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Alexander Graef

Senior Policy Fellow

Email: alexg@europeanleadershipnetwork.org

Twitter: @alxgraef

YGLN Membership

Dr. Alexander Graef is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network.

Previously, he was a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), where he is part of the Arms Control and Emerging Technologies project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

His research lies at the intersection of security studies, arms control, and deterrence, as well as political sociology, with a particular focus on Russian foreign and military policies and European defence issues. He studied cultural studies and international relations and holds a PhD from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). Prior to joining IFSH, he was a Doc.Mobility Fellow of the Swiss National Science Foundation at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

He is also a former fellow of the Arms Control Negotiation Academy (ACONA), hosted by the Negotiation Task Force at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and participates in the Euro-Atlantic Security Leadership Group (EASLG).

Image credit: IFSH

Content by Alexander Graef

Commentary

Not so quiet on the Western Front: Why Russia’s Zapad exercise highlights the need for military confidence-building measures

Russia’s strategic exercise Zapad, which begins later this week, is not only about combat preparation; it is also an instrument of strategic communication. The real challenge is reading it correctly. ELN Senior Policy Fellow Alexander Graef writes that this is where confidence-and security-building measures (CSBMs) may help. They can reinforce deterrence by demonstrating capabilities to observers and clarify the difference between sabre-rattling and genuine threats, but only if all sides share an interest in stability.

9 September 2025 | Alexander Graef
Russia-West relations
Policy brief

From crisis to strategy: The OSCE and arms control in a divided Europe

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the OSCE has faced a deep crisis. Russia and Belarus have violated key norms of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, undermining the OSCE’s role in crisis management. Alexander Graef argues that breaking the impasse requires decisive political leadership and multi-level diplomacy. He also argues that growing military activities in Europe highlight the need for military-to-military contacts for managing escalation risks, in which the OSCE can facilitate necessary dialogues and support future monitoring activities as it has in the past.

14 March 2025 | Alexander Graef
OSCERussia-West relations
See all content by Alexander Graef