Centre for Statecraft & National Security

CSNS had the privilege of hosting Prof. Siddharth Kara for a powerful talk on the human and environmental toll of cobalt mining in the DRC. 'Blood Batteries: The Human Rights and Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo'
www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/bea...

For Trump et al, the personal is always political In an era of rapid technological advancement, it’s disconcerting that gut instinct and snap judgments by many leaders shape our world

AI may be advancing fast — but it's still human impulse, ego, and instinct steering global power.
From Trump’s foreign policy to Putin’s war aims, John Bew explores how personality eclipses strategy in today’s politics.
Read in
@thetimes: www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Research Operations Manager at King's College London Explore professional service vacancies, like the Research Operations Manager role, on jobs.ac.uk. Apply today and learn more about the position.

💼 We are hiring! @csns-uk.bsky.social @warstudieskcl.bsky.social is looking for a Research Operations Manager to oversee our component of the XCEPT research programme. You can apply until Sunday, 17 August

Find more information here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOC646/r...

Meet the President’s main man | The Observer An elegant portrait of Jimmy Carter’s hawkish security adviser reveals him to be a pivotal figure in cold war policy

💣 At 3am, the nukes were coming... Or so Zbigniew Brzezinski was told.
Edward Luce revisits one of the Cold War’s most surreal nights — and the legacy of Carter’s underrated strategist.
Read in the @ObserverUK: Meet the President’s Main Man by John Bew observer.co.uk/culture/book...

🚨 Call for chapters! Philippe Lagassé and co are looking for contributions to a forthcoming volume on supreme military command authority and/or Commanders-in-Chief from a historical/comparative perspective

📝 Abstracts are due by 1 October 2025, with a contributors workshop taking place in June 2026

Old but still gold? What Philippines can gain from Japan’s used warships Factors such as maintenance costs and system upgrades will determine the true value of the Abukuma-class vessels’ transfer, analysts say.

"This is an important test bed for how Japan transfers capability to a regional partner," Prof Alessio Patalano told SCMP 👇

PA publishes policy paper on national security and rights There are varied competing demands that feed into any state’s foreign policy and national security strategy. This policy paper addresses the relationship between rights and grand strategy at a time of...

Last month we launched a new paper with @csns-uk.bsky.social exploring the future of UK national security & foreign policy amid rising authoritarianism & systemic competition.

It argues we must rethink how the UK integrates human rights into its strategic outlook.

Read more 👇

‘A New Era for Lebanon’: Can an end to political posters in Beirut challenge sectarian divides? - ICSR In the wake of the ongoing conflict with Israel, Brontë Philips explores how a campaign to remove political imagery in Beirut may exacerbate, rather than heal, sectarian divisions.

📝 NEW | ‘A New Era for Lebanon’: Can an end to political posters in Beirut challenge sectarian divides?

🇱🇧 In her latest piece for XCEPT, Brontë Philips explores how a new initiative to remove political imagery may exacerbate sectarian tensions in Beirut 👇

icsr.info/2025/07/01/a...

📆 There's still time to register for this @gwupoe.bsky.social event with Dr Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, taking place tomorrow (1 July) at 15:00 BST. Details below!

The contours of Trump's Middle East policy President Trump’s recent confrontation with Iran is consistent with his longstanding approach to the Middle East – to strengthen America’s national security while seeking to reduce its footprint in th...

📝 "This was not the first time Trump found himself at odds with MAGA purists urging isolation and retreat from foreign adventures," writes Dr Shiraz Maher in his latest piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social

Print and shoot: How 3D-printed guns are spreading online The technology to build your own lethal weapon is promoted on social media

"You are essentially becoming a DIY gunsmith. However, it's not as easy as printing off a sheet of A4 paper in your office printer," says @rajanbasra.bsky.social

📸 Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr Kate Ferguson @ibvprev.bsky.social and @sophgaston.bsky.social‬ for our very first CSNS event, chaired by Prof John Bew

Meet the President’s main man | The Observer An elegant portrait of Jimmy Carter’s hawkish security adviser reveals him to be a pivotal figure in cold war policy

In his recent ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social piece on @edwardluce.bsky.social's 'Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Cold War Prophet', John Bew says "Brzezinski cuts a talented but frustrated figure"

The Fifth Annual GNET Conference: A Summary of Key Takeaways - GNET

On 28 May, GNET organised its Fifth Annual Conference.

We are pleased to publish an Insight and videos summarising the event, including identified research gaps and key policy takeaways.

Many thanks to @gifct.bsky.social, @vpnderad.bsky.social, and all who registered, attended or presented.

🚨 There's still time to sign up for our upcoming event with
@ibvprev.bsky.social! Join us as we reflect on Labour’s first year of foreign policy with Kate Ferguson, Lord Peter Ricketts and John Bew

🔗 Read more here: icsr.info/2025/06/05/c...

📅 Join us on Thursday, July 3rd at 16:00 BST / 11:00 EST for our webinar, ‘The AI Faultline: Extremist Innovation, Jailbreaking, and P/CVE Opportunities.'

For more details and to register, please follow the link below ⤵️

gnet-research.org/event/gnet-w...

🗓️ We are co-hosting an event with @ibvprev.bsky.social on June 18th! Join us as we examine the changing role and capabilities of the FCDO and reflect on Labour’s first year of foreign policy with Kate Ferguson, Lord Peter Ricketts and John Bew

Read more & sign up here: icsr.info/2025/06/05/c...

🗓️ We are co-hosting an event with @ibvprev.bsky.social on June 18th! Join us as we examine the changing role and capabilities of the FCDO and reflect on Labour’s first year of foreign policy with Kate Ferguson, Lord Peter Ricketts and John Bew

Read more & sign up here: icsr.info/2025/06/05/c...

Can John Healey really afford to go to war? Keir Starmer wants to lead a security government but isn’t prepared to pay the cost.

John Bew, the historian and former foreign policy adviser to three Conservative prime ministers, likens him, in style and resolution, to an Attlee-era politician: "He has complete integrity and a kind of granite-like solidity." www.newstatesman.com/politics/lab...

'How the Media is Cashing in on the Rise of Nigel Farage' News organisations are failing the country at the moment when responsible independent journalism is most needed, argues Mathilda Mallinson

"Whether it’s ISIS or someone from the far-right, extremists want to destroy the nuance, the moderate view, the understanding that could bridge divides. They want us to think in Us vs. Them," @rajanbasra.bsky.social told @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/05/30/r...

Had the pleasure of presenting my research on the on- and offline behaviors of right-wing extremists at this year's Global Network on Extremism & Technology Conference.

Excellent presentations and panel discussions, and excellent hosting by the GNET folks - class act, @gnetresearch.bsky.social.

This week, @gifct.bsky.social joined the @gnetresearch.bsky.social 2025 conference at King’s College London to discuss #extremism & #tech.

Highlights:
➡️ Adapting to evolving threats
➡️ Boosting readiness for #emergingtech
➡️ Cross-sector collaboration.

🔗 Read more: gifct.org/2025/05/30/g...

It was an absolute pleasure to participate in GNET's Annual Conference! I'm honoured to have been able to discuss extremism with such excellent panelists and to hear so many interesting discussions about how to study extremism online.

Grateful to @gnetresearch.bsky.social for the invite to speak at their 5th Annual Conference. I rattled the cage a bit—arguing that the real threat any one tech, but failures of imagination. The real danger lies in the convergence of emerging tools. We need systems-thinking and bold analysis.

📢 Exciting news! The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, which hosts @gnetresearch.bsky.social‬, is merging with the Centre for Grand Strategy to form a new hub within @warstudieskcl.bsky.social: @csns-uk.bsky.social

➡️ You can find more information here: csns.uk

The Documentary Podcast - BBC Trending: Print and shoot - The spread of 3D-printed guns - BBC Sounds How the technology to print your own lethal weapon is promoted on social media

🗣️ @rajanbasra.bsky.social was on the @bbctrending.bsky.social last week, discussing the spread of 3D-printed weapons technology across the world

You can give it a listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

We were thrilled to have our third and final panel of speakers present on Multi-Media Radicalisation and the Online-Offline Extremism Nexus.

This panel covered an ideological range - from the far right, extremist misogyny and gaming, to the Islamic State.

Practical and innovative discussions are happening at the GNET Conference!

On Panel 2: The Researcher’s Toolkit, panellists discussed tools for P/CVE. It was fantastic to hear from TikTok, the READ database & a new AI program used for positive intervention.

@csns-uk.bsky.social
@gifct.bsky.social

🗣️ 'Unfortunately, gender stereotyping within the humanitarian and donor sector has resulted in a lack of trauma response targeted at men.'

Dr Heidi Riley discusses the link between masculinity, trauma, and violence in South Sudan for the XCEPT project 👇

More from the GNET Conference

A brilliant first full panel on Extremism & Emerging Technology: The Risks & Realities of Innovation.

The panel touched on terrorist & extremist use of AI, digital financing, multilingual content moderation, and much more.

@gifct.bsky.social
@csns-uk.bsky.social