Policy area: Security & defence

Reports

Transatlantic China policy: In search of an endgame

This report from UK think tank RUSI investigates the reasons for limited transatlantic cooperation on China. This paper investigates the reasons for limited transatlantic cooperation on China in three separate but related domains: economics; security; and the multilateral system and global norms. While China policy has changed markedly on both sides of the Atlantic in...

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Unfreezing the Abraham Accords

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at a new transatlantic strategy for greater peace, stability and integration in the Middle East. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered the largest war in Europe since World War II. The invasion also marked the first all-out cyber war between two nation-states, as Russia...

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Lessons from the first cyberwar

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society looks at how supporting Ukraine on the digital battlefield can help improve the UK’s online resilience. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered the largest war in Europe since World War II. The invasion also marked the first all-out cyber war between two nation-states, as Russia...

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The threat from Russia’s unconventional warfare beyond Ukraine, 2022–24

This report from UK think tank RUSI details Russia’s unconventional military activities outside Ukraine. This report details Russia’s unconventional military activities outside Ukraine, including efforts to prepare for destabilisation in European countries, expeditionary operations in Africa to seize control of critical resources, and outreach to target audiences in the Middle East.

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Assessing autonomous weapons as a proliferation risk

This report from UK think tank RUSI assesses autonomous weapons as a proliferation risk. Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) will cause problems for armed forces, but the absence of an agreed definition complicates attempts to regulate and control their proliferation. LAWS are not a single capability. Hence, this paper considers the risks associated with LAWS...

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Can European defence take off?

This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at the evolving defence landscape in Europe. Europe, in the aftermath of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, is witnessing a significant shift in its defence landscape. There has been a substantial increase in defence budgets across the continent and the EU’s own role in...

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Leveraging human–machine teaming

This report from UK think tank RUSI argues that interdependent human–machine teams will be a key component of future Western efforts to deter great power war. Interdependent human–machine teams will be a key component of future Western efforts to deter great power war and, if deterrence fails, win. In this policy guide, the authors argue...

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Ransomware

This report from UK think tank RUSI outlines the harms ransomware causes to organisations, individuals, the UK economy, national security and wider society. The latest report from RUSI’s Cyber Research Group, titled “The Scourge of Ransomware”, outlines the harm ransomware causes to organisations, individuals, the UK economy, national security and wider society. Drawing on interviews...

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A vital partnership

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society will look at how strengthened UK-Taiwan ties can help maintain stable cross-strait relations. The success of the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit Indo-Pacific tilt and its security and economic interests throughout the entirety of the region are increasingly dependent on maintaining stable cross-Strait relations between Taiwan and...

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Amphibious Futures

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines how the Royal Marines will need to evolve to ensure the UK can effectively contribute to an alliance or a coalition. The report examines how the force design of the Royal Marines will need to evolve to ensure the UK can effectively contribute to the amphibious capabilities...

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Towards a global approach to digital platform regulation

This report from UK think tank Chatham House defines and details a set of current trends in platform regulation. After decades of reluctance, governments around the world are moving to regulate, and more actively direct, digital platforms in an effort to tackle perceived harms and to strengthen state oversight and control. Digital sovereignty is emerging...

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Rethinking the role of humanitarian principles in armed conflict

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at rethinking the role of humanitarian principles in armed conflict. The international humanitarian system frequently acts as a substitute for the lack of political effort to bring armed conflicts to an end. As a result, humanitarian organizations often must contend with dilemmas that they are ill-equipped...

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Russian cyber and information warfare in practice

This report from UK think tank Chatham House will examine lessons observed from the war on Ukraine. Russia’s use of cyber and information warfare against Ukraine has confirmed some previous assessments of Russian doctrine and capabilities and invalidated others. In both cases, observation of operations in the war to date provides valuable insights for other...

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Security actors in Misrata, Zawiya and Zintan since 2011

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at how local factors shape Libya's security sector. Libya’s armed groups predominantly operate in the areas where they originated. This means that the security sector has developed since 2011 in accordance with distinctly local dynamics: the social composition of the area; the experience of conflict; the...

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Ukraine’s nuclear shadow

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society This research paper addresses the national security implications of the potential and actual nuclear and radiological events in Ukraine for the UK and the European members of NATO. The armed conflict, over the past 20 months, has had significant humanitarian, economic, and environmental impacts in...

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