2025
General Jonas Žemaitis Award
General Jonas Žemaitis Award was established in 2024 by the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania and the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania to recognise research and analysis that significantly contributes to a better understanding of strategic security-related issues in the Baltic region. The Baltic region possesses immense geopolitical importance, and its security has far-reaching implications for both regional security and Euro-Atlantic security. By encouraging high-quality publications on Baltic region security, we aim to enhance understanding of the complex security dynamics in the region, raise awareness of the security issues affecting the region, and offer recommendations on how to address security challenges effectively and maintain a credible deterrence and defence posture in the region.
Recipient of General Jonas Žemaitis Award 2025
We are delighted to announce this year’s recipient of the General Jonas Žemaitis Award for the most significant publication on the Baltic region in 2024: Dr Lukas Milevski.
Dr Lukas Milevski
Dr. Lukas Milevski receives the General Jonas Žemaitis Award for a publication “Manoeuvre Warfare in the Baltic: Political Imperatives and Tactical Conditions”.
Dr Lukas Milevski in his article claims that NATO is facing a doctrinally contradictory defence posture in the Baltic States as those countries are investing in a static defence line even while Western militaries adhere to manoeuvre-focused operational approaches. The article further argues that political imperatives and tactical conditions make static defence more appropriate than manoeuvre warfare. Politically, NATO’s policy of defending every inch and Baltic experience of Russian occupation require forward defence. Second, the Russian border will always stop offensive manoeuvre. Tactically, the increasing difficulty of crossing the battlefield intact improves the chances of tactical defence and throws doubt upon the necessity of defensive operational manoeuvre.
Dr Lukas Milevski is an assistant professor (tenured) at the Institute for History at Leiden University, where he teaches strategic studies. He has published two books with Oxford University Press: The Evolution of Modern Grand Strategic Thought (2016) and The West’s East: Contemporary Baltic Defence in Strategic Perspective (2018) and publishes widely in academic and professional journals on strategy as well as Baltic defence.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Lukas Milevski for this well-deserved recognition. His contribution significantly advances our understanding of the Baltic region security, and we hope this award will inspire further impactful research and analyses in this field.
Recipient of General Jonas Žemaitis Award 2024
Dr Matti Pesu
Dr Matti Pesu received the general Jonas Žemaitis Award in 2024 for a publication “NATO in the North: the emerging division of labour in Northern European security“.
Matti Pesu is a Senior Research Fellow in the Finnish foreign policy, Northern European security, and NATO research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has led multiple research projects analyzing Finland’s security policy and NATO policy. Since the beginning of 2023, Pesu has been leading FIIA’s Nordic network.
Pesu has worked at FIIA since 2017 as a Visiting Fellow, Research Fellow, and Senior Research Fellow. He has also worked at Tampere University, the European Commission, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. In 2012–2018, he was actively involved in the leading Finnish online magazine on international politics, The Ulkopolitist, most recently as a Managing Editor.
He has published extensively on Finnish foreign, security and defence policy, defence cooperation, Northern European security, nuclear deterrence, NATO, and the development of Euro-Atlantic Security. He is a frequent commentator on matters related to his field of expertise in both Finnish and international media (i.e. BBC, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The New York Times, Reuters, and Associated Press). Pesu’s analysis and research have been included in publications such as International Affairs, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, War on the Rocks, National Interest, and NATO Review.
Pesu completed his PhD in International Relations on the role of ideas in Finnish foreign policy at Tampere University in 2019.