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National Security and Resilience

The National Security and Resilience department studies the prevention of, response to, and recovery from man-made and natural disasters.

The Department's work is framed around the following questions:

Which National Security threats should be addressed?
What are the real threats facing us today?
What are our vulnerabilities and how can they be prioritised?
How should we address these vulnerabilities?
How do you identify the technologies and practices required to address these challenges?

The department's work focuses on the important issues concerning information and intelligence, process and legislation, tools and technologies and diplomacy.

Related research areas and publications

Emergency Management

Planning and responding to man-made and natural disasters

Risk and Resilience

Helping to prepare Britain's infrastructure against the effects of catastrophic events

Security and Counterterrorism

Understanding the range and depth of the terrorist threat

Analysing the emerging security risks of environmental change across the world

Latest Commentary

National Crises and the Utility of Naval Power: The Haiti Case Study Commentary: 16 Feb 2010
With the recent publication of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) Green Paper and an upcoming Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the debate over future UK defence reform has been fierce. The international response to the Haitian disaster has proven to be a case study in how important high-end naval assets can be to a wide range of UK national interests.

Haiti's emergency response: an early assessment Commentary: 28 Jan 2010
The emergency response to the Haitian earthquake has been notable for the sheer scale of military foreign aid coming from a diverse range of countries. Now the challenge is to co-ordinate that effort with an almost non-existent Haitian government, and a UN force who has suffered losses.

Latest Publications

Interoperability in Flooding Response Articles: 18 Dec 2009 by Paul Honeghan
The shared risk of events such as storm surges has prompted joint training exercises between British, Dutch and other international emergency services.

Emergency Management: Basic Educational Principles for an Evolving Global Profession Articles: 18 Dec 2009 by Robert McCreight with a Response by Eve Coles
Despite the growth in emergency management professionals, Robert McCrieght contends that consensus is lacking on the corpus of skills and expertise required for qualification in the field. Eve Coles of the Education Standards Group responds.

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