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RUSI covers a broad range of areas affecting defence and international security around the world. See here RUSI commentary, reports, events and videos organised by theme and region. Scroll below for the latest content.
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The Budding Alliance Between Lockdown Critics and the Far-Right in Germany
Commentary, 2 March 2021Juliana Suess
Far-right movements are joining hands with coronavirus-deniers and lockdown critics. This is an ominous trend, but it is unlikely to have any serious impact on the upcoming elections.
Coronavirus, Germany, National Security
Getting the Partnership Right
Multimedia, 1 March 2021The public-private partnership (PPP) concept is now an essential component in the fight against financial crime, but that wasn’t always the case. Host Tom Keatinge is joined by Paul Jevtovic, the...
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
21st-Century Assistance Dogs? Harnessing Data and Technology
RUSI Publications, 1 March 2021Paul O’Neill and Alison Gregory
This report reflects the learning from a RUSI/PA Consulting-hosted series of discussion groups on data and technology. The groups were held between June and December 2020, and featured...
Military Sciences, Conference Reports, Technology
FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?
Commentary, 1 March 2021Justin Bronk
A new European combat aircraft is still likely to emerge from a programme plagued by mismatched national positions, priorities and industrial responsibilities.
Aerospace, Military Sciences, Germany, France, Europe
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Global Challenges Require Global Cooperation
Article, 26 February 2021Andrey Krivorotov, Jennifer Cole and Klaus Dodds
The UK–Russia Security Dialogue addresses the ‘new normal’ of international health policy.
International Security Studies, UK-Russia Security Dialogue, RUSI Newsbrief, Russia, UK
The Budding Alliance Between Lockdown Critics and the Far-Right in Germany
Commentary, 2 March 2021Juliana Suess
Far-right movements are joining hands with coronavirus-deniers and lockdown critics. This is an ominous trend, but it is unlikely to have any serious impact on the upcoming elections.
Coronavirus, Germany, National Security
FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?
Commentary, 1 March 2021Justin Bronk
A new European combat aircraft is still likely to emerge from a programme plagued by mismatched national positions, priorities and industrial responsibilities.
Aerospace, Military Sciences, Germany, France, Europe
Iran in the South Caucasus: Adjustment and Evolution
Commentary, 26 February 2021Emil Avdaliani
Iran’s position in the South Caucasus, a region it sees as a part of its historical interests, is coming under tremendous pressure. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War underlined the need for Tehran to...
Unpacking the MENA, Iran
The Politics of UK Accession to Pacific Free Trade Club
Commentary, 25 February 2021Elly Darkin
While political and strategic considerations may push the UK to prioritise speed over substance when it comes to accession negotiations, this strategy may well pay off if joining the Comprehensive...
Navigating the Indo-Pacific, UK, Pacific
Failure to Lift Off: The UK’s Space Launch Ambitions
Commentary, 24 February 2021Alexandra Stickings
Creating an indigenous space launch capability is considered by many to be a key aspect of the UK’s space ambitions. Yet there are questions as to whether current plans recognise the challenges ahead.
Aerospace, Military Sciences, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK
On the Quest to Revive the Iran Nuclear Deal
Commentary, 23 February 2021Adnan Tabatabai
As US officials engineer the reinstatement of the 2015 nuclear deal, they should pay particular attention to Iran’s expectations of this process.
Iran's Nuclear Programme, Iranian Nuclear Pathways, Unpacking the MENA, Iran, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Prime Minister Outlines Vision for International Cooperation
Commentary, 22 February 2021Peter Ricketts
In a well-crafted speech to the Munich Security Conference, Boris Johnson went beyond ritual repetitions of ‘Global Britain’ slogans.
UK Integrated Review 2021, Brexit, UK
Russia in 2020: The Kremlin’s Increasing Apprehensiveness
Commentary, 19 February 2021Mikk Marran
The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service’s sixth annual risk assessment review was published this week. Its Director General summarises its main findings on Russia.
Russia
UK Sanctions Policy: A Progress Report
Commentary, 18 February 2021Emil Dall
With Brexit and the transition period over, the UK has formally embarked on its independent sanctions regime. What work has been completed so far and what remains to be done?
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK, Europe
Unstable Foundations: Prospects are Dim for Any Renewal of US–Russia Security Cooperation
Commentary, 17 February 2021Nick Reynolds and Sarah Martin
The new Biden administration is off to a rocky start with Russia, the understandable result of a series of turbulent events. A lack of effective support structures to facilitate dialogue or...
United States, RussiaPages
Getting the Partnership Right
Multimedia, 1 March 2021The public-private partnership (PPP) concept is now an essential component in the fight against financial crime, but that wasn’t always the case. Host Tom Keatinge is joined by Paul Jevtovic, the...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Rose Roth, language and youth
Multimedia, 25 February 2021Peter Roberts talks to veteran Welsh politician and former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Madeleine Moon about her reflections on two decades of handling political-military relations,...
Tags: Military Sciences
The Watchful Croupier: The UK Gambling Commission
Multimedia, 22 February 2021Preventing financial crime in gambling is no mean feat, particularly given the diversity of criminal methods both online and on land. Yet the UK has managed to stay on top of the threat, even...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
New Methods of Payment and Financial Crime
Multimedia, 19 February 2021The emergence of new financial services and methods of payment has brought greater variety and choice, but as with many innovations, the advantages have not been lost on criminal groups. Standard...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
A Call to Arms - Episode 1: The UK Military in Space
Multimedia, 19 February 2021RUSI Research Fellow Alexandra Stickings speaks to Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth, Director Space in the Ministry of Defence.
Tags: Military Sciences, Profession of Arms
Hybrid is Everything and Everything is Hybrid
Multimedia, 18 February 2021Since the Ukraine war of 2014, most Western governments have classified any hostile challenge as 'hybrid', 'sub-threshold', or as actions belonging to the 'grey zone' space, be those of 'little green...
Tags: Military Sciences
Turning to the Indo-Pacific: Canada Examines a Future Role
Multimedia, 17 February 2021This week, Veerle is joined by Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Director and Senior Fellow of the Indo-Pacific Programme at the MacDonald Laurier Institute in Ottawa.
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South Asia
The Illegal Wildlife Trade: Not Just a Talking Point
Multimedia, 15 February 2021Worldwide, environmental crime is the fourth-largest transnational organised crime. This episode focuses on the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), where the pace of the global response does not match the...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Episode 3: Jan Hall on Finding the Woman for the Job
Multimedia, 12 February 2021In this episode, Jan Hall talks to Karin about her career as one of the UK’s top headhunters, identifying and matching the appropriate people for some of the most demanding executive positions in...
Tags: National Security
The fluidity of nuclear doctrine
Multimedia, 11 February 2021It is common to consider nuclear doctrine as a fixed, unmoving and largely successful element of the Western Way of War. Dr Heather Williams talks to Peter Roberts about why this just isn't the case...
Tags: Military SciencesPages
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Global Challenges Require Global Cooperation
RUSI Newsbrief, 26 February 2021Andrey Krivorotov, Jennifer Cole and Klaus Dodds
The UK–Russia Security Dialogue addresses the ‘new normal’ of international health policy.
Tags: Russia, UK
Reports of the ‘Failure’ of the F-35 are Premature and Exaggerated
RUSI Defence Systems, 25 February 2021Justin Bronk
The announcement that a forthcoming US Air Force TacAir study will include an assessment of a new clean sheet design to replace the F-16 has led many to label the F-35 a failure. While it is certainly an important change in public messaging, the underlying dynamics do not support this interpretation.
Tags:
Russian Electronic Warfare, Cyber and Information Operations in Ukraine: Implications for NATO and Security in the Baltic States
RUSI Journal, 24 February 2021Duncan McCrory
Russia's investment in its electronic, cyber and information capabilities should concern NATO states.
Tags: Cyber, Russia, Information, Technology
Between a Pandemic and a Hard Brexit: Grand Strategic Thinking in an Age of Nationalism, Renewed Geopolitical Competition and Human Insecurity
RUSI Journal, 24 February 2021William D James
The UK's turbulent domestic situation has implications for how the country faces external threats.
Tags: UK, Defence Policy, UK Defence
Israeli Options for Direct Attacks on Iranian Nuclear Sites
RUSI Defence Systems, 23 February 2021Ehud Eilam
The Israeli government sees Iran’s nuclear programme as an existential threat. The Biden administration is attempting to re-open negotiations, but if these fail and Iran tries to produce a nuclear weapon then Israel might attempt to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. US supplies of new bombs and the B-52 bomber would be critical to any prospects of success.
Tags: Iran, Israel
What to Do in Afghanistan?
RUSI Newsbrief, 19 February 2021Greg Mills
Donors are caught in a bind in Afghanistan. But it is a bind that ties.
Tags: United States, Afghanistan, NATO, UK
Military Takeover in Myanmar and the International Community: Past as Prologue?
RUSI Newsbrief, 12 February 2021Jürgen Haacke
Will the coup in Myanmar follow historical patterns or take a different and unpredictable trajectory?
Tags: United Nations, Pacific
Book Review: Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics
RUSI Journal, 8 February 2021Andrew Rathmell
Andrew Rathmell reviews Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics, by Andrew Radin.
Tags: Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
The Personal Costs of War: Illustrated by the 2014 England Football Squad
RUSI Journal, 8 February 2021Jo Spear
Contemporary football provides a reminder of the multinational nature of British society and its historical war effort.
Tags: The Great War, UK, History
Book Review: The Grand Strategies of Great Powers
RUSI Journal, 7 February 2021Peter Layton
Peter Layton reviews The Grand Strategies of Great Powers, by Tudor A Onea.
Tags: Defence Policy, Global Security IssuesPages
Precision Strike in 21st Century Multidomain Operations
Conference, 13 May 2021The conduct of 21st century campaigns will be shaped in large measure by opponents’ use of reconnaissance strike complexes to achieve effects in depth. This conference will seek to examine both the...
Strategic Command Conference: Sharpening the UK Defence’s Edge in the 2020s
Events, 21 April 2021Held against the backdrop of the substantial financial settlement for Defence but also a deteriorating security situation and the broader impact of the pandemic, the UK Strategic Command Conference...
Future War and the Defence of Europe
Events, 1 April 2021A conversation with General John Allen, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges and Professor Dr Julian Lindley-French, to launch their latest book entitled ‘Future War and the Defence of Europe’.
UK PONI Workshop: Introduction to Nuclear Weapons Policy
Events, 25 March 2021UK Project on Nuclear Issues will host an introductory workshop covering the basics of nuclear weapons policy for early career professionals. The event will take place online over two half-days.
Combat Air Power 2021: Competing Visions for the Future
Conference, 24 March 2021Evolving peer threats, new budgetary pressures and national industrial imperatives are fuelling fierce competition. This online conference will examine the key next-generation combat air approaches...
The Budding Alliance Between Lockdown Critics and the Far-Right in Germany
FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?
Getting the Partnership Right