Global Security Briefing

The 2026 NATO Summit convened at a moment of fragile unity for the alliance. What did it deliver? What did it leave unresolved? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus is joined by three colleagues, each bringing with them a different perspective on the alliance: Natia Seskuria, Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Security, Burcu Ozcelik, Se...

Organised crime no longer operates outside international politics. Criminal networks are increasingly present in spaces once associated with intelligence services, foreign policy and national security. In this edition of Global Security Briefing hosted by Cathy Heanlein, Director of Organised Crime and Policing at RUSI, we look at the blurring of boundaries between crime, statecraft and geopolitic...

What does the Russian wartime economy look like beneath the official data – and what are the implications for regime stability? In early June, President Putin took to the stage at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum – Russia's flagship annual showcase for investors and international media – and delivered a characteristically assured account of an economy not just surviving but adapting....

Are we seeing the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp in the latest phase of the Iran crisis, or just another pause in a much longer confrontation? The broad picture at the beginning of June 2026 is that the US and Iran appear to be trying to move from immediate crisis management to a more structured negotiation, but the process remains extremely fragile. A reported 60-day ceasefire extension woul...

Dr Olivia Cheung and Lyle Morris join Philip Shetler-Jones to assess President Trump's Beijing visit and the future of US-China relations. President Trump's visit to Beijing comes at a pivotal moment in US-China relations, with strategic rivalry, economic tensions, and regional security concerns continuing to shape the world's most consequential bilateral relationship. In this episode of Global Se...

Dr Neil Melvin and Dr Philip Shetler Jones discuss Brexit, European security, the Indo-Pacific and the changing global order. In his final episode as host of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin reflects on how international security has evolved in the period since the podcast launched in 2021 and what these changes mean for the United Kingdom and its allies. Joined by Dr Philip Shetler Jones, Se...

As the Middle East is facing grave uncertainty against the backdrop of what is being called the 'Third Gulf War', Ankara is managing an uneasy relationship with Iran. Turkey is projecting itself as a more consequential regional actor across a variety of regional security spaces and is often described as a 'middle power'. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Dr Neil Melvin is joined by Dr B...

The US and Israel have launched major strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation across the region and raising fears of wider war. As tensions escalate around the Strait of Hormuz and across the region, the implications extend far beyond the Middle East. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Burcu Ozcelik, RUSI Senior Research Fellow, and Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a...

Ukraine, its European  backers  and the United States have drawn closer to agreeing a blueprint for peace, but various questions remain.     Can anyone accept Russian sincerity? How to treat Moscow's demands for territory in the Donbas ,  and beyond? And what is to be made of Russia's attitude towards security guarantees for Ukraine?     In this bonus episode of GSB, we hear from a panel of expert...

Following Washington's emphasis on the Western Hemisphere in its 2025 National Security Strategy, this episode examines Cuba, Venezuela and the intensifying US-China competition in Latin America. In this episode, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Brian Fonseca, Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University, and Dr Carlos Solar, Senior Research Fellow for...

The Greenland crisis has damaged goodwill and trust between the US and Europe and has undermined perceptions of US reliability and trustworthiness. Following the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, should Europe now pursue independence and begin to decouple from the US? In this bonus episode of Global Security Briefing, we hear from RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus as she discusses th...

As US–European relations face renewed strain under President Trump, this episode explores what the crisis means for NATO, European security and the United Kingdom. In this episode, Neil Melvin is joined by RUSI Distinguished Fellow Sir David Lidington to discuss the growing crisis in transatlantic relations, from the Greenland dispute and uncertainty over US security commitments to the wider impac...

Dr Claudia Major joins Neil Melvin to discuss Germany's rearmament drive and its implications for European and transatlantic security. Germany is undertaking the most significant overhaul of its defence and security policy in decades, moving from long-standing restraint to large-scale rearmament and military reform. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin speaks with Dr Claudia Ma...

Dr Burcu Ozcelik and Nicholas Hopton join Neil Melvin to discuss key insights from the Doha Forum and the shifting Middle East security landscape. In this episode, recorded at the Doha Forum 2025, Neil Melvin speaks with Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow at RUSI and Nicholas Hopton, RUSI Distinguished Fellow and former British Ambassador, to discuss the state of Middle Eastern security afte...

Dr Eric Rudenshiold joins Neil Melvin to examine regional change, great-power competition and Washington's renewed engagement within the Caspian region. The Caspian region is being reshaped by new political and economic dynamics as Central Asia and the South Caucasus deepen regional cooperation and navigate the competing ambitions of Russia, China and a newly engaged US. President Trump's first pr...

Professor John Bew joins Neil Melvin to reflect on the UK's evolving global role, strategic reviews, and how Britain can navigate an era of geopolitical upheaval. Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has faced a rapidly transforming global environment marked by the rise of revisionist powers, economic disruption and the erosion of the post-Cold War international order. In response, successive...

Trump's revived 'America First' policy is reshaping US-Latin America ties, testing regional stability, governance and the balance between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow. Nearly a year into his second term, President Trump has revived the 'America First' doctrine with a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere. As Washington prioritises border security, transactional diplomacy and strategic competi...

Can Taipei maintain stability amid great power competition? Taiwan is facing rising Chinese pressure and increasingly uncertain US backing. As cross-strait tensions intensify, the central question for Taipei is whether it can maintain its delicate status quo. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Philip Shetler-Jones, Senior Research Fellow for Indo-Pacific Secur...

As the end of the fourth year of the Russia-Ukraine war approaches, questions mount over President Trump's peace efforts and shifting international dynamics. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian Minister of Defence and now Chairman of the Centre for Defence Strategies in Kyiv, to assess where the war now stands. The discussion...

Can Turkey act as a stabilising force in Syria and Iraq, or are its policies driven by short-term security concerns? As Ankara seeks to navigate the shifting geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, its approach to Syria and Iraq has become a key test of its regional influence. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin is joined by Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI, Dr S...

The Royal Navy Fleet flagship in Asia prompts a critical question: How serious is Britain about the Indo-Pacific? Against a backdrop of deepening UK - Japan defence and economic ties, shifting US engagement, and growing regional security pressures, this episode of Global Security Briefing explores what the HMS Prince of Wales' 2025 mission reveals about the UK's approach to the Indo-Pacific. Host...

Tensions in the Indo-Pacific are testing US power and alliances. What does this mean for regional strategy and for the UK? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by Dr. Kori Schake, senior fellow and the director of foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr Philip Shetler-Jones, senior research fellow, RUSI, to examine whether...

Open warfare has crossed the Middle East, and in its wake came an erosion of the norms of statesmanship and the power of international law to avert conflict. What are the implications for deterrence, diplomacy, and the future of UK, US, and regional strategy? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by RUSI experts Burcu Ozcelik and Michael Stephens to assess whether...

How is the UK's Labour government approaching European security, and how does this compare to the Conservatives? In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by Professor Richard Whitman to examine how much has changed since Labour came to power. The UK is currently setting a path to navigate an uncertain world in a series of major reviews - the Security and Defence Revi...

Is there a real near-term prospect of an end of Russia's war against Ukraine? RUSI experts explain four and a half months of the Trump Administration's approach to the war. In this episode of Global Security Briefing, host Neil Melvin is joined by Professor Samuel Greene, who teaches Russian politics at King's College and is a senior fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, and Andriy Za...