🗣️ Baghdad has a central dilemma in its efforts to curb armed groups, Dr Inna Rudolf said. The push for disarmament is intended to strengthen state authority, but foreign military action can reinforce claims by the militias that their weapons are necessary to defend Iraq, she added.

Iraq's Al Zaidi faces 'impossible' task to disarm Iran-backed militias | The National

Baghdad to pursue quiet diplomacy with US and Gulf after strikes on Iran-backed militias

thenationalnews.com

6 years after the #Beirut port tragedy, one of the world’s biggest non-nuclear explosions, Lebanon continues to feel the aftershock. Maya Yamout – researcher and a survivor of the blast – talks about impunity, collective trauma and the unfinished pursuit of justice in this new XCEPT blog post 👇

Six Years On, the Beirut Port Explosion is Still Not Over - CSNS | Centre for Statecraft & National Security

csns.uk

📝 NEW | How Has the War Reshaped Russian Views? We are delighted to launch a new @csns-uk.bsky.social Report on how Russians’ relationship to the conflict has changed over the past years. Written by Dr Jade McGlynn, Kimberly Metcalf & Dr Alexander Shulga. Read more below 👇 csns.uk/2026/08/03/h...

In a 2022 study, researchers Dr Lorenzo Vidino and Dr Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens note that jihadis have executed successful attacks against LGBTQIA+ targets in Florida (2016), Germany (2020), and Norway (2022), with other attacks foiled in France, the Netherlands, the US, and the UK.

Police Shoot Dead Islamist Who Attacked LGBT Revelers at Berlin Pride Parade

Expert Warns of Wave of Islamist Attacks

meforum.org

This week marks 12 years since the 490-day Arsal kidnappings in Lebanon – the crisis where jihadists invited hostages’ families to visit. What can we learn from speaking to the families about hostage-takers motivations? XCEPT’s @rajanbasra.bsky.social shares his thoughts ⬇️ csns.uk/2026/07/28/m...

Uncovering the Motivations of Jihadists in a Hostage Crisis - CSNS | Centre for Statecraft & National Security

csns.uk

For Prof Alessio Patalano, Canada’s accession is significant, not because it changes the programme today, but because it shows that the Global Combat Air Programme could expand beyond its founding members without altering its governance.

Canada becomes first observer to British-Italian-Japanese GCAP fighter project

Ottawa gains front-row insight into the next-gen combat jet as it seeks to diversify ties amid Washington tensions.

scmp.com

📺 NEW | @rajanbasra.bsky.social's Impact Prize-winning work develops open-source methods to support investigations into online extremism, organised crime and the threat posed by 3D-printed firearms. @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social produced a short video about his project below ⬇

Investigating online extremism | SSPP Impact Awards

YouTube video by War Studies KCL

youtube.com

📝 ICYMI | In his book 'The Visionaries', James Holland explains how ethics and morals were once the guiding principles of leadership. Read Prof John Bew's recent review for @observeruk.bsky.social below 👇

The political thinkers who envisaged a better postwar world

In his book The Visionaries, James Holland explains how ethics and morals were once the guiding principles of leadership

observer.co.uk

Trump, in the words of Prof John Bew, was held in check by a ‘controlled explosion.’ Further, the American president was the subject of a collective encomium performed by allied prime ministers and presidents. Trump departed Ankara praising the love and unity he had witnessed.

NATO at Ankara: meeting the ‘high minimum’ - UK in a changing Europe

Mark Webber looks at the outcomes of last week's NATO summit in Ankara and reflects on the future of the alliance.

ukandeu.ac.uk

🗣️ "Baghdad is courting Washington, but it will not tolerate its territory being used as a launching pad for attacks against Iran," Dr Inna Rudolf told @aljazeera.com. Read the full article here ⬇️

How US-Iran escalation will test Iraq’s balancing act

The Iraqi PM visited the White House to deepen economic ties, as Iraq-based allies of Iran threatened to fight the US.

aljazeera.com

📝 NEW | Abraham Lincoln's faith in American democracy was formed during his years as a country lawyer. He believed that the nation could regenerate itself even in the darkest crisis. Read Dane McAfee's recent piece for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social below 👇

The Common-Law mind and the renewal of America

Abraham Lincoln's faith in American democracy was formed during his years as a country lawyer. He believed that the nation could regenerate itself even in the darkest crisis.

engelsbergideas.com

📝 NEW | Iraq's PMF Integration Paradox: Competing Visions for a Future Within the Iraqi State Read Dr Inna Rudolf's new piece for @armedgroups.bsky.social below 👇

Centre on Armed Groups — Iraq's PMF integration paradox: competing visions for a future within the Iraqi state

In this expert comment, Dr Inna Rudolf argues that reform proposals should not treat the PMF only as a security actor and should look towards gradual reform of PMF governance structures.

armedgroupscentre.org

📝 NEW | Russian Attitudes Are Shifting as the War’s Effects Come Home Read this recent @csis.org piece by Dr Maria Snegovaya and Dr Jade McGlynn below 👇

Russian Attitudes Are Shifting as the War’s Effects Come Home

Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russian refineries combine military and economic pressure in ways previous shocks did not. While unlikely to transform public opinion, they raise the Kremlin's domestic...

csis.org

Slightly behind the curve due to teaching, but @ukandeu.bsky.social recently allowed me to mull over some thoughts on the DIP and its second order effects on the UK's position within NATO. @dsdkings.bsky.social @warstudieskcl.bsky.social ukandeu.ac.uk/policy-versu...

Policy versus reality: The ‘DIP’ in British defence credibility - UK in a changing Europe

William Reynolds looks at the UK's Defence Investment Plan and argues that the resources outlined match neither the commitments of the Strategic Defence Review nor the urgency of the challenges we fac...

ukandeu.ac.uk

🎧 NEW | Last week, Prof John Bew joined @thetimes.com 'The General & The Journalist' podcast to discuss NATO, Donald Trump, Britain's defence strategy and the future of transatlantic security. Give it a listen below 👇

The General & The Journalist

<p>Why do wars start? How do they end?</p> <p/> <p>In this podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times, two hosts with decades of experience cover war, the jo...

thetimes.com

📝 NEW | What Can the UK Learn From the Maritime Dimension of America’s War in Iran? Read Prof Alessio Patalano's recent @rusi.bsky.social news brief below 👇

What Can the UK Learn From the Maritime Dimension of America’s War in Iran?

The shortcomings in the UK’s use of maritime power during the US war with Iran will provide lessons to the government on the strategic role the Royal Navy should play in the future.

rusi.org

🗣️ Prof John Bew told the @thetimes.com podcast he "kind of gets" why Burnham wants to focus his premiership on domestic policy. But he urged him to keep up intense international engagement, insisting: "He can’t ignore these things, and I don’t think he will."

Andy Burnham ‘could face international military crisis within weeks’

No 10’s former chief foreign policy adviser warned the PM in waiting to brace for a major provocation from President Putin whose war in Ukraine is faltering

thetimes.com

📝 NEW | The Global Crises Andy Burnham Cannot Escape. The PM-in-waiting will find himself stretched between Manchester, Westminster and the international stage. Read Prof John Bew's recent @newstatesman1913.bsky.social piece below 👇

The global crises Andy Burnham cannot escape

The PM-in-waiting will find himself stretched between Manchester, Westminster and the international stage

newstatesman.com

Being forced to fight is a component of a deliberate, engineered system of persecution against Ukrainians as a people, according to a report by the London-based Centre for Statecraft and National Security.

Russia Forces Sick Ukrainians Into Fratricide

Compelling Ukrainians from occupied territories to fight against their compatriots is illegal, but Russia has gone one step further.

cepa.org

⏰ Last change to register! ⏰ Join us next Wednesday for the launch of @stevefeldstein.bsky.social's new book: 'Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech and the Future of Modern Warfare'. 📅 Wed, 15 Jul, 17:00-18:15 📍 King's College London

Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech and the Future of Modern Warfare - CSNS | Centre for Statecraft & National Security

csns.uk

Dr Jade McGlynn, who maintains a tracker of resistance attacks, said the primary form of resistance has shifted from attacks to supplying intelligence in response to an increasingly entrenched Russian occupation with wide-reaching surveillance.

The underground saboteurs who are wrecking Putin's plans

Atesh is at the forefront of resistance in Russian-held Ukraine

inews.co.uk

📝 NEW | Throughout its history, Islam has been a motor of change and transformation, a protean force defined as much by its variety and adaptability to lived experience as by struggles over competing interpretations of scripture. By Dr Shiraz Maher for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social 👇

The worlds that Islam made

Throughout its history, Islam has been a motor of change and transformation, a protean force defined as much by its variety and adaptability to lived experience as by struggles over competing interpre...

engelsbergideas.com

🎧 NEW | Iraq's Shi'a Warriors: From Battlefield to Parliament Dr Inna Rudolf was a guest on @ox.ac.uk's Contemporary Islamic Studies podcast last week, where she discussed her new book with Prof Raihan Ismail. Give it a listen below 👇

Iraq's Shi'a warriors: From battlefield to parliament

By examining the PMU's self-positioning as a pillar of Iraq's defence infrastructure, this book offers a critical perspective on the prospects for Security Sector Reform (SSR) and highlights the limit...

podcasts.ox.ac.uk

Please join me in London on July 15 for a book launch hosted by @csns-uk.bsky.social!

Centre for Statecraft & National Security@csns-uk.bsky.social · last mo.

Join us for a discussion of Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare with author @stevefeldstein.bsky.social 📅 Wednesday, 15 July 2026 🕔 17:00-18:00 📍 King’s College London csns.uk/event/bytes-...

Thanks to Dr Andrew Ehrhardt and @csns-uk.bsky.social for hosting the UK launch of 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations' (@georgetownup.bsky.social) earlier this week. Thanks also to the audience for braving the heat (a full house with no AC!) and for their challenging questions!

Join us for a discussion of Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare with author @stevefeldstein.bsky.social 📅 Wednesday, 15 July 2026 🕔 17:00-18:00 📍 King’s College London csns.uk/event/bytes-...

Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech and the Future of Modern Warfare - CSNS | Centre for Statecraft & National Security

csns.uk

📝 NEW | The Trap Closes: How Russia Suppresses Resistance in Occupied Ukraine and How We Can Still Help Read Dr Jade McGlynn's latest for @icds-tallinn.bsky.social below 👇

The Trap Closes: How Russia Suppresses Resistance in Occupied Ukraine and How We Can Still Help - International Centre for Defence and Security

Resistance to Russian occupation in Ukraine is real, documented, and ongoing, but it must operate under conditions of heavy surveillance and at risk of arrest, torture, and death. Some of the western ...

icds.ee

🗣️ "Some militia groups will face choices: integrate, adapt to a domestic role, become marginalised, or continue costly asymmetric activity," Dr Inna Rudolf told The National.

Iraqi militia linked to Iran 'likely to integrate into state following US deal' | The National

Baghdad under pressure from Washington to push for security integration

thenationalnews.com

📔 NEW | British strategic defence reviews: The jellyfish model of policymaking 🪼 Read this new @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social journal article by @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social, Dr Maeve Ryan & @anglo-japan45.bsky.social below 👇

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

📚 Book talk alert! 📚 Join us next Tuesday for the launch of @wdjames.bsky.social's new co-edited book: 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises'. 📅 Tue, 23 Jun, 12:00-13:15 📍 King's College London

Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises - CSNS | Centre for Statecraft & National Security

csns.uk