Academic | Defense Analyst | Alexander Lanoszka

About Me

My name is Alexander Lanoszka. I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and in the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. I am also an Associate Fellow at the UK-based Council on Geostrategy as well as a Senior Fellow at the Ottawa-based MacDonald-Laurier Institute. I am also a member of the Réseau d'Analyse Stratégique. I am also a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Natolin.

I was previously a Lecturer in the Department of International Politics at City, University of London and held postdoctoral fellowships at Dartmouth College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I received my Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University in 2014.

My research addresses issues in alliance politics, nuclear strategy, and theories of war, and has appeared in International Security, Security Studies, International Affairs, and elsewhere. My books include Atomic Assurance: The Alliance Politics of Nuclear Proliferation (Cornell, 2018) and Military Alliances in the Twenty-First Century (Polity, 2022). I have done work on East Asia but Europe is my primary regional focus, with special emphasis on Central and Northeastern Europe. I have two places that I consider home: Windsor-Detroit and Krakow, Poland.

On this website, you will find information about my books, monographs, and published articles as well as information on my academic research, teaching, and commentary.

Latest Publications

Sweden, Finland, and the Meaning of Alliance Membership

with Katherine Kjellström Elgin

Texas National Security Review

Rationalist understandings of military alliances argue that a formal treaty underpinning the security relationship is crucial for deepening and rendering more efficient defense cooperation between countries. However, Sweden’s and Finland’s cooperation with NATO prior to 2022, when the two countries announced their intentions to formally join the alliance, was far more substantial than what rationalist explanations would expect. Traditional approaches to military alliances overlook the importance of ontological, or identity-based, considerations that come with being a formal member of an alliance. Accordingly, not only is signing a treaty functionally important, it is also significant in terms of what it implies for national identity in terms of security policy. For Sweden and Finland, this suggests that the greatest change with NATO membership will be with regard to identity and strategic culture.

NEW OP-EDS

21 NOVEMBER 2023

For the Council on Geostrategy's Britain's World, I highlight the lack of preparation for a possible second Trump term. Read here. My recent piece for the MLI's Inside Policy takes stock of how much NATO has changed since early 2022. Read here.

NEE PUBLICATION

20 NOVEMBER 2023

I am delighted that New Eastern Europe has published my essay titled "China and Russia: A Strategic Partnership With Many Limits" in its latest (and last) print issue for 2023. If you are a subscriber, you may find the piece here.

GLOBSEC REPORT

3 JULY 2023

I am delighted to have authored a new GLOBSEC report, with the help and support of Marcin Zaborowski, Jacqueline Sirotová, and Gen. Ben Hodges. The report discusses what can be done to fortify NATO's Eastern flank. For he report and the launch event, please click here.

What I am reading now

Written in clear and incisive prose, Jade McGlynn’s new book Russia’s War is an upsetting read. A cold shower on the idea that, absent Putin and Patrushev, all would be otherwise well with Russia.