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RUSI covers a broad range of areas affecting defence and international security around the world. See here RUSI commentary, reports, events and videos organised by theme and region. Scroll below for the latest content.
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China Pulls Back
Article, 10 July 2020Sarosh Bana
An uneasy truce has developed between India and China. Beijing stunned New Delhi by commencing withdrawal on 6 July from areas it had seized two months earlier.
China, RUSI Newsbrief, India
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Adoption of the Government-Wide System for Project Approvals
Commentary, 10 July 2020Trevor Taylor
In the first in a series of articles, we explore the UK’s current attempt to operate a government-wide direction in its approval of major procurement projects.
Defence Spending, Defence, Industries and Society, Equipment and Acquisitions, Defence Management, UK, UK Defence, Europe
India Must Secure the Indian Ocean to Deter China’s Assertion Along the Border
Commentary, 9 July 2020Don McLain Gill
While the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh appears limited to the border between the two states, the confrontation extends to the sea as well...
China, India
Western Way of War: Air Marshal Philip Osborn
Multimedia, 9 July 2020Military relationships (industrial and international), partnerships, martial habits, and why interoperability with the US alone won't solve the problem with the lack of a Western War of Warfare....
Military Sciences
Ethnic Hungarian Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe: Normalisation in Sight?
Commentary, 8 July 2020Károly Gergely
Ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring states are still struggling with exercising their group rights, a century after Hungary was shorn of much of its territory.
Europe
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Adoption of the Government-Wide System for Project Approvals
Commentary, 10 July 2020Trevor Taylor
In the first in a series of articles, we explore the UK’s current attempt to operate a government-wide direction in its approval of major procurement projects.
Defence Spending, Defence, Industries and Society, Equipment and Acquisitions, Defence Management, UK, UK Defence, Europe
India Must Secure the Indian Ocean to Deter China’s Assertion Along the Border
Commentary, 9 July 2020Don McLain Gill
While the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh appears limited to the border between the two states, the confrontation extends to the sea as well...
China, India
Ethnic Hungarian Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe: Normalisation in Sight?
Commentary, 8 July 2020Károly Gergely
Ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring states are still struggling with exercising their group rights, a century after Hungary was shorn of much of its territory.
Europe
Belarus and Russian Oil: All Is Not as It Seems
Commentary, 7 July 2020Mateusz Kubiak
Belarus has developed its own oil supply diversification strategy. However, the country might ultimately use this to secure better terms of cooperation with Russian companies, rather than to reduce...
Russia
Russia’s Revised Constitution Shows Putin is No Friend of Japan
Commentary, 6 July 2020James D J Brown
The constitutional referendum in Russia has closed the door to a potential territorial compromise with Japan.
Japan, Russia
The UK’s Integrated Review Has Restarted: Are Key Questions and Assumptions Still Valid?
Commentary, 3 July 2020Peter Roberts
The UK’s review of security, defence, development and foreign policy, halted by the health emergency, is now restarting. But not from where it stopped, for both outputs and inputs need to be...
Military Sciences, Defence Policy, UK, National Security
Open Skies Clouded by Sham and Ambiguity
Commentary, 2 July 2020Andrei Kelin
United States, Russia, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
The United Nations Charter: 75 Years On
Commentary, 1 July 2020Peter Marshall
The UN Charter is no run-of-the-mill affair. It is a universal covenant, born of untold suffering and sorrow. As the only veteran of the Second World War still in active diplomatic circulation, Sir...
United Nations, UK, Global Security Issues, International Institutions, Europe
Speaking Truth to Power: The Problem with Prime Minister Johnson’s New National Security Adviser
Commentary, 30 June 2020Peter Ricketts
As a new national security adviser is appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK’s first NSA reflects on the duties and burdens of the job.
UK, National Security
Leading from Behind: The Focus on the Financial Investigation of Wildlife Crime Must be Sustained
Commentary, 29 June 2020Tom Keatinge and Alexandria Reid
The Financial Action Task Force has placed the financial investigation of the illegal wildlife trade firmly on its agenda. Now what?
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Organised Crime and Policing, AML/CTFPages
Western Way of War: Air Marshal Philip Osborn
Multimedia, 9 July 2020Military relationships (industrial and international), partnerships, martial habits, and why interoperability with the US alone won't solve the problem with the lack of a Western War of Warfare....
Tags: Military Sciences
On the Cusp: Damian Collins
Multimedia, 7 July 2020Elisabeth Braw speaks with British member of parliament and disinformation expert Damian Collins about why disinformation and misinformation keep spreading and whether parliaments should legislate to...
Tags: Modern Deterrence
Season Two: Framing Risk
Multimedia, 6 July 2020In this episode, host Isabella Chase speaks with art compliance consultant Rakhi Talwar, who unveils the realities and myths of financial crime in the art world, and asks whether recent regulations...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Will interviews Bettina Cadenbach
Multimedia, 3 July 2020Will, 17 years old, UK national, student at King’s School Canterbury, interviewing NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Bettina Cadenbach.
Tags: Military Sciences, Modern Deterrence
Western Way of War: Professor Frank Hoffman
Multimedia, 2 July 2020A wide ranging discussion in which Peter Roberts talks to Frank Hoffman about decisive battles, concepts of victory, strategic culture, divergence, societal risks, militaries as ubiquitous political...
Tags: Military Sciences
Sebastian interviews Major General Michele Risi
Multimedia, 30 June 2020Tags: NATO, Military Sciences, Modern Deterrence, International Institutions
Season Two: The Other Side of Sanctions
Multimedia, 29 June 2020In this week's episode of High Risk Thinking, host Emil Dall is joined by the team behind EuropeanSanctions.com, Maya Lester, QC of Brick Court Chambers and Michael O’Kane of Peters...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Alp interviews Nicola de Santis
Multimedia, 26 June 2020What's NATO all about three decades after the end of the Cold War? Alp, 18 years old, a Turkish citizen and a student at King's School, Canterbury, talks to NATO's Head of Engagements, Nicola de...
Tags: Modern Deterrence
On the Cusp: Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum
Multimedia, 25 June 2020Elisabeth Braw speaks with Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, the Swedish Navy's new commander, about the challenges of defending a country with an enormous coastline, about greyzone aggression, citizens...
Tags: Modern Deterrence
Western Way of War: Admiral Sir Philip Jones
Multimedia, 25 June 2020Peter Roberts and Admiral Sir Philip Jones talk about why it is people that represent the competitive edge in the Western Way of Warfare - and have done for centuries, and how technology is...
Tags: Military SciencesPages
China Pulls Back
RUSI Newsbrief, 10 July 2020Sarosh Bana
An uneasy truce has developed between India and China. Beijing stunned New Delhi by commencing withdrawal on 6 July from areas it had seized two months earlier.
Tags: China, India
Where’s the Anti-Tank Reserve?
RUSI Defence Systems, 7 July 2020Jack Watling
The British Army needs a mobile anti-tank reserve capability in order to credibly stop opposing heavy armour during a peer conflict. Without it, outnumbered UK armour will be held at bay while infantry are overwhelmed
Tags: Land Forces
Dissatisfaction Among the Russian Security Services
RUSI Newsbrief, 3 July 2020Emily Ferris
Discontent within Russia’s security services continues to simmer, just as Vladimir Putin is likely to need their loyalty most.
Tags: Russia
Recapitalisation of the US Coast Guard: New Ships for the White, Red and Black Hull Fleets
RUSI Defence Systems, 30 June 2020Edward Lundquist
The US Coast Guard is in the midst of a major fleet reset, with new and more capable platforms to replace an aging fleet of patrol ships, inland tenders and icebreakers.
Tags: United States, Domestic Security, Maritime Forces
Turkey’s Military Intervention in Libya: A Surprise Triumph for Erdogan
RUSI Newsbrief, 26 June 2020Samuel Ramani
Turkey’s intervention in Libya transformed the strategic balance of a years-long conflict and bolstered its geopolitical standing in the eastern Mediterranean.
Tags: Egypt, Turkey, Libya
Insurance Gaps: A Growing Vulnerability for National Security
RUSI Newsbrief, 19 June 2020Hélène Galy and James Vickers
Insurance protection gaps are fast becoming a high-priority issue for national and international security, not just one that captures headlines in the aftermath of natural catastrophes.
Tags: Coronavirus, Domestic Security, Resilience
Assessing the UK–China Commercial Relationship
RUSI Newsbrief, 12 June 2020Andrew Cainey and Veerle Nouwens
As the UK formulates its post-Brexit relationship with China, one key policy interest is the possibility of stronger commercial ties. However, the benefits of doing business with China are less straight-forward in light of the complex commercial and political landscape of the world’s second-largest economy.
Tags: China, UK
Pakistan and the Rogue State Narrative
RUSI Newsbrief, 5 June 2020Don McLain Gill and Jovito Jose P Katigbak
Despite behaviour that often violates international norms, Pakistan has managed to maintain positive relationships with major Western powers.
Tags: Pakistan, United States, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Terrorism
Spare Me Your Cyber-Age Technobabble
RUSI Defence Systems, 5 June 2020Jack Watling
If Defence is to appropriately weight cyber operations then there are some dangerous myths about the practicalities of cyber warfare that need to be confronted.
Tags: Cyber, UK, Technology, UK Defence, Europe
Book Review: The Taliban at War, 2001-2018
RUSI Journal, 3 June 2020Andrew Rathmell
Andrew Rathmell reviews The Taliban at War, 2001-2018, by Antonio Giustozzi.
Tags:Pages
Modern Deterrence Autumn 2020 Conference
Conference, 21 October 2020Emerging Power: Involving Youth in National Security
Modern Deterrence
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: Countering CBRN At Home and Abroad
Conference, 23 September 2020This Virtual Conference will see speakers from academia, the military, security organisations, and allies discuss the interaction and cross-dependencies between military and civillian agencies in...
Extreme Threats to the UK
Events, 17 September 2020The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 stated that “it would be irresponsible to assume that the UK will not in the foreseeable future be confronted with the...
Whitehall Briefing - The Future of UK–EU Intelligence Sharing in a Post-Brexit World
Events, 9 September 2020An exclusive Whitehall briefing with Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE, Vice Chairman of RUSI and former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6).
VJ Day 75 Years On: Reflections on the UK-Japan Relationship
Events, 13 August 2020A webinar reflecting on the 75th anniversary of VJ (Victory over Japan) Day and the UK-Japan relationship.
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Adoption of the Government-Wide System for Project Approvals
Western Way of War: Air Marshal Philip Osborn
India Must Secure the Indian Ocean to Deter China’s Assertion Along the Border