Bettina Renz is a German political scientist and Professor of

International Security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

at the School of Politics and International Relations,

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. Her major research expertise is

post-Soviet Russia The modern history of Russia began with the Russian SFSR, a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, gaining more political and economical autonomy amidst the imminent dissolution of the USSR during 1988–1991, proclaiming its sovereignty ...

n security and defence policy,

military reform A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and civil-military relations. Since 2005, Renz has published numerous articles in academic journals describing the background and effects of changes in contemporary Russia's military. She is an editorial board member of the United States Army War College Press.

Education

After receiving her MA and MSc in

Russian Studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics of Russia, politics, history of Russia, history, Culture of Russia, culture, economy of Russia, economics, and languages of Russia, languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often gr ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, Renz went to Centre for Russian and East European Studies,

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1999 for PhD, which dealt with Russian civil-military relations. She completed her PhD in 2005. In 2006, she was an

ESRC The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundin ...

Postdoctoral Fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

at the University of Birmingham's European Research Institute.

Academic career

Renz lectured in

Defence Studies Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(

Royal Air Force College The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to air ...

) before being appointed to her current post in 2007. She is a graduate of the King's Institute for Learning and Teaching and is a fellow of the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

. Her teaching interests are in the broad areas of

international security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

and

strategic studies Strategic studies is an interdisciplinary academic field centered on the study of peace and conflict strategies, often devoting special attention to the relationship between military history, international politics, geostrategy, international ...

. In 2008, she was the personal tutor of

Rizwaan Sabir The Nottingham Two were a student (Rizwaan Sabir) and a staff member (Hicham Yezza) of the University of Nottingham arrested in May 2008 for suspected involvement with Islamic terrorism. The operation was codenamed Operation Minerva. University sta ...

, a 22-year-old MA student who downloaded

al-Qaida , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

-related material for dissertation’s research, and said to the BBC that the police action was a threat to

academic freedom Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism. Academic ...

. Renz has previously worked with, guest lectured, or disseminated research findings at the

Defence Academy of the United Kingdom The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom provides higher education for personnel in the British Armed Forces, Civil Service (United Kingdom), Civil Service, other government departments and service personnel from other nations. Structure The ...

, the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

, the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, the

Swedish Defence Research Agency The Swedish Defence Research Agency (, FOI; literal translation: ''Total Defence Research Institute'') is a government agency in Sweden for total defence research and development. FOI has its headquarters in Kista (Stockholm). Other FOI offic ...

, the

Norwegian Defence Research Establishment The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (''Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt'' – ''FFI'') is a research institute that conducts research and development on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces and provides expert advice to political and m ...

, the Finnish National Defence Academy, and the

NATO Defence College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, t ...

in Rome. During the academic year 2016/17, Renz worked as a Senior Researcher at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

’s

Aleksanteri Institute The Aleksanteri Institute () is the Finnish Centre for Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies in the Faculty of Arts of the University of Helsinki. It functions as a national centre of research, study and expertise pertaining to Russia, Eas ...

on a project financed by the

Finnish government The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...

. In spring 2020, she was a distinguished visiting professor at the

Canadian Forces College The Canadian Forces College (CFC) is a military staff college for senior and general officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. It provides graduate-level military education courses designed to develop leadership abilities within the Canadian Forces ...

. From October 2019 to September 2022, her research with Sarah Whitmore at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

entitled 'What kind of military does Ukraine want and need? Assessing the importance of strategic and political context for military reforms' was funded by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Publications

Books

* ''Russia's Military Revival'' (2018)
Russia and Hybrid Warfare-going beyond the Label
(2016), with Hanna Smith * ''Securitising Russia: The Domestic Politics of Vladimir Putin'' (2006), with Edwin Bacon and Julian CooperReview of ''Securitising Russia'': *

Selected articles

*Renz, B. (2016) Russia and ‘Hybrid Warfare’, '' Contemporary Politics'', 22:3, 283–300. *Sinovets, P. A., & Renz, B. (2015)
Russia's 2014 Military Doctrine and beyond: Threat Perceptions, Capabilities and Ambitions
''NATO Defense College''. *Renz, B. (2006) Putin's Militocracy? An Alternative Interpretation of ''Siloviki'' in Contemporary Russian Politics, ''

Europe-Asia Studies ''Europe-Asia Studies'' is an academic peer-reviewed journal published 10 times a year by Routledge on behalf of the Institute of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, and continuing (since vol. 45, 1993) the journal ''Soviet S ...

'', 58:6, 903-924

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renz, Bettina German political scientists Academics of the University of Nottingham German expatriates in England Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Birmingham Academics of King's College London Academics of Oxford Brookes University Year of birth missing (living people)