Dr. Giedrius Česnakas
Senior researcher
Research areas
International relations
Additional info
giedrius.cesnakas@tspmi.vu.lt
I hold a PhD in Social Sciences (Political Science), awarded in 2014. In 2015, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences recognised my doctoral dissertation, “The Role of Energy Resources in Russia’s Foreign Policy towards Belarus and Ukraine (2000–2012)”, as one of the best works by young scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
In 2024–2025, I served as an Advisor to the Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, contributing to strategic-level analysis and decision-making in security and defence policy.
In academia, I worked as a Professor at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, where I headed undergraduate and graduate study programmes as well as a joint doctoral programme in political science. On 22 June 2023, I was awarded the pedagogical title of Associate Professor in Social Sciences. Previously, I also served as Vice-Dean and Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of Vytautas Magnus University.
I actively collaborate with Lithuanian and international scholars and am an author and editor of collective academic monographs, including European Total Defence: Past, Present and Future (2025), European Strategic Autonomy and Small States’ Security: In the Shadow of Power (Routledge, 2022), and Lithuania in the Global Context: National Security and Defence Policy Dilemmas (2020).
I participate in national and international research projects focused on national security, defence, and international relations, and I am the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. I regularly present my research findings at international academic conferences.
Beyond academia, I have contributed to the development of key national policy documents, including the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Lithuania (2017 and 2021).
Research projects and grants
In Search for Recognition: Lithuanian Foreign Policy 2015-2024, project participant, 1 September 2024 – 31 August 2027. Financing agreement No. S-MIP-24-109.
Research interests
Defense and security studies
Lithuanian foreign policy
Russian foreign policy
Geopolitics
The development of the international system
Publications
Česnakas, Giedrius. Shielding the nation: The emerging total defence in Lithuania // European Total Defence: Past, Present and Future / Edited By Gjermund Forfang Rongved : Routledge, 2025. eISBN 9781003497370. p. 175-196. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003497370-10..
Česnakas, Giedrius. European Strategic Autonomy: The Origins Story // European Strategic Autonomy and Small States' Security: In the Shadow of Power [1st Edition] / Edited by Giedrius Česnakas, Justinas Juozaitis. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. ISBN 9781032350073. eISBN 9781003324867.
Česnakas, Giedrius. The Complexity of Defense of the Small States in the Shadow of Russia’s Power: The Case Analysis of the Baltic States // Europe Alone : Small State Security without the United States / edited by David Schultz, Aurelija Pūraitė, Vidmantė Giedraitytė. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022. ISBN 9781538167281.
Česnakas, Giedrius. "The Collective Imagination and the Limitations for the Tianxia to Replace the Westphalian World Order = Kolektyvinė vaizduotė ir ribotos galimybės Tianxia pakeisti vestfalinę pasaulio tvarką" // Politologija. Vilnius : Vilnius University Press. ISSN 1392-1681. eISSN 2424-6034. 2022, Vol. 105, No. 1, p. 133-166. https://doi.org/10.15388/Polit.2022.105.4.
Česnakas, Giedrius. "You Shall Not Pass: The Strategic Narratives Defining Russia’s Soft Power in Lithuania" // Baltic journal of law & politics. Kaunas : Vytautas Magnus University. eISSN 2029-0454. 2021, vol. 14, iss. 2, p. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2021-0008.
Česnakas, Giedrius. "The Implications of the Technological Trends in Military on the Defence of Small States" // Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review. Vilnius : Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija. ISSN 1648-8024. eISSN 2335-870X. 2019, vol. 17, p. 273-293. https://doi.org/10.2478/lasr-2019-0012.
