13:30
King's College London
November 10
King's Building Room: River Room KIN227 Strand Campus, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
This event will be jointly organised by King’s College London and the Malta High Commission to the United Kingdom. It will feature a panel of distinguished speakers followed by an open Q&A, with a networking reception to conclude the evening.
In the midst of renewed great power rivalry and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the concept of neutrality has returned to the forefront of international debate. Too often dismissed as passive or outdated, neutrality today can be understood as “active”: a strategic posture that enables states to exercise agency, mediate conflict, safeguard humanitarian corridors, and preserve international legal norms.
This public panel discussion will explore the contemporary significance of neutrality, drawing on the experiences of countries such as Malta, Austria, and Ireland. These states occupy pivotal geographic and political positions within Europe and beyond, and their choices clearly illuminated how neutrality is not retreat, but rather an alternative form of engagement that has enabled small states to carve out influence disproportionate to their size, while maintaining independence in turbulent times.
Bringing together leading experts from academia, government, and practice, the panel will assess the evolving role of neutrality in the 21st century: How do neutral states balance principles with pragmatism? What unique contributions can they make to global peace and humanitarian efforts? And why do neutral states matter now more than ever?
Ambassador Martin Fraser is the Irish Ambassador to Great Britain. Martin joined the Civil Service aged 16 and worked in the Department of Social Welfare for 10 years. He later worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, before joining the Department of the Taoiseach in 1999. Ambassador Fraser served as Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach for over 10 years. In that role, he was closely involved in the response to the global economic crisis, Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as social reforms such as the referendums on marriage equality and the repeal of the 8th amendment.
Ambassador Bernhard Wrabetz is the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland. After receiving Master Degrees in History and French from the University of Vienna, and graduating from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Ambassador Wrabetz started his diplomatic career as Junior Professional Officer for the UNDP in Mauretania. In the course of his career he has inter alia been First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations, New York, Political Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy in London and Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Ambassador Wrabetz has also been the Foreign Policy Advisor for two federal Chancellors of Austria.
Ambassador Natasha Meli, career diplomat with 25 years of experience in bilateral and multilateral affairs is Malta’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, since 8 September 2025. Ambassador Meli takes up this position after having served as Malta’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Austria, and as the Permanent Representative of Malta to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to the United Nations and to the other International Organisations based in Vienna. In 2024, during Malta’s OSCE Chairpersonship, she served as Chair of the Permanent Council of the OSCE, and led negotiations that resulted in decisions on the Top 4 positions of the Organization and its Chairpersonship for 2027. Prior to taking up her responsibilities in Vienna, between 2016 and 2014 Ambassador Meli served as Malta’s Ambassador to Poland and non-resident Ambassador to Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Armenia.