State Threats
Our work on state threats aims to support the UK and its partners in detecting, understanding attributing and responding to the spectrum of complex state threats currently facing democracies.
Over the past decade, there has been a sharp rise in hostile activities orchestrated by foreign governments and their proxies. These ‘state threats’ (also known as ‘hybrid threats’) fall short of war but manifest through threats to the safety of people, assets and services; the covert acquisition of commercial, industrial and security information; the interference with rule-of-law processes to undermine democratic values and economic prosperity; and attempts to shape the international order.
Building on the foundation provided by the State Threats Taskforce, RUSI continues its multi-disciplinary work on state threats by regularly convening forums for international policymakers, security experts and stakeholders to deepen their understandings of state threat actors, vectors and vulnerabilities, and work towards effective and practical responses.
Aims and objectives
We examine the scale, scope and character of current state threats, with a particular focus on the weaponisation of finance as a tool of international statecraft.
Our research considers the financial dimension of state threats including the role of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), export controls, regional economic unions, and cross-border payment systems. In additional to individual financial mechanisms, we explore the emergence of economic alliances that undermine the global financial system and pose a threat to national and international security.
