Security & Foreign Policy

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 […]

A subtle opponent: China’s influence operations

China’s attempts to influence electorates in the democratic world are far more targeted and less destructive than the tactics deployed by Russia – but that doesn’t make them any less […]
An image of a Russian computer hacker

Russia’s elections toolkit: dollars, disruption and disinformation

Hack and leak, astroturfing, perception hacking, reputation laundering: Russia has devised an armoury of new techniques to weaken and distract its opponents. In this second part of our investigation into […]
A drawing of Vladimir Putin looking over Donald Trump's shoulder

Organised chaos: how Russia weaponised the culture wars

Social divisions, conspiracy theories and populist politics are rife in the democratic world. And these are not just home-grown problems: Russia and other hostile states have deliberately stoked internal dissent, […]

Number of women and girls in conflict-affected countries doubles, UN report finds

More than 600 million women and girls lived in conflict-affected countries in 2022, a 50% increase since 2017, according to the UN’s latest report on women, peace and security. One […]

The fight for the skies: how governments are battling in the era of astropolitics

In his 2015 book Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall detailed the historical and geographical factors that explain Putin’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. Now, he warns, the global race for resources […]
A photograph NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference following the meeting with Sweden, Finland and Türkiye. Photo: NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Nato: Vilnius summit will reflect fresh sense of purpose over Ukraine war – but hard questions remain over membership issues

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given NATO fresh sense of purpose and momentum. But the summit this week at Vilnius need to address a number of key issues The US […]

Why the west needs to offer Brazil, India and South Africa a new deal

The unwillingness of some countries to back the west’s position on Ukraine is a wake-up call. Western leaders must now determine what they can offer to powerful states including Brazil, […]