Leiden Study Association Custodia

• 2 feb. 2026 20:00:00

Guest Lecture on Resilience and NATO Civil-Military Cooperation

On 2 February, L.S.A. Custodia had the pleasure of welcoming János Fekete, Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Branch Chief at the NATO Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence, for an engaging guest lecture on resilience and its role in contemporary security governance.

During the lecture, Lt. Col. Fekete explored how resilience can be conceptualized across civil and military domains, emphasizing its growing importance for NATO and its member states in responding to complex, hybrid, and multi-layered security challenges. Drawing on both strategic frameworks and practical experience, he illustrated how civil-military cooperation contributes to societal preparedness, continuity of governance, and effective crisis response.

A central focus of the session was the work of the NATO CCOE itself. Lt. Col. Fekete provided insight into the Centre’s mission, daily activities, and its role in supporting NATO doctrine development, training, and lessons learned. This offered students a concrete perspective on how theoretical concepts discussed in their studies translate into operational and policy-oriented practice within an international security organization.

The lecture concluded with an extensive Q&A session, during which members engaged directly with questions on NATO’s approach to resilience, career paths within NATO structures, and the realities of working at the intersection of civilian and military actors. The open and interactive discussion underscored the strong interest among our members in applied security policy and institutional practice.

L.S.A. Custodia would like to sincerely thank Lt. Col. János Fekete for taking the time to share his expertise and experiences with our community. We greatly value such opportunities to connect academic inquiry with real-world security practice and look forward to welcoming similar speakers in the future.