This report from UK think tank RUSI considers the role of land-air integration in achieving the suppression and destruction of enemy air defences. NATO land forces are overwhelmingly dependent on air power for fires. Without large-scale US assistance, however, European air forces would currently struggle to roll back dense and integrated air defence systems (IADS)...

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform considers how enlargement could affect the EU-UK relationship. The enlargement process is pushing the EU to think creatively about how to work more closely with candidate countries before accession. The Union is increasingly embracing the notion of phased enlargement. In parallel, the EU is...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society discusses advancing the US-UK 'special relationship' during the second Trump term. The re-election of President Donald J. Trump, supported by a unified Republican Congress, signals a decisive shift in US foreign policy toward a more consolidated, ideology-driven approach under the “America First” doctrine. For the...

This report from UK think tank Chatham House examines responses to US power in a fracturing world. The ‘liberal international order’ that has been predominant, if often controversial, since 1945 is being challenged as never before. This reflects factors both long-standing and recent: the rise of China; the frustrations and ambitions of countries – including...

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....

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...

This report from UK think tank RUSI assesses the digital defence capabilities, priorities and challenges facing five European states. The research, which assesses the digital defence capabilities, priorities and the challenges facing five European states - the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Spain – says that countries often possess robust digital technologies but struggle scaling...

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...

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...

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...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society examines the geopolitics of critical minerals. The average global citizen rarely thinks or talks much about rare earth elements (REEs). However, these 17 metallic elements are indispensable to everyday life, forming the backbone of high-tech devices such as mobile phones, cameras, computer hard drives and...

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...

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...

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...

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...