Foreword: May 2015 Newsbrief

In his judicious analysis of the current state of the Iranian nuclear negotiations, Professor Ali Ansari acknowledges the progress made, and the sense of euphoria that this has generated, in both Tehran and Administration circles in Washington. But Professor Ansari also reminds us that much the same happened with the previous ‘historic breakthrough' over Iran’s nuclear programme, the so-called interim agreement of 2013: now as then, there is much talk of an imminent transformation in relations between the US and Iran which may not come about. So, while we have a clearer sense of what the final agreement may look like, we may remain far off a true accommodation between Iran, its neighbours and the US.

The latest Newsbrief issue also devotes a number of articles to the defence challenges facing the UK after the general elections of 7 May, regardless of who the winners may be. Professors Trevor Taylor and John Louth look at British efforts to improve defence acquisition, as well as the current state of reforms in defence equipment and support programmes. Meanwhile, Calum Jeffray and Clare Ellis of RUSI look at the paucity of debate on national security in the British electoral campaign: the manifestoes of the main parties confine themselves to generalities when it comes to key national security and resilience questions.

Finally, a good part of Newsbrief continues to be devoted to the changed security map in Europe. James Rogers and Ugis Romanovs from the Baltic Defence College write about the challenges facing NATO in rebuilding its deterrence value on the Alliance’s ‘eastern flank' in the face of persistent Russian attempts to probe and eventually discredit NATO’s security guarantees and wholehearted support for the security of its member states. Dr Igor Sutyagin of RUSI also provides, in his article, a detailed take on Russian’s current rearmament efforts.