The School of Security Studies, holds an annual 2-day research conference showcasing the latest analysis and research from academics and PhD students from across the eight research themes. In 2020, the conference was entitled Global Shocks: Security implications of major worldwide crises and included eight panel events from each research theme offering ethical, technological, historical and diplomatic perspectives on the challenges we face during international crises today, like Covid-19, and during historical shocks such as the end of the Cold War.

• Watch our Global Shocks Conference on YouTube

Whilst the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic is a threat to health, the crisis has had an impact across most aspects of societal function including economics, security, business, transport, education and personal behaviours. Many leaders have compared the threat to a ‘war’, which is testing crisis response systems in countries across the world, with states enlisting elements of their military and security systems to support civil efforts to tackle the virus.

• Read full blog by Professor Martin Bricknell

Intelligence enables better and timelier decisions to be made by reducing the ignorance of the decision takers. Having assessed intelligence does not mean being able to give exact predictions of how a situation may develop nor does it always involve simplifying decisions. Indeed, intelligence analysis often shows that issues are far more complex than current politics might suggest.

• Read full blog by Sir David Omand

The Covid-19 global crisis has thrown into sharp relief the importance of developing a carefully considered UK strategy towards China. The lack of a proper UK strategy towards China to date is the result of strategic oversight, in much the same way the country’s handling of the pandemic has been – we were fully aware of the likelihood of the risks but didn’t adequately plan for them.

• Read full blog by Dr Zeno Leoni

A presentation by Dr Michele Groppi on the role of the Italian Military in the post World War Two era, international missions, providing domestic aid and during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as what role they will play in future scenarios.

• Watch full presentation by Dr Michele Groppi

A presentation by Sara Al Mahri that looks at the role of the UAE military, how this role has changes during the pandemic and what impact the crisis has had on civil-military relations.

• Watch full presentation by Sara Al Mahri