Policy area: Foreign policy

Reports

Rebooting the UK’s cyber strategy

This report from UK think tank RUSI outlines six key priorities for the upcoming National Cyber Action Plan. This paper highlights the urgent need to revamp the UK's cyber strategy to address systemic vulnerabilities that threaten national security and economic growth. With cyber attacks costing UK businesses billions annually and high-profile incidents such as the...

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EU-UK relations: Will 2026 be the year to reset the reset?

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform discusses whether 2026 will be the year to reset EU-UK relations. The world of 2026 is very different from the world of 2016, when the UK voted for Brexit. Neither the UK nor the EU seems to appreciate the scale of the changes, however....

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Nuclear deterrence in shifting Euro-Atlantic security architecture

This report from UK think tank RUSI highlights the critical importance of maintaining credible deterrence to prevent escalation and safeguard European security. This paper explores the evolving role of nuclear deterrence in Euro-Atlantic security amidst challenges such as Russian aggression, US disengagement, and growing Chinese assertiveness. It highlights the critical importance of maintaining credible deterrence...

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Prototype warfare in the maritime domain: Opportunities and approaches

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores the transformative concept of prototype warfare in the maritime domain. This research paper discusses the concept of maritime prototype warfare, emphasising its potential to address the Royal Navy’s strategic challenge of managing increasing demands with limited resources. By advocating for operational and commercial innovation, a shift in...

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Understanding the UK’s transition to warfighting readiness

This report from UK think tank Civitas resets the narrative by setting out the imperative for moving to warfighting readiness. This report argues that the West now faces a truly existential threat from a loose but strengthening alliance of autocracies which the war in Ukraine has exposed. This is an urgent and drastic threat which...

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Leveraging partnerships and technology to tackle money mules

This report from UK think tank RUSI underscores the importance of coordinated efforts and innovative solutions to disrupt money mule schemes. Public–private partnerships can play a key role in both tackling and preventing money muling in Ukraine and beyond. This paper highlights the critical role of public–private partnerships and technology in addressing the growing threat...

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Resilient by design: Building secure clean energy supply chains

This report from UK think tank IPPR analyses clean energy supply chains and makes policy recommendations for how to make them more resilient. The UK must become more resilient to succeed in a more turbulent world. Supply chains – the networks of people and businesses we rely on to make and move the goods we...

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Responding to Russian sabotage financing

This report from UK think tank RUSI discusses how public and private sectors can leverage finance to address the sabotage challenge. Europe faces a rising threat from sabotage that leverages social media, cryptocurrencies and a supply of disposable agents who are willing to take on a range of disruptive tasks in return for payment. While...

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Peace with teeth: What Britain and France’s troop commitment means for Ukraine

This report from UK think tank ECFR looks at the first step to France and Britain providing robust security guarantees to Ukraine. Britain and France have committed to deploying their armies on the ground in Ukraine. This is one step towards providing the robust security guarantees the country needs to deter future Russian aggression.

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The evolution of Russian and Chinese air power threats

This report from UK think tank RUSI discusses the evolution of Russian and Chinese air power threats. This Insights Paper demonstrates that in 2025, Chinese air power in particular poses a fundamentally different level of threat to traditional US dominance in the air domain than it did in 2020. Russian air power has evolved in...

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European security in a time of war

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform examines European security in a time of war. A new policy brief by Ian Bond warns that existing European security structures are under serious threat from Russian aggression and US indifference to European interests, while European democracy risks crumbling from within – with Russia...

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Locally implemented or locally led? Tracking finance for community climate action

This report from UK think tank the International Institute for Environment and Development looks at tracking finance for community climate action. Local communities are directly affected by the impacts of climate change and are essential to developing and implementing effective responses. As a result, it has never been more important to understand, track and measure...

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Rethinking UK aid policy in an era of global funding cuts

This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines how the government can best respond to the security and geopolitical risks of this new era of aid scarcity. The crisis in the global system of foreign aid is a problem for the effectiveness of the UK’s own aid strategy. By 2026, global aid is expected...

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Russia’s malicious migration: Predicting the use of instrumentalised migration against NATO and the EU

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines whether there are conditions under which instrumentalised migration is more likely to be used. Russia’s war in Ukraine has unleashed brutality that Europe has not seen for decades. In addition to conventional war, new tactics and technologies have been used, such as drones and...

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Will economic policy win China friends in the Global South?

This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines the importance of trade ‘rebalancing’ for Beijing’s strategic ambitions. If China hopes to cultivate closer economic and political links in the Global South by capitalizing, perhaps, on a backlash against US protectionism and foreign aid cuts, the task may be harder than it seems. In theory,...

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