Dr Michael Raska

Michael Raska

Haldeneggsteig 4
8092 Zürich
Switzerland

Mail:

Dr Michael Raska is Senior Researcher and Section Head for Security and Defence in Europe at the Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. His research examines how states and armed forces adapt to contested strategic environments, accelerating military-technological competition, and emerging forms of warfare. Through a comparative lens, he explores how militaries navigate technological change and why some are more successful than others in translating innovation into operational advantage and long-term strategic outcomes.

His current research focuses on the implications of artificial intelligence for military decision-making, operational concepts, force development, and deterrence, alongside the broader impact of emerging technologies on defence planning and strategic stability.

Prior to joining ETH Zurich, he was Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (GC REAIM).

Dr Raska is the author of Military Innovation of Small States: Creating a Reverse Asymmetry (Routledge, 2016) and co-editor of The AI Wave in Defence Innovation (Routledge, 2023) and Defence Innovation and the 4th Industrial Revolution (Routledge, 2022). His research appears in leading academic and policy journals, including the Journal of Strategic Studies, Strategic Studies Quarterly, PRISM Journal of Complex Operations, SIRIUS Journal of Strategic Analyses, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, and others.

He regularly contributes to policy dialogues, strategic assessments, and professional military education programmes across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Selected Publications

Books /Edited volumes/ Book chapters

external page Raska, Michael. 2024. “The Contours of Singapore’s Defense Planning: Rethinking Deterrence, Defense Diplomacy, and Resilience.” In Defense Planning for Small and Middle Powers: Rethinking Force Development in an Age of Disruption, edited by Tim Sweijs, Saskia van Genugten, Frans Osinga. New York: Routledge.

external page Raska, Michael. 2024. “Reimagining Defense Innovation: Defense AI in Singapore.” In The Very Long Game: 25 Case Studies on the Global State of Defense AI, edited by Heiko Borchert, Torben Schütz, and Joseph Verbovszky. Cham: Springer.

external page Raska, Michael and Malcolm Davis. 2024. “The ‘AI Wave’ in Space Operations: Implications for Future Warfare.” In The Oxford Handbook of Space Security, edited by Saadia M. Pekkanen and P.J. Blount. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

external page Raska, Michael and Richard Bitzinger, eds. 2023. The AI Wave in Defense Innovation: Assessing Military Artificial Intelligence Strategies, Capabilities, and Trajectories. New York: Routledge.

external page Raska, Michael and Richard Bitzinger. 2022. “Chinese and Russian Military Modernization and the 4th Industrial Revolution.” In Russia-China Relations: Emerging Alliance or Eternal Rivals? edited by Sarah Kirchberger, Svenja Sinjen, Nils Wörmer, Springer Nature

external page Raska, Michael. 2022. “North Korea’s Evolving Cyber Strategies and Operations: Toward Weapons of Mass Effectiveness. ” In North Korea’s Foreign Policy: The Kim Jong-un Regime in a Hostile World, edited by Scott Snyder and Kyung-Ae Park. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 173-200.

external page Raska, Michael. 2016. Military Innovation in Small States: Creating a Reverse Asymmetry. New York: Routledge.

Academic journal articles

external page Raska, Michael, Katarzyna Zysk, and Ian Bowers. eds. 2021. Defence Innovation and the 4th Industrial Revolution: Security Challenges, Technologies, and National Responses. Journal of Strategic Studies - Special Issue, 44(4).

external page Raska, Michael. 2021. “The Sixth RMA Wave : Disruption in Military Affairs?” Journal of Strategic Studies, 44(4), 456-479.

external page Raska, Michael. 2020. “Strategic Competition for Emerging Military Technologies: Comparative Paths and Patterns.” PRISM – Journal of Complex Operations, 8(3), 65-81.

external page Raska, Michael and Richard Bitzinger. 2020. “Strategic Contours of China’s Arms Transfers.” Strategic Studies Quarterly, 14(1), 91-116.

external page Raska, Michael. 2020. “North Korea’s Cyber Strategies: Continuity and Change.” Sirius Journal of Strategic Analyses, 4(2), 144-158.

Policy publications

external page Raska, Michael. 2026. “Rethinking Asia-Europe’s Security and the Search for a “Third Way” for America’s Allies in Europe and Asia.” The Asan Security Quarterly, 1(1), 35-40.

external page Raska, Michael. 2025 “Will AI-Driven Super OODA-Loops Revolutionise Military Strategy and Operations?” RSIS Commentary.

external page Raska, Michael. 2025 “Mitigating the Risks of AI-Driven OODA Loops in Military Decision-Making.” GC REAIM Expert Policy Note Series. Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military Domain.

external page Raska, Michael. 2025. “How to Train a Drone Warrior, with Lessons from Ukraine.” RSIS Commentary, 177.

external page Raska, Michael. 2023 “The Myth of a Technology Shield: Israel's Strategic Surprise and Lessons for Singapore” RSIS Commentary.

external page Raska, Michael. 2023. “Rethinking the AI Wave in Digital Warfare.” East Asia Forum.

external page Raska, Michael and Richard Bitzinger. 2022 “The Contours of Emerging Technologies and Future Warfare.” IDSS Paper.

external page Raska, Michael. 2017. “China’s Strategy and the Defence Sector: Advances and Challenges.” In The Defence Industry in Russia and China, edited by Richard Bitzinger and Nicu Popescu. Paris: European Institute for Security Studies, 55-64.

external page Raska, Michael. 2016. “South Korea’s Military Innovation Trajectories.” In Breakthrough on the Peninsula: Third Offset Strategies and the Future of Defence of Korea, edited by Patrick Cronin. Washington D.C.: Center for New American Security, 23-39.