This article explores the current challenges in UK foreign policy, particularly in regard to defence. It argues that the UK retains considerable potential post-Brexit, but faces several obstacles in developing its defence industrial power.
Regulation (EU) 2017/821 requires EU importers to ensure that minerals they work with originate from responsible sources and that businesses comply with and report on supply chain due diligence obligations with special focus on so-called conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs). This report presents the methodology employed by RAND Europe to produce an indicative, non-exhaustive, regularly updated list of CAHRAs under Regulation 2017/821.
This study, conducted on behalf of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT), evaluates the grant funding provided through the AFCFT’s Strengthening Delivery Programme (SDP) and Sustaining Delivery Programme.
This study aims to shed light on the prisons and detention centres in Tibet, using the innovative method of night-time lighting data.
Using night-time lighting data, this study looks at the potential changes in the construction, growth or decline of specific detention centres across Tibet that may not be visible using overhead satellite imagery alone.
This study, funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) addresses the prevalence and drivers of financial (in)stability of military families in the United Kingdom. It also describes what finance-related support exists for military families, what the strengths and limitations of this support landscape are, and what opportunities exist to improve policy and support provision.
This research brief summarises the findings and recommendations for policy and practice from a study looking at the prevalence and drivers of financial (in)stability among military families in the United Kingdom.
The Defence Guidance for Integrated Working aims to help defence personnel working at operational and tactical levels integrate effectively with partners across government and achieve UK objectives.
The Global Strategic Partnership led by RAND Europe conducted a study exploring the implications of climate-change-related developments on the UK Ministry of Defence's ability to deliver its priority outcomes. We developed narrative vignettes to facilitate discussion of climate change dilemmas and implications under different climate pathways. We analysed vignettes in a participatory event and formulated recommendations for UK MOD and partners.
One year after Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this article examines the role of non-military levers (e.g., diplomatic, information, economic) in the conflict so far.
As Norway contemplates the priorities for its next Long-Term Defence Plan (LTP), it finds itself in a Europe, a NATO, and a global environment that have all changed markedly since the last iteration of the Plan was released in 2020.
SONAC commissioned RAND Europe to refine their working definition of strategic advantage. The team, which also drew in leading UK academics, used a multimethod research approach involving the development of case studies and expert workshops. The study explored the types of advantage held by different actors, the ways in which these can been gained and/or lost, and the ways in which actors seek to maintain and exploit their advantages in practice.
While there is a growing consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected countries' economies and may exacerbate socio-political unrest, understanding the dynamics of this process remains challenging. Our research suggests that COVID-19 will significantly increase the risk of civil conflict in African countries. We estimate this effect will, in turn, have negative global economic repercussions via international trade losses.
This Perspective provides a brief overview of the core principles of the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS) published in March 2021, before reflecting in more detail on two aspects underpinning the Strategy's assumptions: research and development (R&D) and exports. It draws on a body of RAND research on the UK defence industrial base, R&D and technology and provides reflections on areas of emerging challenges for DSIS implementation.
This Perspective examines the UK Government's ambition to use science and technology (S&T) as a tool of power and an integral part of the national security strategy, as stated in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. The commentary highlights the authors' reflections on critical enablers for a successful realisation of this ambition, including conceptual, practical and financial levers.
This document provides RAND Europe's submission of evidence in relation to the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee's Call for Evidence on Defence and Climate Change.
This study examines the opportunities for leveraging workforce diversity to enhance military effectiveness. The study presents a framework to help guide the UK and US Armed Forces in their assessments of links between different kinds of diversity and military effectiveness, outlines six vignettes illustrating the framework in different areas of Defence activity, and discusses key implications and policy options for the UK and US militaries.
As NATO grapples with the future security environment, the Alliance is set to adopt a new Strategic Concept in June 2022. On behalf of NATO's Policy Planning and Human Security Unit, RAND brought together experts from across academia, civil society, government, and think tanks to discuss the current state of human security at NATO and their recommendations and ways forward as the Alliance continues to grapple with these topics in the future.
Space is becoming more contested, competed and congested. This report covers Wilton Park consultations on how to define and promote responsible behaviors in space, ahead of formal United Nations negotiations to try to reduce threats to space security.
RAND was commissioned by the UK Space Agency to conduct a study exploring the variety of possible future uses of space out to 2050 and identifying potential 'game-changers' and the implications for the UK space sector. The research provided a description of how the way we use space will change, who the key space actors will be, and how well-placed the UK is to address these future trends in the space economy.
Spotlight 2021–2022 highlights selected RAND Europe projects that address the important issues of our time. It also features research that is poised to make a difference in the coming year.
This study provides an initial look at the factors influencing the implementation of the Defence Space Strategy to 2030 as well as the unique attributes of the UK space enterprise—including its strengths and weaknesses. The study also includes a decision support tool designed to help decision makers navigate capability management choices along the 'own-collaborate-access' framework articulated in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy.
This report offers a perspective on how the UK could maximise its influence in the High North through enhanced cooperation across government and within multilateral fora in order to tackle environmental and geopolitical changes in the region.
The Global Strategic Partnership, a research consortium led by RAND, was commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence to support the development of a concept of Multi-Domain Integration enabling the UK to maintain advantage by exploiting the integration of activities across domains. In particular, the study aimed to investigate the nature, extent and drivers of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea's own evolving thinking on multi-domain integration.
This article addresses the dual-use conundrum of space technology, examining where the threshold lies for anti-satellite systems.
