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Security and Defence

Team Leader: Dr Rowan Allport – Senior Fellow

Our research on security and defence focuses on analysis of Western foreign policy,  international security issues and cyber-security. The group maintains a strong regional expertise on the MENA region.

Understanding the Western Sahara after US recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty

In the last months of 2020, Israel normalized its ties with four Arab countries. In the case of Morocco, the US issued a proclamation, recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, making it the first country in the world to do so. What consequences such recognition will have on what is essentially a conflict in limbo is unclear.

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Legal challenges in combating piracy in the Gulf of Guinea – gaps between national and international law

While there is no doubt that both national and international anti-piracy laws will lead to better conditions for the fight against piracy, it is evidently important to be aware of the opportunities that national laws have where international law cannot deliver.

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The return of US involvement in the Western Balkans

In the Western Balkans, the Biden administration has all the tools necessary to achieve successful political and economic transformation. The newly-elected POTUS has a deep understanding of the region, and is all too aware that the carrot and the stick are more effective when there is agreement and mutual support between the European Union and the United States.

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Unmanned Aerial Systems in Nagorno-Karabakh: A Paradigm Shift in Warfare?

There has been a tendency among researchers and policy-makers studying the evolution and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles, referred to colloquially as drones, to discount their contemporary effectiveness in inter-state conflict. However, the recent conflict in and around the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has in some ways challenged that assumption

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A frozen flashpoint: how will the Kuril Islands dispute affect Russo-Japanese relations following Suga’s election?

There has been extensive discussion of the challenges faced by Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. One major issue facing Suga which has not been analysed in depth is the ongoing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan concerning the ownership of the southern Kuril Islands.

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