I always ask our guests to introduce themselves, kind of give a short background as to who you are and how you got to where you are in life right now. Dr. Smetana: At the moment, I'm an associate professor at Charles University and I'm also the director and original founder of the Peace Research Center, Prague, which is an institution as a part of our university which is studying international conflict, peace security. I did my Ph.D. at this very institution, Charles University in Prague. And afterwards I spent some time in California at Stanford University as a visiting researcher. I also did some time working for .SIPRI,