China Coast Guard ships intercepted a Philippine resupply run to Second Thomas Shoal on 24 September. Global Times said it lacked prior Chinese approval. Dr Charles Pearson says this is language used by 'an administering authority over territory, rather than the sort used to establish a claim'.

'Joint exercises assume crises arrive singly, are recognisable and end on schedule. Compounded crises break all three, and readiness reporting cannot detect it.' In a the latest RUSI Newsbrief, Prathap Latchmanan sets out four changes to how exercises are designed.

"Russia cannot simply build its way out of the problem through numerical expansion." New RUSI research by Dr Sidharth Kaushal finds Russia's nuclear modernisation will favour speed and precision - silo-based systems, theatre strike, counterspace - over expanding arsenal size.

'Supporting Ukraine is not an act of charity. It is an act of self-interest.' Dr Greg Mills, Dr Karin von Hippel and Raimundo Robredo argue that Russia threatens democracies well beyond Europe, and that Ukraine's battlefield innovation and civilian resilience hold lessons for the West.

Ukraine needs weapons to win the war, but Europe needs a wider toolset to secure the peace. As Dr Jack Watling argues, "investment in Ukraine's future is an investment in European security", and development aid has to be part of that deterrence strategy.

Sanctions remain atop the UK and EU agenda, yet enforcement has lagged behind. Our RUSI Commentary by Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin argues firms must fear OFSI and EU enforcement as much as OFAC.

Serbia's 25 October election carries implications well beyond the Balkans. In our latest RUSI Commentary, Vladimir Krulj examines what political discontinuity in Belgrade could mean for Israel's emerging defence-industrial partnership with Serbia.

Five years after the Huawei debate, Europe still has no unified approach to managing 'high-risk' tech vendors. Our new report compares how Germany, Spain and the UK handle Chinese vendors in critical infrastructure - three different approaches, no EU standard.

This winter isn't just testing Ukraine's resilience - it's testing Europe's, as Russia escalates pressure on European grids, with cyberattacks the most credible threat.

Stablecoins are no longer a niche story. The market now stands at roughly $317bn, and stablecoins are becoming real payment infrastructure. Yet AML/CFT rules were built for banks, not blockchains, and are struggling to keep pace.

Europe is fighting a hybrid war with a one-dimensional toolkit. Our new report by Dr Louise Marie Hurel and Dr Gareth Mott argues cyberattacks demand a broader political response. It proposes a 52-tool framework across diplomatic, economic, and military instruments, sequenced to adversary behaviour.

Putin doesn't need a new mobilisation - Russia is already sustaining one quietly. The question is how long before the cost becomes politically unavoidable, writes Zoe Neiman.

Trump once urged Europe to buy more US energy as leverage against Russia. Now he's weighing a diesel export ban to ease record prices at home - and Europe could pay the price. Read Petras Katinas' new RUSI Commentary on Europe's exposure.

Following the shutdown of USAID, high-aid-exposure African regions saw violence rise: ‘conflict events increased by 10.6%, battle counts rose by 6.9%, and battle-related fatalities went up by 9.3%.’ Our new article explores aid's link to security.

The EU cannot outrun NATO in the Arctic. Its real gap is that 'it has no legal category between ‘Member State’ and ‘third country’ for partners it depends on but will never absorb through enlargement', write Andreas Østhagen and Andreas Raspotnik.

Russia's parliamentary election delivered the expected result: a decisive victory for United Russia. What follows is far less predictable. Natia Seskuria argues that the Kremlin's options are narrowing - with growing indications it may be preparing for a further wave of mobilisation.

🎙️Talking Strategy returns. Season 7 opens with NATO's Dr Florence Gaub on strategic foresight: how to anticipate the futures you can't predict, avoid strategic surprise, and get the people in power to actually listen. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts!