Discussing the centrality of energy to our human & ecological security, why it's necessary to change the national security approach
Blog
Russia’s Mobilisation and the Ghosts of 1914
As Russia mobilises its young men to the war in Ukraine, Larry Attree warns that the ghosts of 1914 call on us to be wary of those who oversimplify the situation and glibly downplay the risks of confrontation and escalation. Navigating the dangers requires a more nuanced analysis and a more responsible strategy.
Monarchy, the Military and Democracy
The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth was a carefully choreographed reminder of the symbolic unity of the British monarchy, militarism, Church and empire. Diana Francis reflects on how these linkages both determine and distract from the crisis of our deeply flawed democracy and undermine the interests of ordinary people.
Stranded Assets: Climate, collusion and the geopolitics of a green transition
Mounting evidence of the accelerated breakdown of our climate and its human and economic consequences surely means that the game is up for fossil carbon. So why is the UK backtracking on its commitment to a green energy transition? Paul Rogers and Richard Reeve explain how elite interests are simply too entwined with militarised post-imperial geopolitics to challenge fossil fuel interests.
The Contagion of Impunity: Occupation, settlement and liberation in the South Hebron Hills
The assault and detention of an old friend in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is an act of normalised brutality in this contested territory. Andrew Rigby argues that challenging such violence is essential to ending impunity and has the potential to transform the conflict and liberate both oppressed and oppressors from such ‘routinisation of terror’.
NPT sees Growing Response to Nuclear Weapons’ Harmful Legacy
Over the past 12 years efforts have been growing to centre the catastrophic humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, as well as their disproportionate impact on indigenous and colonised peoples, in global nuclear policy. Last month’s NPT Review Conference saw unprecedented attention given to one aspect of this – the ongoing harms from past use and testing – as the majority world sought to hold the nuclear armed states to account.
Reframing Security: Reflections on assessing local security concerns
We are constantly being told about threats to our national security but what is it that makes ordinary people in the UK feel most insecure? Judith Eversley reports on the findings of her local group’s efforts to gauge perceptions of human security in Bath and North East Somerset.
Britannia Unglued: Elitism, inequality and abandonment in UK security policy
After another three roundtable discussions with civil society for the Alternative Security Review, some common themes emerged. Discussions on themes as diverse as poverty, democracy and foreign policy revealed an establishment insulated from much of the day-to-day insecurity and structures of exclusion that marginalise, if not abandon, millions of people in the UK.
Reflections on advocating for peace and security in Ukraine
Rethinking Security has seen an increase in interest in its resources since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. We hope that sharing experiences from some of our members might help those who are looking to understand and share alternative perspectives on security. Joanna Frew asked members of the Rethinking Security network about the kind of issues and queries that members of the public have raised in their response to the war in Ukraine.
Care, Kindness and Economic Security in the UK
Christopher Burns is a member of the APLE Collective, a national collective of individuals who experience poverty. The main contributions he makes are through his imagery and here he uses his art and photography to visually describe his take on a recent Alternative Security Review roundtable discussion on Economic Security in the UK.
The MOD’s Accidental Roadmap to Peace: A radical reading of the Integrated Operating Framework
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been doing some rethinking about how it operates in peacetime, wartime and somewhere in-between. ‘Cassandra’ looks at the MOD’s Integrated Operating Concept and finds an unexpected roadmap for building peace in a world already at war, but only when read from back to front.
Where are you in the story of security?
Rethinking Security’s Alternative Security Review project is committed to understanding what security means to people across the UK and using it to change the national narrative on security policy. Zsófia Hacsek explains how our research partners at Coventry University have used a review of theoretical approaches to security to devise a practical and inclusive methodology for hearing from all kinds of people, and how you can get involved in our research over the rest of this year.