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RUSI Newsbrief
January 2019 , No: 1

Why the UK Should Work to Prevent Nuclear Conflict Between India and Pakistan

RUSI Newsbrief, February 2019

Tim Willasey-Wilsey

The risk of nuclear war between India and Pakistan presents dangerous global implications and should be considered as a serious threat, particularly since Pakistan’s acquisition of the short-range Nasr missile. Quite apart from the enormous human cost, there would also be significant environmental and migratory consequences.

Indo-Pakistan Conflict, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Terrorism

Shooting the Messenger: Do Not Blame the Internet for Terrorism

RUSI Newsbrief, February 2019

Andrew Glazzard

The internet clearly matters to terrorists, but online content by itself rarely causes people to carry out terrorist attacks. Responses should therefore not be limited to the mass removal of terrorist content from online platforms.

UK Counter-terrorism, Tackling Extremism, Information, Technology, Terrorism

Mackinder, Spykman and the Geopolitical Significance of Ballistic Missile Defence

RUSI Newsbrief, February 2019

Peter Roberts and Sidharth Kaushal

As missile defence becomes a central feature of many states’ security postures, it is attendant to frame the enterprise in a wider strategic context to understand its importance. The classic geopolitical dichotomy between Heartland and Rimland states outlined by Halford Mackinder and Nicholas Spykman might help us understand the geopolitical significance of global allied missile defences.

Global Strategy and Commitments, Maritime Forces

Once a Terrorist, Always a Terrorist? How to Respond to the Women of Daesh

RUSI Newsbrief, January 2019

Katherine E Brown

The mass repatriation of women who had joined Daesh in Iraq and Syria poses difficult logistical, as well as moral, considerations for the UK. Rather than relying on gendered assumptions about their motives and participation, the response must be in line with the UK’s human rights commitments and focus on sustainable outcomes.

UK Counter-terrorism, Tackling Extremism, Domestic Security, National Security

China’s Growing Pains: A Review of 40 Years of Reform

RUSI Newsbrief, January 2019

Charles Parton

Now that Chinese President Xi Jinping has consolidated power within the Chinese Communist Party, the expectation is that he will turn his gaze to serious reform efforts needed to sustain the country’s rise. Changing an economic and social system described by Chinese leaders as ‘unsustainable’ without provoking instability – to be accomplished with the Party managing to stay in power and outrun problems of debt, demography, and water scarcity – will prove to be quite the challenge.

Global Security Issues

The Good Friday Agreement and Brexit

RUSI Newsbrief, January 2019

Sir Paul Lever

Brexit negotiations on the Northern Ireland border question reveal diverging views on the future of the Good Friday Agreement.

European Union, Brexit

The Failure of China’s Security Policy in Xinjiang

RUSI Newsbrief, January 2019

Edward Schwarck

The mass internment of Xinjiang’s Uyghurs in supposed ‘re-education’ facilities as a means of combatting violent extremism suggests that Beijing lacks confidence in the effectiveness of its intelligence architecture, and by extension, its capacity to identify and eliminate actual terrorist threats.

Counterinsurgency, Intelligence, Technology, Terrorism