The Freeman Air and Space Institute, in association with the Cranwellian Association are pleased to host ‘Security & Resilience: Democracy in an era of escalation’.

In recent years, democratic systems have faced unprecedented strain and escalation. This online webinar discussion will examine these strains, noting how demanding geopolitical environments and public opinion have impacted national security, defence and the overall strength of democracies.

Set to take place online on Friday 27^th March from 10:00 – 11:30 GMT, the webinar will welcome Air Marshal Sir Christopher Coville KCB FRAeS, Visiting Professor at the  Freeman Air and Space Institute, Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Sir Ian Andrews, former Second Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.

Together, the panel will discuss how public engagement and resilience affect democracy and will suggest mechanisms for strengthening that relationship. Highlighting how the UK’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review outlined the need for a "whole-of-society" approach to national security - aiming to improve the public’s visibility and understanding of the role of Defence and why it matters.

The conversation will further examine the contemporary challenges facing global democratic systems, highlighting key factors including: the range of new grey zone threats, political unrest, next generation engagement, improved methods of political communications and international relations.

Register here: Webinar Registration - Zoom

Meet the speakers:

Air Marshal Sir Christopher Coville
Air Marshal Sir Christopher Coville is a Visiting Professor with the Freeman Air and Space Institute in the School of Security Studies. Sir Christopher joined the Royal Air Force in 1964 as a Flight Cadet at the RAF College Cranwell. After flying training, he served several tours of duty as an operational Lightning and Phantom pilot in the Air Defence role. His early career included staff and command appointments, including commanding No 111 (Fighter) Squadron, a spell in the Falkland Islands in 1983 as Officer Commanding Operations Wing, and later command of RAF Coningsby. Later he held senior appointments in Command, in NATO and in the MOD.

Elisabeth Braw
Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, focusing on geopolitics and the globalised economy as well as greyzone and hybrid threats. She’s also a columnist with Foreign Policy and Politico Europe and the author of the award-winning Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World (Yale University Press). Her latest book, Undersea War, will be published by John Murray Press and Basic Books in October 2026. 

At the Atlantic Council, Elisabeth leads the Threats to the Global Maritime Order initiative. She was previously a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). She’s the author of God’s Spies, about the Stasi’s church division (2019) and The Defender’s Dilemma: Identifying and Deterring Gray-Zone Aggression (2022). She is also a member of M&C Saatchi World Services’ advisory council, a member of GALLOS Technologies’ advisory board, an adviser to Willis Towers Watson’s research arm, a member of the Aurora Forum’s steering committee and a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission. Before joining academia, she worked in the private sector following a career as a journalist. She is a regular op-ed contributor to the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Times (of London) and a frequent speaker at business and policy conferences.

Sir Ian Andrews
A former Second Permanent Secretary who retired from MOD in 2009, Ian continues to pursue a wide range of national security interests. From 2009-2013, he was Non-Executive Chairman of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) – now the National Crime Agency – and, from 2013 until 2018, a Non-Executive Director of NHS Digital.  He is now one of the Vice-Chairs of the National Preparedness Commission.With extensive experience of leading transformational change in large and complex organisations in the national security space, he has supported Defence Engagement, particularly in Latin America, and contributes to various public sector and academic leadership and governance initiatives, including those focussing on information assurance and data security.