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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
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
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
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 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
Time for a New UK–US Relationship
Commentary, 19 January 2021Peter Roberts
With the arrival of each new US president, the incumbent UK prime minster hopes to revitalise the UK–US ‘special relationship’ in defence and security. It has largely been missing in action since the...
UK Integrated Review 2021, United States, UK
The Future of UK–EU Security Cooperation
Commentary, 18 January 2021Julian King and John Scarlett
The agreement governing future relations between the UK and the EU has addressed only some of the serious questions about future security cooperation. Many challenges lie ahead, and goodwill, as well...
UK Integrated Review 2021, Brexit, UK, National Security, Europe
Underwater Drone Incidents Point to China’s Expanding Intelligence Gathering
Commentary, 15 January 2021H I Sutton
China’s apparent efforts to survey within other country’s territorial waters may go unchallenged.
China, Intelligence
The UK Should Align with Biden in the Indo-Pacific
Commentary, 14 January 2021David Hutt
Having failed to beat the EU to the Indo-Pacific, and with US–EU relations less than ideal ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration this month, the UK could carve out a niche in Asia by aligning with US...
UK Integrated Review 2021, United States, UK
The UK and Afghanistan: Raising Our Voice
Commentary, 13 January 2021Joyce Anelay
The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee, which I chair, has just published its report, ‘The UK and Afghanistan’. Here are its main findings.
UK Integrated Review 2021, Afghanistan, UK
Does the Pandemic Tell Us Anything About War Casualties?
Commentary, 12 January 2021Tim Willasey-Wilsey
It has become commonplace to suggest that British people today would not accept the levels of casualties suffered on the Western Front during the First World War. In Afghanistan the loss of 454...
The Great War, Coronavirus, UK
The UK’s New Nuclear Warhead: Issues for Parliament
Commentary, 11 January 2021Matthew Harries
The UK’s replacement nuclear warhead programme needs better scrutiny. Here’s what Parliament could do.
Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, UK Integrated Review 2021, UK, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Are the UK and India Finally Getting Serious About Each Other?
Commentary, 8 January 2021Walter Ladwig
The UK and India are getting closer. But some of the key building blocks of the relationship still need to be laid.
UK Integrated Review 2021, India, UK
Sunshine Over the Gulf
Commentary, 7 January 2021Michael Stephens
The reconciliation between Qatar and its neighbours marks the end of a poorly considered diplomatic campaign and botched US policy. But the scars will endure.
Unpacking the MENA, The Gulf RegionPages

Free Trade Zones, New Tech and Financial Crime: 2021 agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Anton Moiseienko, Research Fellow at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, talks about his research agenda for 2021 on free trade zones, new tech and financial crime.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Policy and Implementation: 2021 Agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Tom Keatinge, Director of RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, talks about what’s in store for the Centre in 2021.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Crypto, New Tech and Financial Crime: 2021 agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Kayla Izenman, Research Analyst at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, gives a glimpse of what she’ll be focusing on in 2021, looking at crypto, new tech and financial crime.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
UK Economic Crime: 2021 Agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Jonathan van der Valk, Research Analyst at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, gives a glimpse of what he’ll be focusing on in 2021.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Sanctions and CPF: 2021 Agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Emil Dall, Research Fellow at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, gives a glimpse of what he’ll be focusing on in 2021.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Podcasts and Events: 2021 Agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Alanna Putze, Programme Manager at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies, gives a glimpse of what’s in store for the Centre in 2021 in terms of podcasts and events.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Project CRAAFT: 2021 Agenda at RUSI's Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies
Multimedia, 5 January 2021Kinga Redlowska, Project Manager at RUSI Europe talks what’s in store for Project CRAAFT in 2021.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
When Did We Stop Inventing Stuff?
Multimedia, 31 December 2020Disruptive technology has surpassed innovation as the de rigour buzzword for policy documents and is a mandatory phrase for successful funding applications. Militaries and defence organisations...
Tags: Military Sciences
Is the Era of Manoeuvre Warfare Dead?
Multimedia, 24 December 2020US military power since 1980 has been one of historical significance. The doctrine of rapid manoeuvre in the deep battle space, by elite armies of professional all-volunteer forces has defined the...
Tags: Military Sciences
Episode Eight: Freeports in the UK
Multimedia, 18 December 2020In February 2020, the UK government launched a consultation on its plans to establish up to 10 freeports in the UK. Alexandria Reid is joined by Richard Ballantyne from the British Ports Association...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTFPages

Book Review: The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West
RUSI Journal, 8 December 2020Andrew Rathmell
Andrew Rathmell reviews The Dragons and the Snakes: How the West Learned to Fight the Rest, by David Kilcullen.
Tags: China, United States, Defence Policy, Global Security Issues, Europe
Editor's Note: RUSI Journal, June 2020
RUSI Journal, 8 December 2020Emma De Angelis
Editor Dr Emma De Angelis introduces the June 2020 issue of the RUSI Journal.
Tags:
Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents, From Nazi Germany to Putin’s Russia
RUSI Journal, 8 December 2020David Crouch
David Crouch reviews Toxic: A History of Nerve Agents, From Nazi Germany to Putin’s Russia, by Dan Kaszeta.
Tags: Global Security Issues, Technology
Assistance to Locally Appropriate Military Forces in Southern Somalia: Bypassing Mogadishu for Local Legitimacy
RUSI Journal, 8 December 2020Colin D Robinson and Jahara Matisek
Better outcomes might be achieved by supporting local forces.
Tags: Horn of Africa, Counterinsurgency, Defence Policy, Africa
A Quarter of a Century Since Dayton: Will Bosnia Remain a Frozen Conflict?
RUSI Newsbrief, 4 December 2020Harun Karčić
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s post-war structure remains fragile, and without international support and scaffolding it risks remaining a frozen conflict.
Tags: Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, Europe
Enhancing Port and Harbour Security with Unmanned Surface Vehicle Technology
RUSI Defence Systems, 3 December 2020George Galdorisi
Initial trials at the Port of Los Angeles suggest that unmanned surface vehicles offer significant benefits over traditional solutions to providing round-the-clock security coverage for the ports and harbours that underpin the global economy.
Tags: National Security, Resilience
Strengthening UK Support for Gender-Responsive, People-Centred Peacekeeping in Africa
RUSI Journal, 3 December 2020Georgina Holmes
The UK can play an important role in supporting the development of best practice in peacekeeping throughout Africa.
Tags: UK, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, Africa
Delegate, Disrupt and Protract: Biden’s Path Dependency in the Middle East
RUSI Newsbrief, 27 November 2020Andreas Krieg
Joe Biden is likely to follow a trajectory of path dependency in the Middle East, by leading from behind, delegating rather than implementing, being disruptive rather than constructive, and thus protracting conflict resolutions.
Tags: United States, Middle East and North Africa
Overhyped Hypersonics? Examining the US Navy’s Prompt Strike Ambitions
RUSI Defence Systems, 25 November 2020Sidharth Kaushal
The recent announcement that all US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers will carry hypersonic weapons for conventional prompt strike missions raises important questions regarding both the CONOPS guiding conventional prompt strike and the specific value of hypersonics for this mission set
Tags: Maritime Forces
Pakistan: What a New Kashmir Policy Might Look Like
RUSI Newsbrief, 20 November 2020Tim Willasey-Wilsey
Pakistan pays a heavy price for its claim to Kashmir: higher military spending, domestic instability, and exclusion from Indian markets and the transit trade with Central Asia. A more coherent Kashmir policy could be constructed at much reduced cost based on achievable objectives, a sober view of the national interest and the long-term needs of the Kashmiri people.
Tags: Pakistan, IndiaPages

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
Getting the Partnership Right
FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?