Security and Defence

The post-Cold War 'investment holiday' in state-on-state warfare capabilities has left shortfalls on both sides of the Atlantic, and critical questions remain to be resolved about to what extent emerging technology and operations in the grey zone can genuinely take the place of traditional 'heavy metal' systems and conventional warfighting.

Amid a host of promises including a declaration to re-join the Paris Climate Agreement, the Biden administration announced in early January that it would seek an extension to the treaty, and on the 26th Biden and Putin agreed via a telephone conversation to a five-year extension.

The Human Security Centre (HSC) welcomes the publication of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (IR).

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.

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.

The warming of relations between Russia and China in the Arctic has driven some Western policymakers to declare that an ‘Arctic Alliance’ has formed between the two powers. However, a deeper examination of the evidence indicates that a destabilising partnership between the two powers is far from apparent.

How can the seemingly widespread support for arms control in outer space be reconciled with the establishment of an ever-growing number of national military space commands? How does the weaponisation of space relate to its militarisation? And what does the future hold – constellations of orbiting doomsday lasers or peaceful exploration and commerce?

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.

Despite the storm of attention generated by the regeneration of Japan's hard power capabilities under Shinzo Abe, the concept of 'soft balancing' may provide a better theoretical approach to understanding Japan's approach to international relations

While many assessments in the days after the coup in August foresaw instability in the region, no doubt due to the similarities seen in 2012, no increased instability, whether in Mali nor the greater Sahel region, has happened so far.