Subnational diplomacy between the UK and China
This report from UK think tank RUSI profiles the direct engagement of UK local authorities with Chinese diplomats and local governments. There is substantial value to establishing a UK-wide framework that enables more effective local authority engagement with China. This paper profiles the direct engagement of UK local authorities with Chinese diplomats and local governments....
Gold and the war in Sudan
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at how regional solutions can support an end to conflict. The gold trade connects Sudan’s civil war to the wider region and highlights the roles that commodities play in perpetuating violent conflict. Even before the start of the civil war in 2023, Sudan’s main warring parties...
Airborne electromagnetic warfare in NATO: A critical European capability gap
This report from UK think tank RUSI provides recommendations for enhancing European electromagnetic warfare capabilities in NATO’s air and space forces. The research identifies the acute reliance of European NATO air forces on the US military for Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) capabilities to protect alliance aircraft and degrade enemy air defences. The report makes recommendations to...
Strategic security: the case for a new paradigm for national security
This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society suggests a pivot to ‘securitisation’ as a new national security paradigm. We need a new doctrine for a new world. With more global instability than at any time since the Second World War, we are faced with challenges that are not only of a different...
How the UK and the EU can deepen defence co-operation
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform assesses the state of UK-EU defence co-operation. The UK and the EU face daunting common security challenges. However, EU-UK defence co-operation remains limited and the UK’s defence relationship with the EU is shallower than that of many other non-EU partners. Labour’s idea of a...
The shape-shifting ‘axis of resistance’
This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines how Iran and its networks have adapted to external pressures. Iran and its allied groups in the Middle East form a loose coalition often collectively referred to as the ‘axis of resistance’. The axis suffered significant setbacks in 2024, amid conflict with Israel and other political...
Strengthening the financial frontline on Russian trade sanctions
This report from UK think tank RUSI seeks to understand how financial institutions' compliance systems have adapted in response to post-2022 trade restrictions on Russia. Leveraging the G7 financial system remains an important tool for preventing sanctions circumvention, but it is important for policymakers to understand – and address – the technical and practical implementation...
Ukraine’s fight for its people
This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines strategies for refugee and diaspora engagement. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 caused a huge exodus of refugees, now estimated to number almost 7 million (one in six of the pre-war population). The longer the war continues, the fewer refugees are likely to return...
Starmer shows his hand on defence spending
This report from UK think tank RUSI recommends a defence spending focus on generating armed forces capable of being a credible deterrent. The increase in UK defence spending announced on 25 February has been welcomed by many, but the focus on fractions of a percent must not be a distraction from the real issue of...
How migrant smuggling has fuelled conflict in Libya
This report from UK think tank Chatham House analyses three key transit hubs to understand the development of migrant smuggling networks through Libya. Migrant smuggling is not a new phenomenon in Libya. In the post-Gaddafi period, the country has become the main corridor for illegal migration into Europe from the African continent. To date, European...