U.S. Naval War College Hosts Perspectives on Modern War Conference

The U.S. Naval War College Perspectives on Modern War course hosted the Conference on Leadership, Ethics and Law in Contemporary Competition and Conflict at the institution’s Newport, Rhode Island, campus on Dec. 4-5, 2025.

The event featured a keynote address by Dr. Mark Hagerott – retired U.S. Navy captain and chancellor of the North Dakota University System – whose resume includes command of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Kaufman (FFG 59); service as a planning and strategy director for the NATO mission in Afghanistan; and experience as a distinguished professor and deputy director of the Center for Cyber Security Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Hagerott’s writings include the final chapter in the textbook “America, Sea Power and the World,” addressing the future of naval warfare, and he was among the first military scholars to brief the United Nations Geneva Convention on the emergence of autonomous lethal robotics in 2014.

Also providing remarks at the event was Dr. Marc LiVecchi, a non-resident research scholar at the NWC and the McDonald Scholar of Ethics, War, and Public Life at Providence, a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy.

Additionally, the conference included panel discussions featuring Naval War College faculty experts on leadership, counterterrorism, emerging military technologies, law and disinformation, among other subjects.

Following the panel and keynote presentations each day, Naval War College students moved to their individual classrooms for seminar discussion. These discussions allowed NWC students and faculty to deeply engage with conference material with an eye towards improving joint warfighting and honing leadership skills.

Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage.