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| 1 |
ID:
187314
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| Summary/Abstract |
The West produces a lot of strategic thinking, most of it ad hoc responses to present stimuli not only rarely analytically or strategically useful but often damaging existing and useful strategic theory as a consequence. Lukas Milevski applies resilience to strategic theory and contrasts it with its opposite, social utility. Resilience is explained and applied to the particulars of strategic thought. The social utility of ad hoc theory is recognised, notably in attracting attention, which even militaries need to do. The tension between conceptual resilience and social utility should be reflected in strategic education so that the advantages of both are maintained.
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| 2 |
ID:
187311
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| Summary/Abstract |
The increased support for NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is hardly surprising and matches theories of public opinion in times of war. This article unpacks this headline, considering not just Russian and Chinese pre-war behaviour but the underlying foreign policy attitudes of citizens across three different NATO member states. When grey-zone tactics were the preferred mode of action for both Russia and China, were citizens in NATO countries such as the US, the UK and a former Soviet state such as Lithuania in agreement on how to respond to threats? Using survey data from March 2021, Catarina P Thomson finds that although NATO is generally perceived as the first port of call, the dynamics underlying such support vary between these three countries.
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| 3 |
ID:
187312
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The UK response to the Salisbury poisoning attacks of 2018 was a triumph and provides valuable lessons in information advantage and grey-zone competition for the national security establishment. From the poisoning of the Skripals in March to the unravelling of the GRU’s operations in October, the UK conducted a phased, managed confrontation, reaching a defined end state. Characterised by the need to establish clarity, authority and authenticity, the UK used an ‘elastic communications strategy’, which blunted Kremlin disinformation and leveraged the full spectrum of government powers into a potent ‘second strike’ communications response. The case demonstrates that successful and innovative grey-zone competition can be achieved without sacrificing moral authority.
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| 4 |
ID:
187315
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| Summary/Abstract |
In October 2021, I arrived in Iraq’s southern city of Basra. Situated at the heart of the arid MENA region, Iraq is being ravaged by the soaring temperatures, drought and water scarcity characteristic of climate change. In this respect, it is but an acute representation of a global problem. But that is not all. It is also situated at the heart of what will only become an increasingly visible geopolitical problem: competition and control of natural resources. Ninety-one per cent of Iraq’s water originates in Turkey, Iran and Syria, leaving the country at the mercy of those controlling the taps upstream. Accompanied by a translator and fixer, I set out, travelling northwards from the very south, across the country, to explore how these combined forces were impacting those most directly affected and what that might forbode.
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| 5 |
ID:
187313
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| Summary/Abstract |
Sholto Douglas was Military Governor of the British Zone of Occupation in post-war Germany, in which post he had to sign numerous death warrants. As Katharine Campbell explains, his struggle with moral injury forms the backdrop to consideration of the Overseas Operations Act (2021) and the proposed amnesty for Troubles-related prosecutions in Northern Ireland.
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| 6 |
ID:
187310
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| Summary/Abstract |
Opinion polling of public attitudes on the UK’s intelligence agencies reveals that Britons are often still ambivalent around issues of agency activity and powers despite increasing engagement and outreach activity. Drawing parallels with similar polling in North America and Europe, this article suggests that while public support for national agencies remains relatively strong, with high levels of ‘trust’, views on what intelligence agencies do – and who ‘does intelligence’ – remain deeply wedded to James Bond-like clichés. Daniel W B Lomas and Stephen Ward argue that, while popular perceptions of intelligence have traditionally offered cover and even increased awareness of agencies such as the Secret Intelligence Service, the lack of public awareness is dangerous as agencies build a ‘licence to operate’ in the 21st century.
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