A new Economic Conflict and Competition Research Group (ECCRG) has been launched aimed at promoting the study of economic warfare.

 

Established in partnership between the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, the group aims to develop a rigorous research base to inform national security policy making around economic warfare.

 

With the impact of economic sanctions on Russia hitting headlines and impacting our lives on a daily basis, economic warfare is a complex issue in need of multi-disciplinary collaboration to be properly analysed. With this in mind, the group’s inaugural event on 18 and 19 October focused on gaining a better understanding of the issue through collaboration amongst attendees, including civil servants, officers, and government representatives.

 

Together with the Navy Strategic Studies Centre, and the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, the Economic Conflict and Competition Research group used historic and contemporary research to highlight areas of opportunity for the UK to use its maritime power to deliver strategic effects through economic warfare, as well as mitigate strategic risks and vulnerabilities.

 

Global economic interconnectedness is more present than ever before, meaning this subject has become a critical component in national security thinking and planning – a challenge which the new ECCRG group leads hope this new partnership will rise to meet.

 

Professor Greg Kennedy said:

“I’m delighted to announce this new initiative, which has been launched initially for four years thanks to generous funding from the Defence Academy. Our world-renowned professional military education facility alongside expert practitioners in the Defence Academy will support the development of vital knowledge creation on an under-researched subject”

 

Major General Andrew Roe, the CEO and Commandant of the UK Defence Academy said:

“For the Ministry of Defence better understanding economic warfare is vital for current and future national security thinking and planning. This new centre of excellence based at the Defence Academy and harnessing the conduit of the Defence Academy and the world-leading research capabilities of King’s College London, will enable us to gain a better academic understanding of economic warfare and raise awareness of this issue with allies and across government.

 

The ECCRG aims to bring together different academic disciplines to produce cutting-edge research on economic warfare. Acting as a meeting point for scholars, practitioners, companies, and faculties, the group supports a global network devoted to the academic study of a crucial and increasingly prominent aspect of warfare.