RUSI

The Royal United Services Institute is the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank. An Independent institution, RUSI produces evidence-based research, publications and events on defence, security and international affairs to help build a safer UK and a more secure, equitable and stable world.

As a research-led institution, all RUSI activity is linked to its world-class research base. RUSI analysis is accurate, objective and policy relevant. RUSI maintains a wide range of multidisciplinary research specialisms, split across nine research groups as well as extensive network of eminent associates and consultants. 

RUSI is the podium of choice for world leaders and senior policy-makers and attracts high quality speakers and participants at its events, which vary in size and format from seminars to conferences.

RUSI is also a membership led organisation, with its members – both individual and corporate – enjoying unique access to the defence and security community.


Latest reports

UK national security advantage from disruptive technologies

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how the UK can leverage its STI policy to secure strategic advantage in national security. The UK's world-leading tech assets and ambitious agenda aren't translating into national advantage because the country is trying to lead in too many areas without the economic scale of competitors like the...

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Are ESG standards the scapegoat for stalling defence growth?

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines whether ESG standards are the scapegoat for stalling defence growth. Europe’s defence industry needs investment to meet growing security demands. The real problems are not ESG standards, but bureaucracy, banks’ reputational concerns and the general defence market.

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How Russia’s war in Ukraine is creating domestic security gaps

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines how the war has left Russia increasingly vulnerable at home. The war in Ukraine has diverted Russia’s resources and attention away from its own critical domestic security issues, creating uneven gaps in its ability to address terrorism, corruption, regional instability and the return of fighters from the...

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Alternative financial systems and the reshaping of global finance

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines why more states and other actors are turning to alternative financial systems. A desire for autonomy, necessity, and opportunity are reshaping global financial systems and reducing longstanding Western influence and control – it’s not too late to act. The central conclusion is that the longstanding dominance of...

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The evolution of Russian nuclear doctrine

This report from UK think tank RUSI examine trends in Russia’s nuclear weapons strategy with a particular focus on substrategic nuclear weapons. In this paper, the evolution of Russian nuclear doctrine is examined, focusing on the implications of recent geopolitical developments, Russia's nuclear strategy and its flexibility in employing nuclear weapons. The purpose of this...

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Following the fraud: The role of money mules

This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at push payment fraud and the role of money mules within it. This paper discusses the rising issue of fraud in the UK, particularly focusing on the role of money mules in facilitating authorised push payment fraud and the implications for national security and financial crime prevention.

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Rethinking cyber deterrence in a multipolar world

This report from UK think tank RUSI argues that cyber deterrence must be part of an integrated, cross-domain strategy. Geopolitical tensions in cyberspace are escalating. There is an urgent need to reassess how the cyber domain can support broader deterrence strategies. However, the effectiveness of deterrence in cyberspace remains contested among scholars and practitioners. While...

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Scoping corruption in voluntary carbon markets

This report from UK think tank RUSI aims to provide a scoping review of the structural and operational features of voluntary carbon markets that expose them to corruption risk. Allegations of weak oversight, fraud and corruption in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) have caused substantial market uncertainty. VCMs involve the generation and trading of carbon offsets,...

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Scoping corruption in voluntary carbon markets

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides an initial scoping review of VCM features that expose them to corruption risk. The Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs), designed to channel finance towards environmental preservation and help countries meet net-zero targets through the trading of carbon offsets, are facing significant challenges due to widespread allegations of weak...

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Russia, AI and the future of disinformation warfare

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how Russia is discussing, conceptualising and framing AI within their online communications. This paper explores how Russian state-affiliated and state-aligned actors are discussing, conceptualising and framing AI within their online communications. As generative AI technologies rapidly evolve, their implications for global information security are becoming more acute....

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Organised vehicle theft in the UK

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides an analysis of vehicle theft in the UK, including trends, responses and challenges. In the 20 years before 2013, the number of vehicle thefts in the UK declined. This trend has since reversed. Data from the UK Home Office indicates that incidences of vehicle theft have risen...

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Lessons from bottom-up analysis of crime, terror and insecurity in Africa

This report from UK think tank RUSI presents practical considerations arising from RUSI's three-year project 'Organised Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Africa'. The report presents practical considerations arising from RUSI's three-year project 'Organised Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Africa', which explores local perceptions and experiences of key security threats. The link between crime and terrorism...

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Financial dynamics of insecurity in Mozambique and Nigeria

This report from UK think tank RUSI offers policy implications for addressing the underassessed financial dynamics of insecurity in the two countries. This Policy Brief is based on research on Mozambique and Nigeria carried out between February 2022 and February 2024. The research relied on in-country interviews, a targeted review of existing literature and validation...

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Crime, terror and insecurity in Nigeria

This report from UK think tank RUSI takes bottom-up perceptions of violence as a starting point for analysing northern Nigeria’s threat landscape. Nigeria faces numerous security threats: from high rates of violent crime and enduring kidnap-for-ransom issues to long-running insurgencies in the northeast and a metastasising banditry problem in the northwest. Local assessments of these...

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Crime, terror and insecurity in Mozambique

This report from UK think tank RUSI provides a comprehensive analysis of Mozambique's complex and layered security landscape. Mozambique faces an array of security challenges, from resilient illicit economies to an enduring kidnapping problem and a long running insurgency in the north. Many security challenges play out at community level, yet local perceptions and experiences...

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