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In an age of hybrid, grey zone, 4th generation or threshold warfare, our defence cannot exist solely of armed forces. Governments, business and civil society should also work together to strengthen our resilience against existing and emerging threats. Together with the armed forces’ capabilities, such societal resilience can function as a crucial deterrent.
Countries in Europe and North America have, over generations, developed impressive deterrence by means of military punishment. But the emergence of hybrid warfare, where threats and attacks are directed at the private sector and civil society at large, puts countries a situation where deterrence by military punishment is not enough. What is needed, then, is modern deterrence: a combination of traditional military deterrence by military punishment and deterrence by societal resilience.
During the Cold War, Scandinavian countries developed the concept of Total Defence, in effect an early version of modern deterrence. Today those countries, and to some extent the Baltic states, maintain partial versions of total defence. No country has, however, developed a complete modern deterrence model. It is imperative that we do so.
The Modern Deterrence project’s research -- informed by practitioners – aims to generate a new body of knowledge that will be vital to governments, the private sector and civil society. It also serves as hub where practitioners from these sectors exchange best practices and new ideas.
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"“People think of them as wounded warriors instead of people who have specific expertise in an area that is relevant to the company. They become almost symbols of something as opposed to people of real value to the company because of the expertise they have.”
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Soldiers half as likely as general public to suffer mental disorders, but too often treated as 'wounded warriors'
In The News, 13 July 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence, UK
"However, experts have said veterans can struggle to find employment in civilian life because of a perception that they will have mental health challenges at some point.
Veterans' executive experience from young ages makes them "people of real value" to the workforce, rather than "wounded warriors", according to Elisabeth Braw, a leading Defence analyst.
Ms Braw, of the Royal United Services Institute, believes the paucity of first-hand military experience in wider society, or the lack of a close family member in the forces, makes it more likely for the population at large to see the role of veterans “to be on a pedestal as a wounded victim”.
Speaking to the Telegraph she said: “That’s the impression you get from only watching war movies instead of actually interacting with soldiers.
“Employers have very little understanding about the skills these people bring, including that they have a lot of executive experience at a much earlier age than the rest of us.
“People think of them as wounded warriors instead of people who have specific expertise in an area that is relevant to the company. They become almost symbols of something as opposed to people of real value to the company because of the expertise they have.” "
Soldiers half as likely as general public to suffer mental disorders, but too often treated as 'wounded warriors'
In The News, 13 July 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence, Military Sciences
"Eighty percent of Germans say they respect their armed forces, the Bundeswehr, a recent survey shows. They just don’t want to serve in it themselves: The German military is currently some 20,000 soldiers short. The situation is the same across the West, from the United States to Britain and Italy. The public respects—worships, even—the military but knows precious little about what it does and wants even less to do with it personally. "
The Military Aren’t Heroes or Villains. They’re Us.
In The News, 1 July 2019The gap between soldiers and civilians is hurting democracies.
Tags: Modern Deterrence
Delegating Deterrence: Can ‘Privateering’ Help Solve the Cyber Warfare Puzzle?
RUSI Newsbrief, 27 June 2019
David Rudd
In an era of great power competition, the UK and its allies may find that one answer to the challenge posed by adversary cyber operations lies in the distant past
Tags: Cyber, Modern Deterrence
"Elisabeth Braw, an analyst with Britain’s Royal United Services Institute for defence and security studies, has argued that although spider posters may seem to have nothing in common with tanks, they occupy the same sphere as tools of aggression: “Like soldiers and military hardware, spiders, computer attacks, and disinformation campaigns can be used to efficiently undermine societies.” "
Spiders, posters and hoaxes: it is still war, but not as we’ve known it
In The News, 24 June 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence
""It's what's called the denial of benefits so if you conduct a cyber attack or a hack against the grid, the benefit that you want is that the grid goes down and the target descends into chaos," Elizabeth Braw from the Royal United Services Institute, explained.
"But if the target doesn't descend into chaos then actually there is no benefit to conducting the attack," she added. "
Calls To Improve Britain's Defences Against Modern Warfare
In The News, 7 June 2019Defence experts are being told it is time to make the UK less attractive as a target to our enemies and more resilient.
Tags: Modern Deterrence, Military SciencesPages
The 2019 Swiss Security Network Exercise: More Than an Exercise
Commentary, 24 May 2019Hans-Jürg Käser and Bernhard Wigger
The Swiss are testing their preparedness for meeting a major terrorist attack.
Modern Deterrence, International Security Studies, Counterinsurgency, Terrorism, Defence Management, Security Policy, International Responses, Global Security Issues, Terrorism, Europe
NATO's National Resilience Obligations
Commentary, 15 March 2019Madeleine 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
Resilience of Necessity in the Baltics
Commentary, 31 January 2019Ojars Eriks Kalnins
The fact that the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia managed to establish, lose, and restore their sovereign statehood during the 20th Century is no guarantee they will be able to preserve it in the 21st. But it gives them a heads up when facing the multiple hybrid security threats that they and other European states must contend with these days.
Civil–Military Relations, Modern Deterrence, NATO
Modern Deterrence and Societal Resilience
Commentary, 10 January 2019Toby Harris
Security and resilience have to be designed into society’s fabric.
Modern Deterrence, Defence Policy, UK, Resilience, UK Defence, Europe
Have We Outsourced Our Preparations for a Hostile Attack?
Commentary, 6 December 2018Ruth Smeeth
An MP’s plea for a broader and more inclusive public debate about the security threats facing the UK.
Modern Deterrence, UK, Domestic Security, Resilience, EuropePages
Delegating Deterrence: Can ‘Privateering’ Help Solve the Cyber Warfare Puzzle?
RUSI Newsbrief, 27 June 2019David Rudd
In an era of great power competition, the UK and its allies may find that one answer to the challenge posed by adversary cyber operations lies in the distant past
Cyber, Modern Deterrence, RUSI Newsbrief
Second Strike Communications
RUSI Newsbrief, 17 May 2019Elisabeth Braw
To counter disinformation campaigns, liberal democracies should focus on second-strike capabilities.
Modern Deterrence, RUSI Newsbrief, Military Sciences, Domestic Security, National Security, Technology
Modern Deterrence: Preparing for the Age of Grey-Zone Warfare
RUSI Newsbrief, 5 November 2018Elisabeth Braw
Modern deterrence is concerned with how countries employ their resilience potential to deter today’s hybrid threats, especially through the involvement of the private sector and civil society. New...
Modern Deterrence, RUSI Newsbrief, Domestic Security, Securing Britain, UK Defence
Modern Deterrence Autumn 2019 Conference
Conference, 13 November 2019This date has been confirmed for the RUSI Modern Deterrence Autumn Conference. More information to follow.
Modern Deterrence
The Red Queen Problem: Technology Start-ups and National Security
Events, 12 September 2019RUSI's Modern Deterrence project is pleased to host an executive briefing by Alex van Someren, Managing Director of Amadeus Capital Partners.
Modern Deterrence
Logistics and Total Defence: How Successful was Trident Juncture 2018?
Events, 1 July 2019RUSI's Modern Deterrence project is pleased to host an executive briefing on Trident Juncture 2018’s logistics, total defence and communications components.
Modern Deterrence
Countering Malicious Use of Social Media
Events, 18 June 2019At this Modern Deterrence executive briefing Jānis Sārts, Director, NATO StratCom Centre of Excellence, will explore the risks around the dissemination of personal information online, and give his...
Modern Deterrence
Modern Deterrence Conference 2019
Conference, 29 May 2019The Modern Deterrence Spring 2019 Conference will examine how the private sector, government and the armed forces can work together to deter hybrid warfare.
Modern DeterrencePages
"“People think of them as wounded warriors instead of people who have specific expertise in an area that is relevant to the company. They become almost symbols of something as opposed to people of real value to the company because of the expertise they have.” "
Soldiers half as likely as general public to suffer mental disorders, but too often treated as 'wounded warriors'
In The News, 13 July 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence, UK
"However, experts have said veterans can struggle to find employment in civilian life because of a perception that they will have mental health challenges at some point. Veterans' executive experience from young ages makes them "people of real value" to the workforce, rather than "wounded warriors", according to Elisabeth Braw, a leading Defence analyst. Ms Braw, of the Royal United Services Institute, believes the paucity of first-hand military experience in wider society, or the lack of a close family member in the forces, makes it more likely for the population at large to see the role of veterans “to be on a pedestal as a wounded victim”. Speaking to the Telegraph she said: “That’s the impression you get from only watching war movies instead of actually interacting with soldiers. “Employers have very little understanding about the skills these people bring, including that they have a lot of executive experience at a much earlier age than the rest of us. “People think of them as wounded warriors instead of people who have specific expertise in an area that is relevant to the company. They become almost symbols of something as opposed to people of real value to the company because of the expertise they have.” "
Soldiers half as likely as general public to suffer mental disorders, but too often treated as 'wounded warriors'
In The News, 13 July 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence, Military Sciences
"Eighty percent of Germans say they respect their armed forces, the Bundeswehr, a recent survey shows. They just don’t want to serve in it themselves: The German military is currently some 20,000 soldiers short. The situation is the same across the West, from the United States to Britain and Italy. The public respects—worships, even—the military but knows precious little about what it does and wants even less to do with it personally."
The Military Aren’t Heroes or Villains. They’re Us.
In The News, 1 July 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence
"Elisabeth Braw, an analyst with Britain’s Royal United Services Institute for defence and security studies, has argued that although spider posters may seem to have nothing in common with tanks, they occupy the same sphere as tools of aggression: “Like soldiers and military hardware, spiders, computer attacks, and disinformation campaigns can be used to efficiently undermine societies.”"
Spiders, posters and hoaxes: it is still war, but not as we’ve known it
In The News, 24 June 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence
""It's what's called the denial of benefits so if you conduct a cyber attack or a hack against the grid, the benefit that you want is that the grid goes down and the target descends into chaos," Elizabeth Braw from the Royal United Services Institute, explained. "But if the target doesn't descend into chaos then actually there is no benefit to conducting the attack," she added."
Calls To Improve Britain's Defences Against Modern Warfare
In The News, 7 June 2019 Tags: Modern Deterrence, Military Sciences
New Technology and ‘Old’ Think Tanks
UAVs in the Middle East: Coming of Age
Kicking the Can Down the Road: The Law Commission’s Report on UK Anti-Money Laundering Law