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Professor Michael Clarke

Position: Director

Michael Clarke is currently the Director of the Royal United Services Institute. Until July 2007 he was the Deputy Vice-Principal and Director of Research Development at King's College London, where he remains a Visiting Professor of Defence Studies. He was the founding Director of the International Policy Institute at King's College London from 2001-2005 and Head of the School of Social Science and Public Policy at KCL in 2004-05. He was, from 1990 to 2001, the founding Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King's. He was appointed as Professor of Defence Studies in 1995.

He has been a Guest Fellow at The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, and a Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. He has been senior Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee since 1997, having served previously with the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee 1995-7. In 2004 he was appointed the UK member of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. In 2007 he was appointed as one of the Security Commissioners at the Institute for Public Policy Research.  In 2009 he was appointed to the Prime Minister's National Security Forum in pursuit of the new National Security Strategy launched in 2008.

RUSI articles and analysis by this author

What Will Success Look Like in Operation Moshtarak? 16 Feb 2010
Operation Moshtarak is the most important campaign in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. Its success, however, will not be measured in military terms but in terms of public opinion, both in Helmand and the rest of Afghanistan and in the Coalition's domestic electorate.

Blair was 'optimistic not criminal' 29 Jan 2010
Tony Blair's evidence to the Iraq inquiry may focus on the legality of the war. But he is guilty of confused optimism rather than an urge to behave illegally.

Our most devastating weapon is agility 25 Jan 2010
Our services must get smarter to cope with today’s threats. Their ability to adapt and maintain their high professionalism and dedication in a range of roles and with a variety of technologies is key to playing to British strengths.

Afghans optimistic for the future 11 Jan 2010
The results of an annual poll of Afghan opinion show a surprising degree of optimism for their country's future direction. But we should not rest on our laurels. A great deal could go wrong before the favourable perceptions can be seen to have turned a genuine corner in Afghanistan.

Defence Cuts: Something is going to give 16 Dec 2009
Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, has announced deep cuts in military personnel and equipment to fund a £900 million boost for the Afghanistan campaign. However the figures may not stack up. Something is going to give and in a big way. Defence is living through a slow motion road accident while it waits for the political wheel to turn and give it some strategic direction.

Will Afghan security forces be ready for a handover by 2011? 3 Dec 2009
President Obama made clear his intention to hand over full security responsibility in some areas to Afghan National Security Forces. All easier said than done, the essence of the problem lies in daunting numbers and even more daunting issues of quality and loyalty.

Assessing troop numbers in Afghanistan 30 Nov 2009
What General McChrystal asked for was five more brigades - five more brigades that he can use in Kandahar, in Helmand, a couple in the north east and a training brigade. So if he gets those five brigades then he's got backing for his plan whatever the final number turns out to be

Avoiding the same mistakes: the international strategy for Afghanistan 29 Nov 2009
As President Obama announces his plans for Afghanistan, there is palpable consensus within the international community that the whole enterprise is now staring strategic defeat in the face. The next eighteen months represents the last good opportunity to put right the neglect and the mistakes of the last eight years and avert a worse crisis for us all.

Up to the task? India's response to shifting security patterns 28 Oct 2009
India faces important economic and strategic choices over the next decade, especially in terms of its diplomatic relations and defence industry. While there are limited signs that India has made positive steps to improve regional relations, urgent reform is needed at the national level to ensure its security.

Better equipment can help, but we need more troops in Afghanistan 13 Jul 2009
While greater numbers of helicopters and armoured vehicles are needed in Afghanistan, what British soldiers at the front want most are reinforcements to make operational success more certain and the political benefits more long-lasting.

The Defence Review: Formally Announced but Already Begun 10 Jul 2009
The announcement of the next Future Defence Review to be carried out by a new Parliament marks the official beginning of a long process of discussions about the state of the Armed Forces, but the review of strategy has been going on for a long time before.

A draw in Iraq, no victory near in Helmand 3 May 2009
Troops need to believe that they risk their lives for things that are genuinely important.

NATO at Sixty: Unhappy Returns 27 Mar 2009
This is a lousy time to be hitting sixty; and the candles on the birthday cake are as likely to be lit in response to a power cut as a celebration. Getting older is no more fun for an alliance than for its individual leaders. NATO saw in its fortieth birthday on the verge of triumphant success in the Cold War; its fiftieth as itwent into its first shooting war with a minor European country; and its sixtieth at the centre of a second shootingwar in a minor Asian country that may turn out to be its last. In the midst of global chaos caused by the collapse of traditional international structures and the major power shifts that the economic crisis is already causing, can NATO honestly look forward to a seventieth birthday in anything other than failing health?

More Effort Needed to Win Hearts and Minds - Afghanistan Opinion Poll 2009 9 Feb 2009
Working with the BBC, RUSI analyses the latest opinion poll charting Afghan attitudes. The results reveal a number of positive trends but also growing scepticism about the foreign intervention.

‘A Hard Pounding, Gentlemen’: The Coming Year in Afghanistan 11 Jan 2009
The UK needs more troops on the ground to relieve pressure in Helmand, but unless an increase is accompanied by significant victories elsewhere, the Coalition’s long-term prospects are not good. A new approach to strategic thinking in Afghanistan and the means to give some effect to it are sorely needed in the new year.

A Sigh of Relief from the Allies: But Questions for the Future Will Be a Lot Harder As a Result 5 Nov 2008
As leaders celebrate an Obama victory across European capitals, they should also be prepared to deal with a hard-faced man under pressure who will feel he has the right to expect much more from European partners.

Strategy and Fortune: British Security Policy in Transition 17 Oct 2007
This is an extended version of Professor Michael Clarke's inagural lecture to the Institute delivered on 25 September 2007.

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