State Threats
We analyse hostile activities by state actors that fall short of acts of war but seek to destabilise, harm and undermine the UK, its partners and allies.
The label of State Threats can be applied across a range of activities including illicit financial influence, malign political and social influence, investment in force projection measures and cyber-attacks.
Activities range from corruption to coercion to manipulation and opportunistic exploitation of circumstances or gaps in protective measures, aiming to disrupt democratic processes, destabilise regions and compromise critical infrastructure. They are often hard to detect, attribute and counter.
Throughout the years, the classification and terminology used in policy to describe these threats have experienced several revisions. We are now seeing a significant shift in approach, with nations increasingly adopting a whole-of-government strategy, where various agencies and departments collaborate to address state threats, each concentrating on different facets of national security. The landscape of threats and the available response strategies continues to evolve.
RUSI’s collective research and engagement activities build an evidence base and seek to inform policy decisions on how to identify and counter state threats. The threats are grouped under the following sub-topics.
Dimensions of state threats
View related research projects on state threats.
Financial dimensions
Political influence and information manipulation
Force projection and enablers
Latest publications
Read the latest publications on state threats and filter by project and research group.
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Our experts
Dr Jessica White
Acting Director of Terrorism and Conflict Studies
Terrorism and Conflict
Michael Jones
Research Fellow
Terrorism and Conflict
Isabella Vogel
Project Manager and Coordinator, Terrorism & Conflict
RUSI Europe
Dr Joana de Deus Pereira
Senior Research Fellow
RUSI Europe
Christopher Hockey
Senior Research Fellow
RUSI Nairobi
Dr Antonio Giustozzi
Senior Research Fellow
Terrorism and Conflict
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFS
Centre for Finance and Security
Matthew Redhead
Senior Associate Fellow; Financial crime consultant and researcher
Eliza Lockhart
Research Fellow
Centre for Finance and Security
Arzu Abbasova
Research Analyst
Centre for Finance and Security
Pilar Domingo
Acting Director, Organised Crime and Policing
Organised Crime and Policing
Anne-Marie Weeden
Senior Research Fellow | SHOC Network Member - Researcher
Organised Crime and Policing
Elijah Glantz
Research Fellow
Organised Crime and Policing
Mark Williams
Programme Manager | SHOC Network Member - Researcher
Organised Crime and Policing
James Sullivan
Director, Cyber and Tech
Cyber and Tech
Joseph Jarnecki
Research Fellow
Cyber and Tech
Jamie MacColl
Research Fellow
Cyber and Tech
Dr Neil Melvin
Director, International Security
International Security
Dr Burcu Ozcelik
Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Security
International Security
Emily Ferris
Senior Research Fellow, Russian and Eurasian Security
International Security
Matthew Savill
Director of Military Sciences
Military Sciences
