RUSI Newsbrief

The failure of the Constellation Class underlines problems in US Navy procurement that will have detrimental operational and strategic consequences.

Despite rising military spending, the European Union’s defence capabilities remain constrained by fragmented procurement, uneven national budgets and weak coordination. Bolstering resilience and reducing dependence on the United States will require mobilising resources at the European level.

The paradigm shifting influence of drones in warfare has led to new initiatives in defence, and stirred proposals for a European 'drone wall', a concept that appeals to the success of successful multi-layered air defence systems elsewhere.

National resilience and the vulnerability of Critical National Infrastructure to sabotage has increasingly come under scrutiny since the publication of the Strategic Defence Review.

Today’s geopolitical turmoil has undermined the multilateral institutions that have structured international relations since the end of World War II. To avoid a slide into global anarchy, we must begin complementing existing institutions with a patchwork of arrangements that are less formal, less universal, and less binding.

From arson attacks on civilian targets to the recent bombing of a rail line between Warsaw and Ukraine, Russian provocations inside Poland are intensifying. By stoking anti-Ukrainian and anti-EU sentiment, the Kremlin hopes to empower the "useful idiots" of the Polish populist right.

ChatGPT will soon remove restrictions which were put in place to minimise its more humanlike features. This is bad news for security, worsening an AI already rife with security issues including misinformation, hallucinations and propaganda.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed Europeans that they cannot take their security for granted or rely on others for critical functions. Yet the European Union is doing exactly that by allowing itself to fall behind in the new space race.

The United States is the only power that can succeed as a peacemaker in the Middle East; but that doesn’t mean the task will be easy. The question now is whether US President Donald Trump has the patience and stamina that brokering a lasting political resolution between Israelis and Palestinians requires.

From surveilling and repressing Chinese citizens to firing and prosecuting potential rivals, Chinese President Xi Jinping seems able to rule only through fear. But fear is not a foundation for long-term stability, and the more Xi seeks to consolidate power, the more vulnerable his position becomes.