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Commentary

RUSI experts and associates provide analysis on the latest developments in defence, security and international affairs.

Global Security Issues

We Need to Relearn How to do Deterrence 5 December 2019
Britain, Estonia and the Wider North 27 November 2019

Brexit Briefings

Initial Thoughts on the Government’s Assessment of the Security Partnership with the EU 28 November 2018
Brexit in Space: Will the UK have Access to the Galileo Satellite Network? 9 April 2018

Terrorism

Hamza bin Laden Dead 2 August 2019
The UK’s Proscription of Hizbullah: All Talk and No Action? 12 June 2019

NATO

The British Public Still Believes in NATO – Even if Most Cannot Say What It Does 3 December 2019
Britain, Estonia and the Wider North 27 November 2019

Cyber

The EU Assesses Cyber Security and 5G Networks 25 October 2019
There's More to Cyber Than Huawei 24 June 2019

AML/CTF

It’s Time to Reform and Refocus the Financial Action Task Force 23 October 2019
Transparency in the Backbone of Global Supply Chains: Foreign Trade Zones 16 October 2019

Organised Crime

Securing the Integrity of the EU’s Financial System is Overdue – Why is Progress so Slow? 26 November 2019
Free Trade Zones and Financial Crime – A Faustian Bargain? 5 November 2019

Maritime Forces

Sea Training: An Oft Overlooked Strategic Asset 11 October 2019
Another Chinese Defence White Paper: What Impact on the UK? 1 August 2019

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HMS Resolution in 1976 or 1977. Courtesy of US Navy

Nearly Forgotten but not Gone: The Legacy of the UK’s Retired Nuclear Submarines

Commentary, 5 April 2019

Trevor Taylor

Britain’s difficulty in dismantling its retired nuclear submarines represents a classic lesson in the benefits and risks of deferring ‘non-urgent’ spending in the defence sector.

Defence Spending, Defence, Industries and Society, Equipment and Acquisitions, Defence Management, UK, UK Defence, Europe
Aerial shot of GCHQ's main building. Courtesy of arpingstone/Wikimedia

The UK's National Cyber Security Strategy Beyond 2021: The International Dimension

Commentary, 2 April 2019

Danny Steed

Building the next cyber security strategy must go beyond domestic resilience to address international dynamics. And doing so will require an articulation of a vision about what kind of cyberspace it...

Cyber, UK, Intelligence, Technology, Europe
The City of London as seen from the Thames. Courtesy of Kim Hansen/Wikimedia

Supervising the UK AML Supervisors: The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision First Annual Report

Commentary, 29 March 2019

Helena Wood

The launch of the first annual report of the UK’s Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision signals a bold step forward for UK anti-money laundering supervision, but many...

Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF, UK, Europe
Pyongyang City, 2013. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Uri Tours

Avoiding a Costly Deal with Moscow in Pyongyang

Commentary, 26 March 2019

Darya Dolzikova

Russia is strengthening its links with North Korea in order to position itself as an indispensable interlocutor between Washington and Pyongyang. But the cost Russia could demand for regional...

United States, North Korea, Russia, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
A pile of bitcoins, 2018. Courtesy of Mathis Lesieur/Pxhere

The Illusion of Simplicity: Which Virtual Currencies Businesses are Subject to Money Laundering Rules?

Commentary, 21 March 2019

Anton Moiseienko and Kayla Izenman

Regulating virtual currency businesses in order to prevent money laundering is not easy. But it can be done.

Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Cyber, AML/CTF, Global Security Issues, Information, Intelligence, International Institutions, Financial Crime 2.0
BANNER IMAGE: Qamar Javed Bajwa at the Munich Security Conference, 2018. Courtesy of Barth/MSC/Wikimedia Commons

A Confident Pakistan Army Recalibrates the Country’s Regional Policies

Commentary, 18 March 2019

Kamal Alam

Pakistan’s military is playing a significant role in assisting the country’s prime minister in the conduct of foreign and security policies, and usually with the objective of scaling down...

Pakistan, International Security Studies, Defence Management, Indo-Pakistan Conflict, Global Security Issues, Land Forces, Military Personnel, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, Resilience
Water pumping equipment

NATO's National Resilience Obligations

Commentary, 15 March 2019

Madeleine Moon

NATO’s mutual defence guarantees are well-known. But less known is the duty which the Alliance’s member-states have to improve their national resilience.

Modern Deterrence, Defence Policy, UK, UK Defence, Europe
A closed road after the 2017 London Bridge attack.

Despite Territorial Defeat, Islamist Terrorism Will Continue to be a Threat

Commentary, 14 March 2019

Mark Rowley and Raffaello Pantucci

Daesh, Al-Qa’ida and other terrorist organisations may appear to be in current retreat. But rather than being eradicated, they have scattered. The violent extremism they have spawned has not entirely...

International Security Studies, National Security, Terrorism
BANNER IMAGE: The Ministry of Defence Main Building, March 2014. Courtesy of ArildV/Wikimedia

Fusion Doctrine: One Year On

Commentary, 8 March 2019

William McKeran

The Fusion Doctrine is steadily reshaping the UK's approach to strategy.

Defence Policy, UK, UK Defence, Europe

Securing Securities: Money Laundering in Capital Markets

Commentary, 4 March 2019

Crisa Cox

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has promised action to address the UK capital markets' vulnerability to high-end money laundering. It has its work cut out for it.

Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF, UK

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Embedded thumbnail for The Nuclear Ban Treaty in 2018

The Nuclear Ban Treaty in 2018

Multimedia, 21 December 2017
Tom Plant, Director, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy

Tom Plant, Director of RUSI's Proliferation and Nuclear Policy programme discusses the prospects for the Nuclear Ban treaty in 2018

Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Embedded thumbnail for President Trump's New Strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia

President Trump's New Strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia

Multimedia, 22 August 2017
Emily Winterbotham, Director, Terrorism and Conflict

RUSI Senior Research Fellow Emily Winterbotham examines the new US strategy in Afghanistan and South Asia announced by President Trump on 21 August 2017.

Tags: Pakistan, US Defence Policy, Afghanistan, International Security Studies, Terrorism, Global Security Issues, Land Operations, Central and South Asia
Embedded thumbnail for Dealing with the Latest North Korea Missile Threat

Dealing with the Latest North Korea Missile Threat

Multimedia, 11 August 2017
Tom Plant, Director, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Cristina Varriale, Research Fellow
Emil Dall, Research Fellow, Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies

Following a war of words between US President Donald Trump and the Pyongyang regime, are we at risk of escalation? RUSI experts Tom Plant, Cristina Varriale and Emil Dall discuss.

Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Embedded thumbnail for Cristina Varriale on the North Korea Missile Tests

Cristina Varriale on the North Korea Missile Tests

Multimedia, 6 July 2017
Cristina Varriale, Research Fellow

Watch Cristina Varriale, a research analyst at RUSI's Nuclear and Proliferation programme discuss North Korea's latest missile test on BBC World News.

Tags: North Korea, UK Project on Nuclear Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Embedded thumbnail for The Illicit Cigarette Trade

The Illicit Cigarette Trade

Multimedia, 4 July 2017

RUSI Research Fellow Cathy Haenlein introduces on BBC World a new report by KPMG commissioned by RUSI investigates the scale of the illicit cigarette trade in the EU, Norway and Switzerland.

Tags: Terrorism and Conflict, Illicit Trade
Embedded thumbnail for ISIS Faces Endgame in Mosul - Karin von Hippel

ISIS Faces Endgame in Mosul - Karin von Hippel

Multimedia, 29 June 2017
Dr Karin von Hippel, Director-General

Tags: Iraq, Terrorism, Terrorism
Embedded thumbnail for General Sir Nicholas Carter - 2017 Land Warfare Conference

General Sir Nicholas Carter - 2017 Land Warfare Conference

Multimedia, 27 June 2017

General Sir Nicholas Carter, Chief of the General Staff, delivered the concluding remarks at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2017

Tags:
Embedded thumbnail for The UK General Election: What Next?

The UK General Election: What Next?

Multimedia, 9 June 2017
Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director-General
Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, Strategic Research Partnerships

Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of RUSI and Dr Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, discuss the outcome of the June 2017 General Election and what a hung parliament will mean for...

Tags: UK
Embedded thumbnail for What is Behind Qatar–Gulf Tensions?

What is Behind Qatar–Gulf Tensions?

Multimedia, 8 June 2017
Michael Stephens, Research Fellow for Middle East Studies

Why is Qatar facing censure and sanctions from its Gulf neighbours? RUSI Research Fellow Michael Stephens helps explain.

Tags: The Gulf Region
Embedded thumbnail for London Bridge Attack: Understanding the Threat

London Bridge Attack: Understanding the Threat

Multimedia, 5 June 2017
Dr Karin von Hippel, Director-General

5 June 2017 Dr Karin von Hippel, Director General of RUSI, was on CNN to discuss the response and challenge emanating from the 3 June London Bridge attack. The attacks in the UK are part of a wider...

Tags: UK, Terrorism

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