RUSI Launches British Security Programme

Professor Malcolm Chalmers is beginning a study of British Security Policy at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He will initially be attached to RUSI from the University of Bradford for this project as a Professorial Fellow, and from January 2008 will be employed full time at the Institute in this capacity. It is anticipated that the project will run for three years.

The British Security Policy project will focus on the impact of international threats on the UK's security, and on UK policy responses. It will draw on all Professor Chalmers’s experience, both as an internationally renowned scholar of security politics, and as a Government foreign policy adviser at the highest levels, to redefine British security policy for the future. Translating new, broad perspectives on security into practical policy ideas, the key themes of this project will include:

Smarter Intervention

The extent of involvement of UK armed forces in military interventions over the last decade has been driven by strong political and ethical commitment. Earlier applications of this approach (Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone) were widely welcomed. Afghanistan and, especially, Iraq have been more controversial and difficult, and have increased awareness of the limits, and the unpredictability, of military force in a post-colonial age. Does this mean we have seen the high water mark of interventionism? What are the prospects for ‘smarter’ intervention, e.g. through improved economic support and better state building strategies?

The battle of ideas responding to conflict in the Middle East

Negotiated solutions to the Israel/Palestine, Lebanon/Syria, UN/Iran and Iraq conflicts are proving difficult to achieve, and the risks of major new wars are high. The UK would be particularly exposed to such escalation, which could further undermine efforts at countering support for violent extremism, both at home and abroad. Is there more that the UK and the EU can do to head off new conflict? What are the options for UK response should it take place? What more can the UK do to win the battle of ideas in the region?

The UK in Afghanistan

The UK's deployment in southern Afghanistan is now its main operational military commitment. It has achieved significant tactical successes. But the prospects for success in meeting longer-term objectives are uncertain. The central problem remains whether it is possible to build a stable political settlement that allows the integration of southern Afghanistan into a unified state. How far is this objective being undermined by continuing cross-border activity? Is enough being done to encourage reconciliation with ex-Taliban? What are the realistic prospects of success in CN efforts? What more can be done to encourage the ‘localisation’ of security, recognising the limitations of the ANA?

Is détente with Russia possible?

Relations between Russia and the West have worsened in recent years, with security issues high on the list of issues of concern. The US and its European allies bemoan Russia's increasing authoritarianism and sabre-rattling, particularly in relation to its ‘near abroad.’ Russian leaders protest steps – e.g. NATO enlargement, BMD deployment in Poland, Kosovo independence – that, they argue, adversely alter their own position. The potential for a further worsening of relations is real. What are the implications of worsening relations for UK security? Can more be done to develop a modus vivendi between Russia and the West?

Nuclear disarmament: what can the UK contribute?

There is growing momentum within the US policy community behind a new push for progress on the disarmament dimension of the NPT , as demonstrated by the January 2007 Wall Street Journal article authored by influential former officials. As the US and Russia consider how far, and in what ways, they can reduce their arsenals, what can be learnt from the UK's experience with maintaining a small nuclear deterrent force? What can the UK do to contribute to the re-energising of nuclear arms control?

Malcolm Chalmers is Professor of International Politics at the University of Bradford, and was recently Special Adviser to Foreign Secretaries Jack Straw MP and Margaret Beckett MP. He has previously been a visiting researcher at Stanford University and IISS, and chair of SaferWorld. He has written widely on UK security policy, international burdensharing, arms control, and conflict prevention. As a Professorial Fellow at RUSI, Professor Chalmers will contribute to RUSI's growing capacity for research across a wide range of defence and security policy issues.

Professor Michael Clarke, Director of the Royal United Services Institute, commented:

RUSI has embarked on a really important research initiative at a time when Government is confronting so many changes in our security policy. Professor Chalmers is the best possible scholar to lead the study and I am delighted that he will be with us for next three years to preside over it. His academic background and recent policy experience give him an insider’s insight into the practical problems of defining and implementing security policy in the increasingly dangerous world that the UK now faces.”