Political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: United Kingdom begins to feel negative economic consequences of decision by small majority of British voters to leave European Union; al-Nusra Front in Syria changes name and splits from al-Qaeda; Thailand’s ruling junta cracking down on dissent ahead of scheduled constitutional referendum that could strengthen its authority; and more.
Tag: Matthew Clarke
The weekly briefing, 26 July 2016: Zimbabwe war veterans withdraw support for Robert Mugabe, Brazilian federal police arrest 10 people suspected of planning to attack Olympic Games, four violent attacks occur across southern Germany in last week
Political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association withdraws support for Robert Mugabe; Federal police in Brazil arrest 10 people suspected of planning to carry out terrorist attack during Olympic Games; four violent attacks occur across southern Germany in last week, with two linked to Islamic State; and more.
The weekly briefing, 19 July 2016: Venezuela’s president appoints defence minister as ‘co-president’, Papua New Guinea’s opposition issues no confidence motion in country’s prime minister, attack on Bastille Day celebrations in Nice leaves 84 people dead
Political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: Venezuela’s president orders military to regulate five of country’s largest ports and appoints defence minister as ‘co-president’; Papua New Guinea’s opposition issues no confidence motion in country’s prime minister; Lorry driven through Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, leaving 84 dead in attack claimed by Islamic State; and more.
The weekly briefing, 12 July 2016: UN tribunal rules on South China Sea dispute between Philippines and China; long-awaited Iraq Inquiry report leads to fresh calls for Tony Blair to face legal action over his role in Iraq war; opposition fighters launch attack on government-held districts in Aleppo after Syrian government forces cut supply route into city
Political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea rules on dispute between Philippines and China over latter’s claims to South China Sea; long-awaited Iraq Inquiry report finally published and leads to fresh calls for former British prime minster Tony Blair to face legal action over his role in Iraq war; opposition fighters launch attack on government-held districts in Aleppo, Syria, after government forces cut their last supply route into city; and more.
The weekly briefing, 28 June 2016: Terrorist attacks in Somalia, Madagascar and Jordan; Britain votes to leave EU; North Korea tests intermediate-range missiles
Political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: al-Shabaab attacks hotel in Mogadishu, Islamic State carries out first attack in Jordan and two people killed in grenade attack in Madagascar; Britain reels from the political and economic fallout from the referendum vote to leave the European Union; North Korea test fires two intermediate-range missiles towards Japan; and more.
Weekly political and security risk update, 21 June 2016: US Senate votes down gun control measures; Britain gears up for EU referendum; Russia plans to maintain mliitary presence in Arctic
The first in a new series of weekly briefings covering political and security risk updates from around the world. This week: the US Senate has voted down four separate gun control measures in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 people; the United Kingdom will shortly vote on its membership of the European Union against the backdrop of an increasingly antagonistic campaign and the shocking far-right murder of a pro-EU MP; Russia has announced it plans to maintain its military presence in the Artic region; and more from Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Polar regions.
The United Kingdom needs the EU, not NATO, to ensure its security
In the build up to the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, some advocates for leaving the EU have argued that Britain’s security is better met by its membership of NATO rather than the European Union. In reality, the United Kingdom’s membership of the EU gives it diplomatic leverage and law enforcement mechanisms that it would not have on it own as well as military cooperation beyond that possible within NATO. While NATO remains somewhat of a ‘solution looking for a problem’, the EU takes a broad political, economic and military approach to security that is in keeping with our own approach and is well-suited to the interconnected security threats of the 21st century.
The war with Islamic State: An assessment of the United Kingdom’s Operation Shader and the wider coalition campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
Overall, the US-led coalition has had some considerable successes in containing and rolling back Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; however, much more should have been achieved given the combined military might and other resources of the 66 members of the global coalition to counter Islamic State. Those gains that have been made have come at the expense of civilian casualties. Furthermore, there are no signs that the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom from Islamic State is reducing despite nearly two years of UK airstrikes and other efforts to target the group.