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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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Seven Reasons Why the US Needs to Re-Engage with Turkey
Article, 5 March 2021Taras Kuzio
The election of President Joe Biden presents a strategic opportunity for the US to resume playing a more active role in the South Caucasus, Eurasia and the greater Middle East – if Washington and...
Turkey, United States, RUSI Newsbrief
Financing Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
Multimedia, 5 March 2021Following the recent wave of attacks by far-right extremists around the world, the task of throttling the financing of right-wing terrorism and extremism has seldom been more pressing. The CFCS’s...
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Diversity in the UK's Intelligence Agencies
Commentary, 5 March 2021Daniel Lomas
The UK’s intelligence agencies have been criticised for not reflecting the ‘makeup of modern Britain’. But significant improvements have been made.
UK, Intelligence
New UK Government Initiative to Support High-Risk, High-Reward Military Science Needs Refinement
Commentary, 4 March 2021Trevor Taylor and Rebecca Lucas
The initiative is clearly inspired by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, but the devil will be in the detail.
Defence, Industries and Society, Defence Spending, UK, Technology
Diversity in the UK's Intelligence Agencies
Commentary, 5 March 2021Daniel Lomas
The UK’s intelligence agencies have been criticised for not reflecting the ‘makeup of modern Britain’. But significant improvements have been made.
UK, Intelligence
New UK Government Initiative to Support High-Risk, High-Reward Military Science Needs Refinement
Commentary, 4 March 2021Trevor Taylor and Rebecca Lucas
The initiative is clearly inspired by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, but the devil will be in the detail.
Defence, Industries and Society, Defence Spending, UK, Technology
Dependent Deterrent? US Support for the UK’s New Nuclear Warhead
Commentary, 3 March 2021Matthew Harries
New revelations about the links between the UK and US nuclear programmes raise as many questions as they provide answers.
Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, United States, Equipment and Acquisitions, UK, UK Defence
The Budding Alliance Between Lockdown Critics and the Far-Right in Germany
Commentary, 2 March 2021Juliana Suess
Far-right movements are joining hands with coronavirus-deniers and lockdown critics. This is an ominous trend, but it is unlikely to have any serious impact on the upcoming elections.
Coronavirus, Germany, National Security
FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?
Commentary, 1 March 2021Justin Bronk
A new European combat aircraft is still likely to emerge from a programme plagued by mismatched national positions, priorities and industrial responsibilities.
Aerospace, Military Sciences, Germany, France, Europe
Iran in the South Caucasus: Adjustment and Evolution
Commentary, 26 February 2021Emil Avdaliani
Iran’s position in the South Caucasus, a region it sees as a part of its historical interests, is coming under tremendous pressure. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War underlined the need for Tehran to...
Unpacking the MENA, Iran
The Politics of UK Accession to Pacific Free Trade Club
Commentary, 25 February 2021Elly Darkin
While political and strategic considerations may push the UK to prioritise speed over substance when it comes to accession negotiations, this strategy may well pay off if joining the Comprehensive...
Navigating the Indo-Pacific, UK, Pacific
Failure to Lift Off: The UK’s Space Launch Ambitions
Commentary, 24 February 2021Alexandra Stickings
Creating an indigenous space launch capability is considered by many to be a key aspect of the UK’s space ambitions. Yet there are questions as to whether current plans recognise the challenges ahead.
Aerospace, Military Sciences, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK
On the Quest to Revive the Iran Nuclear Deal
Commentary, 23 February 2021Adnan Tabatabai
As US officials engineer the reinstatement of the 2015 nuclear deal, they should pay particular attention to Iran’s expectations of this process.
Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iranian Nuclear Pathways, Unpacking the MENA, Iran, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Prime Minister Outlines Vision for International Cooperation
Commentary, 22 February 2021Peter Ricketts
In a well-crafted speech to the Munich Security Conference, Boris Johnson went beyond ritual repetitions of ‘Global Britain’ slogans.
UK Integrated Review 2021, Brexit, UKPages
Financing Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
Multimedia, 5 March 2021Following the recent wave of attacks by far-right extremists around the world, the task of throttling the financing of right-wing terrorism and extremism has seldom been more pressing. The CFCS’s...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Fighting for the soul of Western militaries
Multimedia, 4 March 2021Manoeuvre warfare, the manoeuvrist approach, and manoeuverism as military concepts have been revered by Western militaries for half a century, while their lesser-known brethren concepts such as...
Tags: Military Sciences
New Zealand's Indo-Pacific Recalibration
Multimedia, 3 March 2021This week, Veerle is joined by Professor David Capie, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Professor of International Relations at Victoria University in Wellington.
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Getting the Partnership Right
Multimedia, 1 March 2021The public-private partnership (PPP) concept is now an essential component in the fight against financial crime, but that wasn’t always the case. Host Tom Keatinge is joined by Paul Jevtovic, the...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Rose Roth, language and youth
Multimedia, 25 February 2021Peter Roberts talks to veteran Welsh politician and former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Madeleine Moon about her reflections on two decades of handling political-military relations,...
Tags: Military Sciences
The Watchful Croupier: The UK Gambling Commission
Multimedia, 22 February 2021Preventing financial crime in gambling is no mean feat, particularly given the diversity of criminal methods both online and on land. Yet the UK has managed to stay on top of the threat, even...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
A Call to Arms - Episode 1: The UK Military in Space
Multimedia, 19 February 2021RUSI Research Fellow Alexandra Stickings speaks to Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth, Director Space in the Ministry of Defence.
Tags: Military Sciences, Profession of Arms
New Methods of Payment and Financial Crime
Multimedia, 19 February 2021The emergence of new financial services and methods of payment has brought greater variety and choice, but as with many innovations, the advantages have not been lost on criminal groups. Standard...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Hybrid is Everything and Everything is Hybrid
Multimedia, 18 February 2021Since the Ukraine war of 2014, most Western governments have classified any hostile challenge as 'hybrid', 'sub-threshold', or as actions belonging to the 'grey zone' space, be those of 'little green...
Tags: Military Sciences
Turning to the Indo-Pacific: Canada Examines a Future Role
Multimedia, 17 February 2021This week, Veerle is joined by Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Director and Senior Fellow of the Indo-Pacific Programme at the MacDonald Laurier Institute in Ottawa.
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South AsiaPages
Seven Reasons Why the US Needs to Re-Engage with Turkey
RUSI Newsbrief, 5 March 2021Taras Kuzio
The election of President Joe Biden presents a strategic opportunity for the US to resume playing a more active role in the South Caucasus, Eurasia and the greater Middle East – if Washington and Ankara can refresh their relationship.
Tags: Turkey, United States
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Global Challenges Require Global Cooperation
RUSI Newsbrief, 26 February 2021Andrey Krivorotov, Jennifer Cole and Klaus Dodds
The UK–Russia Security Dialogue addresses the ‘new normal’ of international health policy.
Tags: Russia, UK
Reports of the ‘Failure’ of the F-35 are Premature and Exaggerated
RUSI Defence Systems, 25 February 2021Justin Bronk
The announcement that a forthcoming US Air Force TacAir study will include an assessment of a new clean sheet design to replace the F-16 has led many to label the F-35 a failure. While it is certainly an important change in public messaging, the underlying dynamics do not support this interpretation.
Tags:
Russian Electronic Warfare, Cyber and Information Operations in Ukraine: Implications for NATO and Security in the Baltic States
RUSI Journal, 24 February 2021Duncan McCrory
Russia's investment in its electronic, cyber and information capabilities should concern NATO states.
Tags: Cyber, Russia, Information, Technology
Between a Pandemic and a Hard Brexit: Grand Strategic Thinking in an Age of Nationalism, Renewed Geopolitical Competition and Human Insecurity
RUSI Journal, 24 February 2021William D James
The UK's turbulent domestic situation has implications for how the country faces external threats.
Tags: UK, Defence Policy, UK Defence
Israeli Options for Direct Attacks on Iranian Nuclear Sites
RUSI Defence Systems, 23 February 2021Ehud Eilam
The Israeli government sees Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat. The Biden administration is attempting to re-open negotiations, but if these fail and Iran tries to produce a nuclear weapon then Israel might attempt to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. US supplies of new bombs and the B-52 bomber would be critical to any prospects of success.
Tags: Iran, Israel
What to Do in Afghanistan?
RUSI Newsbrief, 19 February 2021Greg Mills
Donors are caught in a bind in Afghanistan. But it is a bind that ties.
Tags: United States, Afghanistan, NATO, UK
Military Takeover in Myanmar and the International Community: Past as Prologue?
RUSI Newsbrief, 12 February 2021Jürgen Haacke
Will the coup in Myanmar follow historical patterns or take a different and unpredictable trajectory?
Tags: United Nations, Pacific
Book Review: Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics
RUSI Journal, 8 February 2021Andrew Rathmell
Andrew Rathmell reviews Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics, by Andrew Radin.
Tags: Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
The Personal Costs of War: Illustrated by the 2014 England Football Squad
RUSI Journal, 8 February 2021Jo Spear
Contemporary football provides a reminder of the multinational nature of British society and its historical war effort.
Tags: The Great War, UK, HistoryPages
Precision Strike in 21st Century Multidomain Operations
Conference, 13 May 2021The conduct of 21st century campaigns will be shaped in large measure by opponents’ use of reconnaissance strike complexes to achieve effects in depth. This conference will seek to examine both the...
Strategic Command Conference: Sharpening the UK Defence’s Edge in the 2020s
Events, 21 April 2021Held against the backdrop of the substantial financial settlement for Defence but also a deteriorating security situation and the broader impact of the pandemic, the UK Strategic Command Conference...
Future War and the Defence of Europe
Events, 1 April 2021A conversation with General John Allen, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges and Professor Dr Julian Lindley-French, to launch their latest book entitled ‘Future War and the Defence of Europe’.
UK PONI Workshop: Introduction to Nuclear Weapons Policy
Events, 25 March 2021UK Project on Nuclear Issues will host an introductory workshop covering the basics of nuclear weapons policy for early career professionals. The event will take place online over two half-days.
Combat Air Power 2021: Competing Visions for the Future
Conference, 24 March 2021Evolving peer threats, new budgetary pressures and national industrial imperatives are fuelling fierce competition. This online conference will examine the key next-generation combat air approaches...
Diversity in the UK's Intelligence Agencies
Financing Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
New UK Government Initiative to Support High-Risk, High-Reward Military Science Needs Refinement