The UK’s new government is looking for ways to be stronger abroad, but is that any way to build a more secure country and society? Diana Francis argues that the government will make things worse by pushing for military dominance and failing to address the climate and ecological emergency that threatens us all.
SDR: What should the Strategic Defence Review say about nuclear disarmament?
In an age of increasing insecurity, Steve Barwick of NET argues that the Strategic Defence Review should prioritise diplomatic avenues for conflict prevention and resolution, and explain how the UK will work to revive arms control and disarmament to reduce the threat of nuclear conflict.
SDR: Ten suggestions for a real ‘root and branch review of UK defence’
In its first weeks in power the new Labour government launched a Strategic Defence Review, the UK’s fifth in nine years. In the first of a new series, Richard Reeve draws on Rethinking Security’s evidence submission to the SDR to suggest ten ways that Reviewers should depart from their narrow script to begin a genuinely strategic, transformative approach to UK defence and global security.
Does the new Government’s Strategic Defence Review offer a window for rethinking UK defence policy?
On 13 September 2024, the British International Studies Association’s new Security Policy and Practice working group hosted a ‘Dialogue on the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review’, supported by Rethinking Security. Over 50 scholars, plus experts working with parliamentary committees, NGOs and think tanks, joined the session. This article captures key points from the discussion while respecting the Chatham House Rule.
Fight Tonight, Blight Tomorrow: NATO consolidates amidst climate breakdown
Two of the many consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been the release of vast amounts of climate-damaging carbon and the reconsolidation of the NATO alliance. Ian Davis reflects on two recent reports that illustrate how the world’s revived obsession with military ‘deterrence’ and protracted war heightens the risk of more than one type of existential catastrophe.
Pre-War, Post-War, Anti-War? Defence, Disarmament and Deliberative Democracy
While defence is one of the dominant issues in the 2024 general election campaign, discussion of the appalling implications of a next world war is absent. With politicians unable to grasp the possibility and necessity for change, Sean Howard argues that genuinely deliberative democracy such as citizens’ assemblies is essential to let the people decide on the UK’s future defence posture.
Resilience and Resistance: The importance of envisaging the end of the world (and after)
Conventional ideas of nuclear Armageddon may have blinded the peace movement to the idea that much of the world’s population could survive a nuclear war and nuclear winter, as horrific as that would be. Could scenario planning for nuclear survival help us not only to build more resilient, democratic societies, asks Brian Martin, but also to build resistance to these most destructive of weapons?
A Crisis of Exceptionalism: UK military spending and the next election
As elections loom, both the main British political parties have set their sights on another major boost to the UK's military spending. Richard Reeve analyses what capabilities this aims to fund and what it might mean for the UK's already exceptional global role.
Hypnotized by ‘Deterrence’, or Just Spellbound by the Bomb?
2024 has begun with top-level calls to prepare our society and stock our arsenals for coming war. Sean Howard sees such hyperbole as paranoid and paradoxical if nuclear deterrence really does work. But what if it doesn’t?
UK Denies Toxic Nuclear Legacy in Kiribati
The second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is underway in New York. Absent (again) is the British government. Ben Donaldson of Spoiler Alert reports on how the UK is refusing to face up to the toxic legacy of nuclear testing in its former colony, Kiribati.
The Urgent Need to Reclaim Security – Join the discussion next week
As Rethinking Security enters the final stages of the Alternative Security Review and we look towards the publication of our Human Security Strategy for the UK, we begin a webinar series on Weds 8th Nov to explore why this is necessary and what human security looks like globally, for communities and for individuals. Read on … Continue reading The Urgent Need to Reclaim Security – Join the discussion next week
Why do we not know if US nuclear weapons are returning to Lakenheath?
Why do we not know if US nuclear weapons are about to return to the UK? Because British sovereignty over military-decision making has been surrendered to the United States and NATO, argues Ian Davis.