Senior Non-Resident Scholar

Senior Non-Resident Scholar ⋅ Berlin
[email protected]
Dr. Hanna Notte is a senior non-resident scholar with CNS, focusing on arms control and security issues involving Russia, the Middle East, their intersection, and implications for US/European strategy and policy.
Background
Dr. Notte was a senior political officer with The Shaikh Group (TSG), a non-profit political consultancy focused on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. An expert on Russian foreign policy in the MENA region, including in the field of arms control and nonproliferation, Dr. Notte spent a year between 2015–16 in Moscow on an “Alfa Fellowship” with the Institute of Oriental Studies and the Carnegie Moscow Center. Other visiting research positions have included the IISS Middle East office in Manama and the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation’s Syria/Iraq office in Beirut. She is a German national who speaks Russian, Arabic, and French.
Areas of Research
- Iran
- Middle East
- Russia
- WMD Proliferation in the Middle East
- Middle East WMD-Free Zone
- Syria’s chemical weapons program
- OPCW
Education
Hanna holds a PhD on Russian-US cooperation in the Middle East from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College), from where she also received an MPhil in International Relations in 2014. She obtained a BA in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 2010.
Published Work
- “US–Russian Arms Control in the Middle East: Defining the Diplomatic Playing Field,” Valdai Discussion Club, August 24, 2020
- “The United States, Russia, and Syria’s chemical weapons: a tale of cooperation and its unraveling,” Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 27, Nos. 1–2, 2020
- “Russia in Chechnya and Syria: Pursuit of Strategic Goals”, Middle East Policy Council, Volume XXIII, No. 1 (Spring 2016)
- “Moscow’s Flexible Alliances in the Middle East”, Policy Paper, Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies / Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Syria/Iraq Office) (May 2018)
- “Russia’s Role in the Syrian War – Domestic Drivers and Regional Implications”, Policy Paper, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Syria/Iraq Office) / Maison du Futur (February 2017)
- “Sticking with Your Ally – Explaining Russia’s Support for the Assad Regime”, I. Galariotis and K. Ifantis (eds.), “The Role of the International Factor Toward the Settlement of the Syria Civil War”, European University Institute, Global Governance Series (February 2017)
CNS Work
- The Impact of Russia’s Ukraine Invasion in the Middle East and North AfricaCNS expert Hanna Notte testifies on how the war might affect Moscow’s future interests, role and diplomacy in the region.
- The Impact of the Ukraine War on Missile Diplomacy in the Middle EastRussian equivocation, U.S. distraction, and Gulf Arab states’ reliance on deterrence and defense will likely undermine prospects for addressing regional missile proliferation through diplomacy.
- Machiavelli in the Ivory TowerA CNS videocast series with Sarah Bidgood and Hanna Notte, discussing arms control, nonproliferation, and international security issues.
- Why deterring Russian use of chemical weapons is a challengeThere are limits to what the United States and NATO can threaten.
- Russia’s novel strategic weapons: staying ahead of the Americans?Examining public data, declassified intelligence, and commercial satellite imagery, the authors identify drivers behind Russia’s pursuit of weapons systems.
- Putin’s War with Ukraine: Voices of CNS Experts on the Russian InvasionA compendium of CNS expert analysis and commentary on the nuclear ramifications of the war, as well as educational materials for expert and general audience.
- End of an Era: The United States, Russia, and Nuclear NonproliferationUS-Russian cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation: Will shared interests prevail or fall victim to rivalry and mistrust?
- The UC Interview Series: Prof. Robert LegvoldTopics: West-Russia relations, nuclear deterrence, limited nuclear options, and prospects for arms control cooperation.
- Celebrating Women in NonproliferationWomen colleagues lead initiatives, publish innovative nonproliferation research, serve as mentors, and speak at conferences (or webinars, in the era of COVID-19).
- Russia in the Middle East: Finding a StrategyVIDEO: CNS expert Hanna Notte speaks at virtual event held in Moscow.