Speaker Bio

Dr Kristi Raik is the Director of ICDS from 1 January 2025. She is also an Adjunct Professor of International Relations at the University of Turku. She has previously served as the Deputy Director of ICDS, Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the ICDS, Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and official at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. Her main areas of expertise are European security, strategic competition in Eastern Europe, EU foreign and security policy, and foreign and security policies of the Baltic states and Finland. She has published in high-ranking academic journals (e.g. Geopolitics, European Security, Cooperation and Conflict) and media outlets (incl. Foreign Policy). She is a frequent commentator in the international media and has provided expert contributions to the Estonian, Finnish, EU and NATO institutions. Kristi has a PhD from the University of Turku.