Dominika Kunertova

Last Name

Kunertova

First Name

Dominika

ORCID

0000-0001-9132-821X

Show all metadata

Search Results

Publications 1 - 10 of 33

The War against Ukraine Shapes NATO’s Future
Kunertova, Dominika; Masuhr, Niklas (2022)
CSS Policy Perspectives
The Russian invasion of Ukraine revitalized NATO and marked the return of US leadership in the alliance. However, the coming months may prove more difficult for NATO to navigate due to a series of dilemmas that could endanger its cohesion.
Theorising cooperation and conflict in Euro-Russian relations
Merand, Frederic; Dembinska, Magdalena; Kunertova, Dominika (2020)
East European politics
When thinking about Euro-Russian relations, IR scholars focus on why conflict has replaced cooperation. The "geostrategic debate" excludes the possible coexistence of cooperation and conflict. In this Introduction to the special issue, we track the evolution of conflict and cooperation patterns in three zones of contact (Estonia, Kaliningrad, Moldova) between 1991 and 2016. Our findings show that, although the standard narrative remains compelling, in several cases patterns of cooperation/conflict are largely autonomous from the geostrategic level. This diversity justifies the elaboration of theoretical propositions distinguishing fluid, rigid, and disputed symbolic boundaries which are constructed in and through geopolitical fields.
Weaponized and Overhyped: Hypersonic Technology
Kunertova, Dominika (2021)
CSS Analyses in Security Policy
Cruise missiles and boost gliders that can travel faster than five times the speed of sound without revealing their target until the very last moment have become a reality. While hypersonic weapon systems are on their way to change the strategic stability parameters by the middle of this decade, the magnitude of their disruptive effect remains a known unknown.
Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Transform, but Do Not Lift, the Fog of War – Evidence from Russia's War on Ukraine
Kunertova, Dominika; Herzog, Stephen (2024)
Publication series 2: Research reports ~ Russia’s War Against Ukraine – Complexity of Contemporary Clausewitzian War
In this working paper, we ask how have new technologies affected the Clausewitzian fog of war? We leverage examples from Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine to address this research question. The evidence includes both “high-tech” systems like nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons and “low-tech” systems like cheap commercially available drones and affordable open-source intelligence (OSINT) technology. In the case of the former, we find that Russian threats and propaganda created myths surrounding weapons with unclear military applications. Regarding the latter, media and pundit claims were sensational as these systems changed combat dynamics without delivering revolutionary effects. Both cases point to pronounced gaps between expectations about performance and battlefield realities. Emerging weapon technologies have therefore failed to provide clarity about the balance of forces and conditions on the ground––two pathways to reducing the fog of war. In land warfare, history has long shown that new technologies are rarely determinative of victory or defeat. Making claims to the contrary only contributes to the fog of war and necessitates new strategies to counter the hype surrounding exaggerated expectations about weapons.
Kampfroboter: Realität oder Science-Fiction?
Kunertova, Dominika (2021)
CSS Analysen zur Sicherheitspolitik
Die fortschreitende Robotisierung von Streitkräften wirft Zweifel auf, ob tödliche autonome Waffensysteme überhaupt erstrebenswert sind. Unbewaffneten Militärroboter haben zwar bereits unzählige neue Möglichkeiten eröffnet. Die Entwicklung vollautonomer, KI-gesteuerter Maschinen bleibt aber gegenwärtig noch Zukunftsmusik.
European Defense Policy: Zeitenwende, Ltd.
Kunertova, Dominika (2022)
CSS Analyses in Security Policy
The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February shocked Europe into unity, revitalized NATO, and led several European countries to re-evaluate their defense policies and strategic dependence on Russian energy. However, major changes in the European political and security architecture will take time to materialize, as the old fault lines persist.
Warfare and International Relations
Locher, Esther; Kunertova, Dominika; Kazdobina, Yuliya; et al. (2025)
Ukrainian Analytical Digest
This issue looks at warfare and international relations in Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. The first two contributions, by Esther Locher and Dominika Kunertova, examine new developments in urban warfare and drone warfare respectively. The next two contributions, by Yuliya Kazdobina and Thomas Pritchard, analyse Ukraine’s interim security framework based on bilateral agreements and the use of nuclear strategy and narratives by Russia. Finally, Parker Watt describes Russian efforts at disinformation in American society.
The war in Ukraine shows the game-changing effect of drones depends on the game
Kunertova, Dominika (2023)
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the first large-scale, high intensity war where both sides have extensively deployed military and commercial drones. What the conflict has so far highlighted is that the frequently mentioned "game-changing effect" of drones on warfare depends on the game. Based on their category, drones produce distinctive military effects either as an extension of air power or as ammunition. Military thinking is therefore changing, making armed drones more politically acceptable. There is also reduced focus on the large armed and surveillance drones known from counterterrorism operations, as better integrated small drone scouts now serve land forces in combat. Far from being a mere security nuisance, small drones have yet to be effectively countered with air defenses. Military and dual-use export controls require adaptation to keep pace with these evolving battlefield realities. The drone lessons of the war in Ukraine thus point to many future challenges lying in wait for the international community.
Transatlantic Burden Sharing
Kunertova, Dominika (2024)
Routledge Handbook of NATO
The concept of burden sharing refers to the distribution of costs and benefits among NATO Allies related to their defence cooperation. This chapter examines how burden-sharing debates at NATO have reflected over seven decades of providing transatlantic security. Parameters for burden sharing have historically come about from the Alliance’s evolving strategic situation. Yet, since NATO’s early years, disagreements over notions of fair burden sharing have resulted in the accusatory language of ‘free riding’ and involved politics just as much as economics. But Russia’s two invasions of Ukraine, and China’s challenge to global order, have refocused NATO’s debates from military budgeting toward the realities of deterrence and defence. Ultimately, NATO’s continued relevance will depend on European countries taking ownership of their own defence, both for ensuring continental security and improving transatlantic burden sharing. This will require considerably greater efforts in terms of cash, capabilities, and contributions, including enhanced technology sharing.
European Drone Clubs Stall Strategic Autonomy
Kunertova, Dominika (2021)
CSS Policy Perspectives
European armed forces continue to depend on the imports of advanced drones from the United States and Israel. To contribute to their strategic autonomy, Europeans need to first align their strategic requirements to deliver a joint European drone solution, argues Dominika Kunertova in this CSS Policy Perspective. As of 2021, only five European countries operate advanced drones, all of which are either American or Israeli unmanned systems. Europeans lack their own operational advanced drone capability due to divergent requirements and industrial rivalries. The author argues that the long-term solution would be to break the competing “drone clubs” that have turned efficient multinational cooperation into an oxymoron.

Publications 1 - 10 of 33

Dominika Kunertova

Last Name

First Name

ORCID

Organisational unit

Filters

Search Results