Prof. dr. Frans Osinga

About Frans Osinga

Commodore (ret.) Prof. Dr. Frans Osinga obtained his PhD in Leiden and was appointed Special Professor of War Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) on the The Hague Campus of Leiden University in 2019. Since 2023, he has held a full professorship at Leiden University. From 2010 to 2023, he served as Professor of Military Sciences at the Netherlands Defence Academy and headed the department of the same name.

He is also a member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) and the Strategic Advisory Board of TNO Defence. Until September 2023, he was a member of the Curatorium of the Telders Foundation. He has been a member of defence advisory committees for both the VVD and PvdA political parties.

Trained as an F-16 pilot at the Royal Military Academy (KMA), he held various positions within the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Following his role as Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute, he worked for several years at NATO in the United States as a policy advisor. In 2005, he earned his PhD in Political Science from Leiden University. He has published more than 90 works.

His teaching, research, and public speaking focus on contemporary security issues, defence policy, modern warfare, and military innovation. Recent publications address challenges related to military deterrence, the future of warfare, defence policy in small and medium-sized countries, the war in Ukraine, and the future of European security in light of geopolitical developments.

He is a frequent commentator on defence matters in media outlets such as BNR, WNL, Nieuwsuur, Radio1, and 1Vandaag, and appears as a guest on podcasts including The Big 5, Nieuwe Ankers, Defensiejournaal, and De Strateeg.