I think this is an excellent and thought-provoking book, based on Beatrice's extensive experience and knowledge.

Martin D.B. Brown@martindbbrown.bsky.social · 11h ago

Book Review | Flawed Strategy: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions smallwarsjournal.com/2026/04/22/b...

My latest for @engelsbergideas.bsky.social on how Poland and the UK, among other core US allies, are stepping up to preserve the existing order while Washington's leadership wavers. engelsbergideas.com/notebook/how...

How America's allies can preserve the West

Faced with a more transactional and unilateral presidency in Washington, western nations are forging new partnerships in an effort to steward the US-led world order through a time of geopolitical turb...

engelsbergideas.com

At the heart of Europe’s crisis is a neglect of the common good and the prerogatives of the state. Europe’s lost reason of state | @jackfdickens.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/notebook/eur...

Europe’s lost reason of state

At the heart of Europe’s crisis is a neglect of the common good and the prerogatives of the state.

engelsbergideas.com

Really good deep dive into defence financing - including the DSRB, Defence Security and Resilience Bank. www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Allies Should Unite on Defence Finance

NATO Allies should come together to form a defence financing instrument that supplements national defence spending, improves companies’ access to affordable capital, and incentivises joint procurement...

rusi.org

Faced with a more transactional and unilateral presidency in Washington, western nations are forging new partnerships to steward the US-led world order through geopolitical turbulence. How America’s allies can preserve the West | @wdjames.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/notebook/how...

How America's allies can preserve the West

Faced with a more transactional and unilateral presidency in Washington, western nations are forging new partnerships in an effort to steward the US-led world order through a time of geopolitical turb...

engelsbergideas.com

Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-51 on Rovner, Strategy and Grand Strategy In Strategy and Grand Strategy, Joshua Rovner sets out to examine the relationship between strategy and grand strategy, guided by… https://issforum.org/roundtables/roundtable-review-17-51-joshua-rovner-strategy-and-grand-strategy

Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-51 on Rovner, Strategy and Grand Strategy

In Strategy and Grand Strategy, Joshua Rovner sets out to examine the relationship between strategy and grand strategy, guided by two key objectives. One is to properly delimit each concept’s scope: “theory of security” (grand strategy) and “theory of victory” (strategy) (10-11). The second, and this is a significant commitment, is to reorient the discussion away from conceptual contestations toward the sphere of practice.

issforum.org

Making my debut writing for @aspi-org.bsky.social today – on why the Australia-Japan 'quasi-alliance' isn't hedging, but something I call stewarding: allies propping up the existing order themselves, without waiting for Washington's lead.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute@aspi-org.bsky.social · 7d ago

'The blossoming relationship between Canberra and Tokyo captures both a striking continuity in the core allies’ commitment to the principles of that order and a limited but substantive shift in how they reinforce it,' writes William D James.

50 ungated copies to my new @iajournal.bsky.social article, 'Stewarding Pax Americana: how core allies respond when the hegemon wavers', available here: track.smtpsendmail.com/9032119/c?p=...

Stewarding Pax Americana: how core allies respond when the hegemon wavers

This article examines how four core allies of the United States—Australia, Japan, Poland and the United Kingdom—are adapting to its unreliability amid inte

track.smtpsendmail.com

International Affairs@iajournal.bsky.social · last wk.

How are the US's core allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific responding to changes in US foreign policy? Read @wdjames.bsky.social's article on the alliance strategies of the US with Australia, Japan, Poland and the UK: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag059

An enjoyable few days in DC last week launching 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations' at the AEI & @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social. A particular highlight was sharing the stage with two PhD students who contributed to the book - Reja Younis & Jonathan Esty. They're both ones to watch 👀

Pleased to see that 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises' has been reviewed favourably in @usni.org: www.usni.org/magazines/pr...

Book Reviews

Experts review The Devil Dog Dictionary, and other new and noteworthy books.

usni.org

🚨NEW ISSUE ALERT! 🌍Special section on Security provision in & beyond Europe 1️⃣5️⃣ articles on China’s special envoys, nuclear disarmament, gender apartheid & more! 📝Policy paper on NATO amid full spectrum drone warfare 1️⃣8️⃣ reviews of the latest IR books Read here: academic.oup.com/ia/issue/102/4

Britain’s other age of instability | Max Skjönsberg engelsbergideas.com/notebook/bri...

Britain's other age of instability

The late-18th-century British political system was shaken by a series of domestic and imperial crises, unleashing a period of turbulence only settled by a prime minister who combined skill and vision ...

engelsbergideas.com

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!

📚 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

Much to mull over in this excellent piece of research by @jamiegaskarth.bsky.social, Maeve Ryan, and @anglo-japan45.bsky.social in which 60 policymakers spill the beans on the process behind the UK's strategic defence reviews. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

British strategic defence reviews: The jellyfish model of policymaking - Jamie Gaskarth, Maeve Ryan, William Reynolds, 2026

Britain’s strategic defence and security reviews are regularly characterised as failures. This article presents original empirical data from UK policymakers and...

journals.sagepub.com

Much sage advice here from Jeremy Hunt on the trade-offs required to *properly* fund defence. Just a shame it's several years late... www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Jeremy Hunt: How I’d have found defence cash if I was still chancellor

Borrowing isn’t an option for Rachel Reeves. The chancellor should instead look at welfare reform and helping people find work

thetimes.com

A sharp new paper by Harsh V. Pant & Sanjeet Kashyap on the grand strategy conceptual debate and its relevance for India. The 'Classical Plus' approach - security goals, mixed means - is a neat contribution. Added to my syllabus. www.orfonline.org/research/a-p...

A Proposed ‛Classical Plus’ Approach to the Grand Strategy Conceptual Debate

Explore how the Classical Plus framework redefines grand strategy and strengthens India’s National Security Strategy amid global security challenges.

orfonline.org

The encroachment of AI into literature is catastrophic for writers, not because of how bad its outputs are or how unoriginal it makes us, but because of what it does to the practice of writing. The case against AI: writing isn’t meant to be easy | Alexander Lee engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

The case against AI: writing isn't meant to be easy

The encroachment of AI into literature is catastrophic for writers, not because of how bad its outputs are or how unoriginal it makes us, but because of what it does to the practice of writing.

engelsbergideas.com

Heading to London later this month to speak about my new co-edited book on crises in the Anglo-American alliance @csns-uk.bsky.social. Do join if you're in town. ⏰ 12pm on 23 June 📌 KCL's Dockrill Room on the Strand www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...

Book Launch: 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises' with Dr William D. James | King's College London

With President Trump's designs on Greenland and disputes over the Iran War, many argue that the UK-US alliance - often dubbed "the special relationship" - is close to breaking point

kcl.ac.uk

"You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats." And there it is. x.com/JohnHealey_M...

John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) on X

My letter to the Prime Minister https://t.co/j9z9nmLCb1

x.com

10 questions we should be asking of the Defence Investment Plan @chathamhouse.org (based on research with Maeve Ryan and @anglo-japan45.bsky.social of @csns-uk.bsky.social, @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social), @oupolitics.bsky.social, @openuniversity.bsky.social: www.chathamhouse.org/2026/06/will...

Will the UK’s Defence Investment Plan finally be honest about Britain’s defence?

Here are the key questions that should be asked when assessing the much-delayed plan.

chathamhouse.org

The view from my hotel in Nagasaki, where the eagle-eyed can spot a trio of sleek Mogami frigates.

How are America's core allies in Europe & the Indo-Pacific responding to the oscillations in its foreign policy at a time of rising great power competition? I offer an answer in a new article for @iajournal.bsky.social, focusing on Australia, Japan, Poland & the UK. doi.org/10.1093/ia/i...

“Mogami presents an opportunity for Australia to trial a new model for foreign procurements,” writes in The Interpreter. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/shipbuilding-statecraft-real-test-australia-s-mogami-deal

From shipbuilding to statecraft: The real test of Australia’s Mogami deal

The success of this defence project will be measured politically.

lowyinstitute.org

A few from the launch of 'Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations' at RSIS in Singapore last week. Thanks to the brilliant panel - Dr Sarah Teo, Dr Adrian Ang, and Colonel Brock Hershberger - as well as the faculty, students, think tankers, and diplomats for their excellent questions.

As an interesting example of the tension between high policy drama around Starmer and the international role of the UK, today UK defence secretary John Healey is hosting 40+ defence ministers for the British-French initiative on a potential operation safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz:

UK and France set to host multinational Strait of Hormuz meeting as British Warship to pre-position in the region

UK and France to host first meeting of Defence Ministers to advance the Strait of Hormuz multinational mission. This comes as HMS Dragon, one of the UK’s most capable warships, will forward deploy to ...

gov.uk

Great to have Sir Robin Niblett in Singapore for the RSIS Distinguished Public Lecture.

A few from my flying visit to 🇬🇧 earlier this month for conferences on the state of Applied History and British defence. No prizes for guessing which is in better shape. Tip of the cap to both organisers for putting on such excellent events. Well worth the *long* trip.

UK and Germany should collaborate to build a sovereign, European-led sub-strategic nuclear deterrent within the #NATO framework to deter Russian aggression. 💡 Read the latest #Memorandum by @james-rogers.bsky.social, our Co-founder (Research), for #BritainsWorld

How Britain and Germany could establish a sub-strategic nuclear deterrent

The Memorandum | No. 13.2026

britainsworld.org.uk

Germany is celebrating the late Queen! A special stamp marks what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday on 21 April. It honours her legacy and work towards reconciliation between the UK and Germany.