NATO at a Crossroads: Present Challenges and Future Trajectories

Friday, November 7, 2025 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

• Hybrid event
• 30 Daly Ave , Ottawa , ON , K1N 6E2
• Teams meeting link

Registration is required.

This event, organized by the Eastern Europe and Transatlantic Network in partnership with the NATO Association of Canada, brings together academics and policymakers to examine NATO’s current challenges and future trajectory in light of shifting global security dynamics. Discussions will focus on the war in Ukraine, renewed great-power competition, the crisis of arms control, and debates over burden-sharing and European strategic autonomy. By combining scholarly and policy perspectives, the event will explore the alliance’s evolving role in transatlantic security and its implications for member states, including Canada’s commitments to defence modernization, Arctic security, and collective deterrence.

Event Agenda

8:45 – 9:00: Registration and Coffee
9:00 – 9:15: Opening Remarks
9:15 – 11:00: Academic Perspectives

• Dr. Benjamin Zyla (Professor, University of Ottawa)
• Dr. Christian Leuprecht (Professor, Royal Military College and Queen’s University)
• Dr. David Sichinava (Adjunct Research Professor; Carleton University)
• Dr. Ann Fitz-Gerald (Professor and Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs)
• Dr. Luca Ratti (Professor; University of Rome III, joining remotely)
• Dr. Mihai Sebe (Lecturer, University of Bucharest and Head of the European Affairs Department; European Institute of Romania, joining remotely)
• Dr. Antonia Colibasanu (Senior Fellow; Foreign Policy Research Institute, joining remotely)

11:00 – 11:15: Tea and Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45: Policy Perspectives

• Kerry Lynn Nankivell (Director, NATO and Europe, ADM(Pol), Department of National Defence)
• H.E. Witold Dzielski (Ambassador; Embassy of Poland)
• Eric Laporte (Executive Director; Global Affairs Canada)
• BGen (retired) Scott McKenzie (Director General, Canadian Joint Operations Command)

12:45: Closing Remarks

Register Below to Receive the Event Link