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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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NATO and the Arctic: The Need for a New Approach
Article, 21 January 2021Duncan Depledge
NATO needs to review its traditionally cautious approach to the Arctic.
RUSI Journal, NATO
Good Practice for the Development of Autonomous Weapons: Ensuring the Art of the Acceptable, Not the Art of the Possible
Article, 21 January 2021Tony Gillespie
Highly autonomous weapon systems require new approaches to all stages of procurement and use to ensure compliance with international law.
RUSI Journal, Law and Ethics, Technology
Of Some Benefit: US Corporate Transparency Inches Forward
Commentary, 21 January 2021Tom Keatinge
The fêting of new company registration requirements in the US is understandable, but critical gaps remain.
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, United States, AML/CTF
The Biden Presidency: The Benefits of Being Boring
Commentary, 20 January 2021Karin von Hippel
As Joe Biden takes the oath of office today as the 46th President of the US, RUSI’s Director-General reflects on the challenges and opportunities facing his administration.
United States
Trump, Biden, and the Indo-Pacific
Multimedia, 20 January 2021After the inauguration of President-elect Biden, this episode both takes a retrospective look at what worked and what didn’t in the Trump Administration’s approach to the Indo-Pacific, and examines...
Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Limits of New Standards on Assessing WMD Financing Risk
Commentary, 3 December 2020Darya Dolzikova and Emil Dall
The Financial Action Task Force now requires countries to assess proliferation financing risk, a welcome step in global efforts to counter sanctions evasion by actors such as North Korea. However,...
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Counter-Proliferation Finance, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
After the Referendum: Reviving Dialogue in Algeria
Commentary, 2 December 2020Riccardo Fabiani and Michael Ayari
A November constitutional referendum has failed to address the Algerian protest movement’s demands for political change. The need to establish a dialogue mechanism to tackle the country’s growing...
Middle East and North Africa
The Financial Crime Case for a Global Anti-Corruption Agency for Professional Sports
Commentary, 1 December 2020Jonathan van der Valk
The corruption and illicit financial flows permeating the sports world undermine its integrity. Could a world anti-corruption body for sports be the answer?
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Law and Ethics
What Does Biden’s Victory Mean for the Indo-Pacific?
Commentary, 30 November 2020Walter Ladwig
The substance of Joe Biden’s approach to the region and key actors will remain very similar to that of his predecessor, albeit with a different tone and a much greater focus on coordinating with...
China, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, United States, India, Pacific
Saudi Arabia and International Summitry: Hard Try, and Harder Times Ahead
Commentary, 27 November 2020Michael Stephens
The Saudis hosted a G20 summit overshadowed by the pandemic. It is not what they wanted, but the kingdom is working hard to reposition its international footprint.
The Gulf Region
Far-Right Extremism Steals the Show in 2020
Commentary, 26 November 2020Jessica White
Throughout a year defined by the global pandemic, racial inequality movements and political polarisation, the US has been in the spotlight as the epicentre of social upheaval and amplification of far...
Terrorism and Conflict, United States, Domestic Security, Terrorism
The Geopolitics of Indo-Pacific Trade
Commentary, 25 November 2020Andrew Cainey
While there is talk of a broader ‘Indo-Pacific’, encompassing the Indian Ocean as well as the Pacific, this is not yet reflected in the geopolitics of trade.
China, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, India, Pacific
Is Defence’s Latest Operating Model Fit for Purpose?
Commentary, 24 November 2020Andrew Curtis
The Ministry of Defence has published a new version of its operating model – ‘How Defence Works’ – its first update for almost five years. Given the major changes to Defence ways of working in that...
Armed Forces, UK Defence Policy, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK
On the Offensive: The UK’s New Cyber Force
Commentary, 23 November 2020Conrad Prince
The creation of a new National Cyber Force is an important development but should not divert attention from the wider issues around cyber security.
Cyber, Cyber Security, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK
More Than Meets the Eye: Who Benefits Most from Russia’s Ministerial Rotations?
Commentary, 20 November 2020Emily Ferris
A Cabinet reshuffle in Russia raises questions about the country’s future trajectory.
RussiaPages
Episode Five: New Technologies, Old Methods in Terrorism Financing
Multimedia, 27 November 2020Terrorists of all types exploit technology to raise, use and move funds. CFCS’s Stephen Reimer speaks with security consultant and former Canadian intelligence analyst Jessica Davis about terrorists...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
People as the Decisive Advantage
Multimedia, 26 November 2020Some capabilities are fundamental to military activities, but strategic capabilities tend to be valuable, rare, and inimitable. That means they tend to be human, not technical. HR guru Professor...
Tags: Military Sciences
Forceful Persuasion: The Psychology of Convincing an Opponent They Are Beaten
Multimedia, 25 November 2020Tags: Adversarial Studies, Military Sciences
Western Way of War: HYPErsonics?
Multimedia, 19 November 2020Great powers are pressing ahead with hypersonic weapons, yet in adoption and adaptation there seems to be a missing foundational understanding of what the arrival of Mach 10 precision munitions means...
Tags: Military Sciences
ASEAN’s Outlook: Maintaining Centrality in the Indo-Pacific
Multimedia, 18 November 2020This week, Veerle is joined by Dr. Evan Laksmana, senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Dr. Huong Le Thu, senior analyst at the...
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Western Way of War: When Did Everything Become Securitised?
Multimedia, 12 November 2020Alice Billon-Galland explains to Peter Roberts what a forward-looking reflective exercise is for NATO and what this issues are between the Atlantic Alliance and the EU. They get into why patchwork...
Tags: Military Sciences
Episode four: Corruption and Finance in the UK
Multimedia, 12 November 2020The UK regularly finds itself at the centre of money laundering and corruption scandals. But how dire is the situation, really, and is there any hope for change? Author Oliver Bullough does a reality...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Western Way of War: Utility vs Utilisation
Multimedia, 5 November 2020Given the discussion of 'sunset' capabilities and the growing feeling in Brussels that the UK has a credibility problem inside NATO, Peter talks to Mungo Melvin (military historian and former soldier...
Tags: Military Sciences
India’s Indo-Pacific Vision: Stabilising the Indian Ocean Region
Multimedia, 4 November 2020This week, Veerle is joined by Darshana Baruah, Visiting Fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo and non-resident scholar with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for...
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South Asia
Episode One: Kleptocracy and the US Elections
Multimedia, 30 October 2020Much is at stake for the global fight against kleptocracy in 2020 and beyond. Hear why the US election results could be a turning point with former government lawyer Elise Bean, author Ben Judah,...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security StudiesPages
The Type 055: A Glimpse into the PLAN’s Developmental Trajectory
RUSI Defence Systems, 19 October 2020Sidharth Kaushal
The Type 055 Renhai destroyer, which displaces 12,000 tonnes, represents a significant advance in People’s Liberation Army Navy blue-water surface combatant vessel capabilities, in terms of both size and complexity
Tags: China, Maritime Forces
Space as an Operational Domain: What Next for NATO?
RUSI Newsbrief, 15 October 2020Alexandra Stickings
NATO has declared space to be an operational domain. Questions must be addressed to understand what this means for future strategy and capabilities.
Tags: NATO
Are the Baltics Really Undefendable?
RUSI Newsbrief, 9 October 2020Sandor Fabian
This article proposes that ‘professional irregular’ forces would provide the Baltics with the best defence against Russian aggression.
Tags: NATO, Russia, Defence Policy, Europe
The Key to Armenia’s Tank Losses: The Sensors, Not the Shooters
RUSI Defence Systems, 6 October 2020Jack Watling
Amid a lively debate about the viability of the UK’s heavy armour, the loss of over 42 Armenian T-72s to Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh requires further analysis.
Tags: Land Forces
Strategic Culture: In Defiance of a Structural World Order
RUSI Journal, 6 October 2020Patrick Hinton
Strategic culture theory provides much-needed nuance to contemporary fears over the decline of the rules-based international system.
Tags: Global Security Issues, International Institutions
Multi-Domain Operations and Lessons from NSC 68 in the Competitive Space: A Framework for NATO and Western Democracies for Defence Against Russia
RUSI Journal, 5 October 2020Tyler Wesley
A Cold War-era document provides a useful guide for a published framework for engaging Russia today.
Tags: Defence Policy
United Russia’s Image Problem: Revamping the ‘Nasty Party’ Before 2021
RUSI Newsbrief, 2 October 2020Emily Ferris
Russia’s September regional elections were a litmus test of United Russia’s support. While most seats were secure, it seems likely the party is headed for a ‘rebrand’, ahead of the State Duma elections in 2021.
Tags: Russia
What Will an Indo-Pacific Supply Chain Resilience Initiative Mean for China?
RUSI Newsbrief, 25 September 2020Jagannath Panda
The emergence of alternative global supply chains could hurt China’s economic influence. Beijing must dial down its ‘charm offensive’ economic policies to remain an attractive trade partner.
Tags: China, Japan, India, Global Security Issues, Pacific
New Intelligence Strategies for a New Decade
RUSI Journal, 23 September 2020Patrick Bury and Michael Chertoff
Intelligence agencies need to develop their strategic intelligence capabilities.
Tags: Intelligence
More Than Just Business: The Political Context of the UK–China Commercial Relationship
RUSI Newsbrief, 11 September 2020Andrew Cainey and Veerle Nouwens
As the UK formulates its post-Brexit relationship with China, one key policy question is how to develop the bilateral commercial relationship most effectively. This requires not just an understanding of the business opportunities, but also of the political and foreign policy backdrop to UK–China relations.
Tags: China, UKPages
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...
Russians Among Us: Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories and the Hunt for Putin’s Agents
Events, 10 March 2021Gordon Corera, Security Correspondent, BBC, will discuss his latest book, ‘Russians Among Us’, and the incredible lengths the Putin regime has gone to in entrenching its operatives in the West.
Winning Without Victories? Navigating Indecisiveness in Endless Wars
Events, 3 March 2021Join us in March 2021 for the annual event organised by Ecole de Guerre and RUSI
Sea Power Virtual Conference 2021: Transforming Maritime Forces For an Age of Persistent Competition
Events, 25 February 2021This conference will seek to examine the ways in which naval force structures, postures and concepts of operations will need to adjust to a strategic context in which the husbanding forces for high-...
Goodbye Britannia: The UK Challenged by Brexit
Events, 23 February 2021Ambassador Sylvie Bermann, RUSI Trustee and former French Ambassador to the UK, will discuss her latest book, ‘Goodbye Britannia’, with Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE, RUSI Vice-Chair and former Chief of...
Of Some Benefit: US Corporate Transparency Inches Forward
The Biden Presidency: The Benefits of Being Boring
Time for a New UK–US Relationship