Karlijn Jans
Karlijn Jans is defence policy advisor (POLAD) at the British Embassy in The Hague. She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from King’s College London and a Master’s degree in European and International Law from Maastricht University. Her dissertation work focused on Dutch and German defence policies. Ms. Jans further specialized in defence matters while studying at the Netherlands Defence Academy. Besides her work, she is a reserve officer (in training) with the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Her areas of expertise include NATO, Dutch and European security and defence policies, strategic foresight and the impact of new technologies on defence policy and military affairs.
Prior to her position at the British Embassy Ms. Jans was strategic analyst at the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). Her research and analysis focused on defence policies (innovation, defence planning and reform), European defence cooperation, military technologies and the monitoring of broader global geopolitical developments as part of the Strategic Monitor program. In 2017-2018 she was a member of the youth-think tank The West Wing of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, advising the department on European defence cooperation. The Ministry awarded the policy advice with a first place. From 2013 to 2016 she worked as a policy advisor at the TNO’s EU office in Brussels. Ms. Jans presided over the Jonge Atlantici, the Dutch chapter of the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association from 2015-2017.
Over the past few years, Ms. Jans spoke frequently at NATO and international think tank conferences and published widely on transatlantic security issues and European defence policies (A2AD, military mobility, defence integration, EU defence amongst others) in the media, including with Atlantic Council, King’s College Policy Institute, Atlantisch Perspectief, The Diplomat, Euractiv, The Huffington Post, and Charged Affairs.
