News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author reviews the defence and foreign policy background of Operation FORTIS, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 2021 Indo-Pacific deployment, considering the operation a watershed in post-Cold War British foreign policy. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author investigates the crisis planning and political justifications for the US invasion of the island nation of Grenada on 25^th October 1983. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author provides a tour d’horizon of the strategic history of the last century, and the implications for understanding the US’s role in the multipolar world. A 15 minute read.

Ed. Hurricane Trump has arrived and is blowing hard, seemingly right across the world. As with all hurricanes, there is an overload of chaos being thrown at us at a dizzying pace. So, it is very hard to keep up with the difference between fact and fiction and it is easy to miss important stuff that is not necessarily within direct line of sight. The fourth estate are doing their best but are overstretched and are missing many aspects beyond the blaring headlines. The lessons of his first term have been learned and Team Trump hit the deck sprinting; this dedicated cadre of MAGA converts will keep going no matter what until the pips squeak. The MAGA machine is operating at full force, every day brings further mayhem – so far there has been just the one misstep with the Signal fiasco, the lack of ‘OpSec’ was probably not the main take away, but perhaps it was the open disdain for the behemoth of the EU held by the key MAGA Lieutenants.

Ed. Employing Ken Booth’s model of naval functions as a lens, and with the Russian Federation Navy in his sights, the author argues that modern navies offer policy-makers unique options and variable scaling when addressing regional challenges and crises. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Jeremy Blackham considers the socioeconomic and strategic consequences of climbing defence spending. A public overly focused on the high capital costs of procurement increases the risk of allowing deterrence to fail. Originally published by Cityforum. A 25 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers an important and timely edited volume examining the role of naval power in the Indo-Pacific.

Ed. What can public institutions do to rebuild long-term trust in the wake of seismic shifts in public perceptions of government accountability? Clear articulation of goals and persistent public buy-in are essential. The NR is delighted to welcome this sponsored essay from BMT Group. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author criticises the current state of public discourse concerning diversity in the Armed Forces, citing examples from history to demonstrate that merit must be foundational for leadership in the Services. Originally published in The Article. A 10 minute read.