Sophie Arts leads GMF’s research and programming on Arctic security and geopolitics, and on North American and Nordic defense against conventional and hybrid threats. As a Washington, DC-based fellow within the Transatlantic Security program, she also works on North American continental and US homeland defense, allied cooperation in NATO and other formats, and Russian and Chinese strategic objectives and activities in the Arctic and adjacent theaters.  

Arts joined GMF’s security and defense policy team in 2017. Previously, she worked at the Atlantic Council, GMF Brussels, Spiegel Online International, and Kantar Media. Her prior research covered NATO’s partnerships and flexible formats, the impact of emerging technologies on allied defense and deterrence, the dynamics of escalation within the cyber domain, and strategic stability in a multipolar world.  

Her writings and commentaries are featured regularly in defense publications and international media. She is a member of The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats’ pool of experts. In 2025, she served as co-chair of the task force for global peace and security for the Think7, the official G7 group that brings together the world’s leading think tanks and research centers.  

Arts holds a master’s degree from Humboldt University in Berlin and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Freiburg.  

Media Mentions

NPR Logo
Where is the threat from Russia and China in the Arctic?
Associated press logo
Icebreakers, the key tech to unlock Greenland, are only made by either US allies or adversaries
USA Today logo
Trump backs away from blowing up NATO over Greenland — for now
France24 logo
Greenland’s security and defence cooperation with NATO allies 'achievable within existing framework'
Defense One logo
European allies dispatch military reinforcements to Greenland
Deutsche Welle logo
US Vice President JD Vance accuses Denmark of under-investing in Greenland’s security
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China’s Coast Guard claims to have entered the Arctic Ocean for the first time as it ramps up security ties with Russia
Euro News Logo
What does Finland and Sweden’s membership to NATO mean for race to arm the Arctic?
France24 logo
Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine has made 'NATO much stronger, definitely a watershed moment'