Home / Security and Defence

Security and Defence

The Human Security Centre’s research in Security and Defence

Resilience under fire: how US’s WWII airfield upgrades back Taiwan

In World War II, the United States built a western Pacific airfield here, another there, and more elsewhere, each intended to bring more Japanese targets into range. Now the abundance of old bases is becoming a resource for resilience: several are being brought back into service as places to disperse aircraft and to maintain operations even as other airfields are knocked out.

Read More »

The 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy: It’s Still About China (and Taiwan)

While the tonal change in the content of the new NDS compared to its predecessors is undeniable, the substance is far from radical. Although such strategies and similar documents are not prescriptive to administration decisions, they do guide the planning that shapes day-to-day White House policy options and act to signals to allies and parters. In this context, it should be regarded as less of a historical break than some headlines suggest.

Read More »

Greenland’s Security Architecture

Understand Greenland’s security architecture requires first realizing its value – its strategic geography. Forming both the northern end of the Greenland – Iceland – UK (GIUK) Gap, and serving as the northern-most point of the American continent, Greenland has been significant for early-warning and radar-tracking, able to detect threats transiting over the Arctic before reaching Canada and the United States

Read More »

House of Commons committee report on the UK’s Contribution to European Security

The House of Commons Defence Committee has published its report, The UK Contribution to European Security. The report, to which the HSC gave written and oral evidence, concludes that while the UK remains a leading European security actor, it needs to take measures to “urgently strengthen its conventional and nuclear capabilities, improve interoperability with Allies, strengthen its defence industrial base and ensure it can defend the UK homeland and overseas territories.”

Read More »