News, Articles and Comment

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a book providing an account of the Sinai campaign in the First World War, to defend the Suez Canal from Ottoman/German attack.

Ed. The RNSSC author provides an appreciation of the strategic situation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and endorses an organic ‘multiplex’ as against a hegemonic ‘multipolar’ order for the region. A 35 minute read.

Ed. The author, seeking explanatory narrative frameworks in the tradition of Hobsbawm’s ‘Short Twentieth Century’, applies the geopolitical lens of Halford Mackinder to draw parallels between the world at the turn of the 20^th century and our world today. Originally published in The Article. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in 1958, the author provided an instructive narration of Allied amphibious operations against Finnish and Russian coastal fortifications in the Baltic during the years 1854-5 of the Crimean War. Reproduced from the NR’s archives [46/2, p. 136]. A 30 minute read.

Ed. Bold decisions will be necessary to match budgets to ambitions while addressing real security and defence concerns as the Strategic Defence Review progresses. In a ‘One Defence’ environment, what will be the RN’s role? A 20 minute read.

Ed. The second article in the NR’s series featuring BRNC Pellew Division officer cadets. The author here examines the assets Finland and Sweden bring to NATO in the Arctic and Baltic, together representing a significant increase in the Alliance’s regional capability. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author considers the maritime implications for Russia’s naval forces in the Baltic and Black Sea, theatres where geopolitical developments or naval losses have significantly weakened the Russian Navy’s sea control capabilities. A 10 minute read.

Ed. In this article RN Strategic Studies Centre (RNSSC) Visiting Fellow Dr Ziya Meral unpacks what the next five years of a new term for President Erdogan might look like, particularly Turkey’s foreign policy with specific reference to the Black Sea. A 5 minute read.