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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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Diversity in the UK's Intelligence Agencies
Commentary, 5 March 2021Daniel Lomas
The UK’s intelligence agencies have been criticised for not reflecting the ‘makeup of modern Britain’. But significant improvements have been made.
UK, Intelligence

Seven Reasons Why the US Needs to Re-Engage with Turkey
Article, 5 March 2021Taras Kuzio
The election of President Joe Biden presents a strategic opportunity for the US to resume playing a more active role in the South Caucasus, Eurasia and the greater Middle East – if Washington and...
Turkey, United States, RUSI Newsbrief
Financing Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
Multimedia, 5 March 2021Following the recent wave of attacks by far-right extremists around the world, the task of throttling the financing of right-wing terrorism and extremism has seldom been more pressing. The CFCS’s...
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF
Fighting for the soul of Western militaries
Multimedia, 4 March 2021Manoeuvre warfare, the manoeuvrist approach, and manoeuverism as military concepts have been revered by Western militaries for half a century, while their lesser-known brethren concepts such as...
Military Sciences
‘Who Let the Dogs Out’: The Czech Intelligence Service Annual Report and the Challenges of Discussing Threats in a Postfactual Age
Commentary, 4 December 2020Ondrej Ditrych
The Czech domestic intelligence service details the threats to which the Central European country is exposed. It shows the broader challenges of talking about threats as mistrust in established...
Information, Intelligence, Resilience, Europe
Russia’s Clandestine Chemical Weapons Programme: The Bellingcat Exposure
Commentary, 3 December 2020Tom Burge
Findings by the Bellingcat investigative group are a reminder of the power of open source research in enhancing deterrence posture.
Russia, UK, National Security, Resilience
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, UKPages

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
Living with Uncertainty: The Assumptions Underpinning Chinese Nuclear Strategy
Multimedia, 30 October 2020Tags: Adversarial Studies, Military Sciences

Episode Two: What’s in Store for Sanctions?
Multimedia, 30 October 2020No matter who wins, the US sanctions strategy is sure to be impacted by the upcoming election. How will the results affect Washington’s current favoured foreign policy tool? Emil Dall speaks with...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Episode Three: Dark Money and Democracy
Multimedia, 30 October 2020Has foreign ‘dark money’ undermined democracy as we know it? And can a solution lie in a smarter understanding of financial flows? Tom Keatinge is joined by analyst Edward Lucas, Gemma Rogers of...
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
Countering Malign Information Operations: The Lithuanian Experience
Multimedia, 30 October 2020Tags: Adversarial Studies, Military Sciences

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 Studies
Western Way of War: Rules, Norms, and Structures
Multimedia, 29 October 2020Peter Roberts is joined by Heather Conley from CSIS to talk INF, START, Open Skies, Coalitions of the Committed and the diversification of dependencies. The episode poses the question as to whether...
Tags: Military Sciences
Trailer: Financial Crime Insights
Multimedia, 27 October 2020Alanna Putze talks to CFCS colleagues Isabella Chase and Tom Keatinge about the thinking behind this podcast and what listeners can expect – from the speakers, topics and ideas in the world of...
Tags:
Western Way of War: Bad Procurement: A Peculiarly Western Issue?
Multimedia, 22 October 2020Peter Roberts talks to John Louth, Defence Acquisition guru, about the military-industrial relationship, balance sheets, not winging it, the conspiracy of optimism, the cost of technology, speed/pace...
Tags: Military Sciences
Japan’s Indo-Pacific Vision: What's Next After Abe?
Multimedia, 21 October 2020Veerle and Ryosuke Hanada, Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, explore the origins of Japan’s Indo-Pacific policy, unpack its trajectory over the last few years, and look ahead at whether...
Tags: Bridging the Oceans Podcast Series, China, International Security Studies, Navigating the Indo-Pacific, Japan, India, Maritime Forces, Pacific, Central and South AsiaPages

Thawing Out Asset Freezes: Reforming Exemptions to UN Terrorism Sanctions
RUSI Newsbrief, 4 September 2020Stephen Reimer
Media claims got it wrong when they reported that the 1267 sanctions committee of the UN Security Council had authorised the unfreezing of bank accounts belonging to several high-profile Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. But the story reveals how humanitarian exemptions to UN asset freezes lack transparency and effectiveness in countering terrorism financing.
Tags: Pakistan, United Nations, AML/CTF
Legislating to Counter Foreign Influence in the UK: Lessons From Across the Pond
RUSI Newsbrief, 28 August 2020Ben Freeman and Tarun Krishnakumar
As it seeks to develop a transparency-based registration framework to counter foreign influence activities, the UK can learn from the rich experience of the US and the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Tags: United States, UK, Domestic Security, Law and Ethics
The Missing Link in Britain’s Forces
RUSI Defence Systems, 25 August 2020Jack Watling
If the British Army is to achieve the digital integration that underpins its Information Manoeuvre concept then its recce platforms need Link-16
Tags: Land Forces
A Gathering Storm? The Chinese ‘Attrition’ Strategy for the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
RUSI Newsbrief, 21 August 2020Alessio Patalano
Chinese activities in the waters around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands have undergone a significant change over the past few months. This is a potentially dangerous development for Sino–Japanese relations.
Tags: China, Japan, Maritime Forces
Editor's Note: RUSI Journal, April 2020
RUSI Journal, 20 August 2020Emma De Angelis
Editor Dr Emma De Angelis introduces the April 2020 issue of the RUSI Journal.
Tags:
Book Review: In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba
RUSI Journal, 20 August 2020Raffaello Pantucci
Raffaello Pantucci reviews In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, by C Christine Fair.
Tags: Pakistan, Tackling Extremism, Terrorism, Central and South Asia
Book Review: Dealing with the Russians
RUSI Journal, 20 August 2020Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky
Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky reviews Dealing with the Russians, by Andrew Monaghan.
Tags: Russia, Defence Policy, Europe
Book Review: British Justice, War Crimes and Human Rights Violations: The Age of Accountability
RUSI Journal, 20 August 2020James Stythe
James Stythe reviews British Justice, War Crimes and Human Rights Violations: The Age of Accountability, by Susan L Kemp.
Tags: UK, Law and Ethics, Military Personnel, Europe
Book Review: Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict
RUSI Journal, 20 August 2020Stephen Watts
Stephen Watts reviews Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict, by Eli Berman, Joseph H Felter and Jacob N Shapiro.
Tags: Counterinsurgency, Intelligence
How the UK Can Lead in 5G and 6G Security and Standards
RUSI Newsbrief, 14 August 2020Russell Huang and Grant W Turner
The UK has created one of the best tools for mitigating Huawei’s risks. Whether or not the UK Huawei ban stands, its Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre should receive increased funding and support to protect and enhance its interests at home and abroad.
Tags: Cyber, UK, Information, National Security, TechnologyPages

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...
Diversity in the UK's Intelligence Agencies
Financing Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
New UK Government Initiative to Support High-Risk, High-Reward Military Science Needs Refinement