Security & Foreign Policy

Canada to hit defence spending target ‘half a decade ahead of schedule’, PM says

Canada has set out plans to increase defence spending quicker than expected, with prime minister Mark Carney outlining plans to upgrade what he called the country’s aged military equipment and […]

UK prime minister Keir Starmer and defence secretary John Healey visits HMS Glasgow, as the government unveils its defence spending plans,. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

UK government defence review pledges to ‘accelerate innovation to a wartime pace’

The UK will move its armed forces onto a warfighting readiness and accelerate innovation as the government sets out plans to boost national security. Setting out a Strategic Defence Review […]

UK prime minister pledges ‘defence dividend’ from highest spend since Cold War 

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK government will cultivate what he called a nationwide “defence dividend” that will boost job creation and opportunity as a result of the country’s […]

UK launches resilience academy and data tool to prepare for future crises

The UK government has launched a new resilience initiative to help the country prepare and respond to future crises such as major storms, fires, power cuts or pandemics. The UK […]

Letter from Ottawa: Foreboding descends on Canada’s capital

November in Canada is always a challenging time for keeping spirits up. The days quickly grow shorter and colder. The rites of autumn involve putting away summer things, closing up […]
Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell and former Department for International Development permanent secretary Sir Mark Lowcock speaking at an Institute for Government event Lessons from the rise and fall of the Department for International Development

Lessons from the rise and fall of the UK’s Department for International Development

The UK’s Department for International Development both tackled poverty around the world and strengthened Britain’s global reputation – but then it was closed and international aid merged with the Foreign […]

EU parliament election sees shaken centre hold – but far right now has chances to show its strength

After the four-day, 27-state democratic marathon that is the European parliamentary election, a picture has emerged of a fragile centre just holding amid a shift to the right that carries […]
President of Islamic Republic of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi at UN Headquarters in New York on September 18, 2023

What could President Raisi’s death mean for stability in Iran and beyond? Expert Q&A

A helicopter carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials crashed in the mountainous north-west reaches of Iran on Sunday 20 May, sparking a rescue operation […]

Defeating disinformation: how to create a healthier national conversation

Bad actors are poisoning the information well from which populations drink in the democratic world. In the final part of our investigation into overseas interference in elections, Matt Ross asks […]

Knowing and showing: how intelligence and transparency can combat electoral interference

For a decade, hostile powers overseas have been interfering in elections and stoking public anger in Europe and North America – and the domestic beneficiaries of these operations often stymie […]