DR TIM BENBOW British strategy and defence policy face a number of challenges over the coming 12 months. Some of these require close cooperation with allies, notably devising a common response to an increasingly assertive Russia whilst also formulating a workable approach to the Syria conflict (and the problems associated with it such as migration)… Read More Challenges for British Strategy and Defence Policy in 2016
PROF GREG KENNEDY Prof. Kennedy’s latest publication ‘Britain’s War at Sea, 1914-1918: The War they Thought, the War the Fought’ is now available from Ashgate Publishing. The concept of “lessons-learned” has become a growth industry in the realm of academic, and not so academic, writing on Western strategic and operational processes within defence and security… Read More BRITAIN’S WAR AT SEA, 1914-1918: THE WAR THEY THOUGHT AND THE WAR THEY GOT
By DR AMIR M KAMEL January 16, 2016 marked a significant day for the Iranian regime. On this day, aka ‘Implementation Day’, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), informally known as the United Nation’s (UN) nuclear watchdog, announced that Tehran had ‘completed the necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan… Read More Winners and Losers of a post-sanctions Iran
By DR ALISON HAWKS A recent Guardian article with the headline “Many military veterans’ PTSD claims ‘fabricated or exaggerated’” argued that fraudulent claims of PTSD take away valuable resources from those that genuinely do suffer. Professor Edgar Jones, of King’s College London, explained the problem: ‘‘The pressing issue of ‘stolen trauma’, that is the elaboration… Read More Fraudulent Cases of PTSD: It’s Not Just About the Fraud
DR TRACEY GERMAN On December 31st 2015, while most of the world was focused on plans to welcome in the new year, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled an updated National Security Strategy (NSS). While it builds on some long-running themes in Russia’s foreign and security policy, it also makes it clear that Moscow has a… Read More In with the Old: Russia’s New National Security Strategy
Dr David Jordan When the Prime Minister sat down in the House of Commons after concluding his presentation of the 2015 SDSR, he may have allowed himself a smile of satisfaction at the largely positive response it received, and not just from his own back-benchers. This may have become a grin by the time the… Read More Back to the Future? British Air Power and Two Defence Reviews 2010-15
DR DAVID ROBERTS On 14 December 2015, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, called a press conference and announced the formation of a new thirty-four nation-strong Islamic military alliance that would be dedicated to countering the threat of terrorism around the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.… Read More Saudi Arabia and its anti-terror alliance
by Dr HELEN McCARTNEY, Dr ROBERT FOLEY, and Dr DAVID MORGAN-OWEN If 1915 was the ‘forgotten year‘ of the First World War, the same cannot be said of 1916. The year 1916 has been well remembered for a range of reasons, most of which will be reflected in a myriad of centenary commemorations planned for… Read More The First World War in 2016
Dr Geraint Hughes The advantage I have as director of the Research Centre for History of Conflict is that I can look back, rather than forward, and like many historians I really do not enjoy making predictions. From an RCHC perspective, there will be plenty for us to commemorate and debate. 2016 will mark the… Read More The History of Conflict in 2016
After a turbulent 2015, members of DSD’s Regional Security Research Centre (@KingsRegSec) look forward to the coming year and examine the issues that they believe will be prominent in 2016, including the US presidential elections, continuing instability across the Middle East and the various coalitions seeking to counter IS, talks between India and Pakistan on… Read More Reasons to (not) be cheerful in 2016…The US: heading into election year
Defence-In-Depth 