RUSI Director joins UK's National Security Forum

RUSI Director Professor Michael Clarke is announced as a member of the National Security Forum offering independent expert security advice to the Government.

Professor Clarke is appointed along with ten other external experts to form the United Kingdom’s first National Security Forum – he is the only representative from a think tank.

Commenting on the National Security Forum following its announcement, Professor Clarke said:

'The Forum is part of a new way of approaching both the process and the substance of national security in the UK. It is intended to focus external thinking on the big strategic questions, with members of the forum bringing their own personal expertise to bear.

'In a globalised world, and in a country that willingly embraces globalisation as much as the UK, national security is a multi-dimensional concept, far wider than mere ‘defence’ or ‘policing’. This was the thrust that lay behind last year’s National Security Strategy and the creation of the Forum is one way for the government to draw on the range of intellectual expertise it knows it now requires. This initiative will also engage a wider non-governmental community in debates over the UK’s security strategy.

'The Forum will express its own conclusions to government and also act as a conduit for ideas from communities of experts in a range of disciplines. And it will provide a mechanism for testing or validating policies and assumptions the government may already think it is comfortable about.

'The work the Forum will do is very similar to the work of RUSI in general; contributing to the intellectual milieu in which policy is made. But in the case of the National Security Forum, RUSI now has the opportunity to facilitate the intersection between high-level research and government action. For a policy analyst, in a policy institute, to be on this Forum at the outset is both a fascinating prospect and a great challenge.'

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is an independent think tank engaged in cutting edge defence and security research. A unique institution, founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington, RUSI embodies nearly two centuries of forward thinking, free discussion and careful reflection on defence and security matters.
2. RUSI was named as Prospect Magazine’s Think Tank of the Year for 2008 on 6 October 2008.
3. Professor Michael Clarke joined RUSI as its Director in September 2007 from the War Studies Department at King’s College London. For a biography of Professor Clarke, please visit www.rusi.org/michaelclarke
4. For all media enquiries please contact Daniel Sherman 020 7747 2617 or 07917 373 069 or daniels@rusi.org