Tipping Point: Britain, Brexit and Security in the 2020s

Britain is facing unprecedented security challenges in the 2020s. The decade to come will not be as favourable as the two past decades. For a country as 'globalised' as Britain, security challenges cover a wide spectrum - from terrorism, international crime and cyber-attack - through to the prospects of war in its own continent or even, again, for its own survival. Brexit has entered these equations and turned them into a political tipping point, from which there is no hiding and no turning back. Britain has many strengths as a power in the world but to address the challenges of the 2020s it must recognise them in a hard-nosed way and deploy them effectively. And soon.

In this wide-ranging discussion, Professor Michael Clarke and Helen Ramscar considered the immediate and long-term security challenges Britain faces, from security and foreign policy to the crisis of liberal democracy, as well as Britain's security capabilities.

Speaker Biographies

Professor Michael Clarke was Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute from 2007 to 2015 when he retired from that role. Until 2001 he was Deputy Vice-Principal and Director for Research Development at King’s College London, where he remains a Visiting Professor of Defence Studies. From 1990 to 2001 he was the founding Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King’s. He is now a Fellow of King’s College London and of the Universities of Aberystwyth and of Exeter, where he is also Associate Director of the Strategic Studies Institute. He has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee since 1997, and is also a specialist advisor to Parliament’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. He has previously served on the Prime Minister’s National Security Forum and the Chief of Defence Staff’s Strategic Advisory Panel.

Helen Ramscar is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute. She was previously Director of Development at RUSI (2017-2018). Prior to this, Helen was Executive Assistant to the Director General of RUSI from 2013-2016. Before joining the Institute, she worked at Winfield House for the US Ambassador and Mrs Susman (2009-2013); at Clarence House in the private office of HRH The Prince of Wales (2007-2009); and as a Researcher at the House of Commons (2006-2007). Helen has a BA in History from Durham University; an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS; and a Diploma in Voluntary Sector Management from Cass Business School.

Professor Michael Clarke and Helen Ramscar will be on hand to sign copies of their latest book, ‘Tipping Point: Britain, Brexit and Security in the 2020s’ (I.B. Tauris: November 2019), which will be on sale.

The discussion is followed by a drinks reception from 1915 to 2000.

This event is open to all RUSI members. To become a member, please click here.
To attend this event, please e-mail Annalinda Riley, at annalindar@rusi.org or call +44 020 7747 2600.

 

Continuing Professional Development

This event has been certified for CPD purposes by the CPD Certification Service.

To obtain a CPD Certificate of Attendance please register with RUSI at the end of the event attended, and a certificate will be dispatched within 28 days. If an attendee fails to register with RUSI then it will not be possible to issue a certificate.

For more information please contact Jack Haines, JackH@rusi.org