By Anthony Etchells, UKDF Research Associate

 The future is challenging. The Arab Spring has shaken the region, and the UK will have to review and possibly reset its relationships with certain states after new governments have taken power and established ones have made various concessions. Iran seems as determined as ever to realise its nuclear ambitions. Syria's Bashar al-Assad is accused of widespread human rights violations against his citizens, but has shown no willingness to step down; international partners have so far achieved little but rhetoric; al-Assad agreed to a Kofi Annan's peace plan, but it remains to be seen whether he will stick to his word. British troops are still in Afghanistan, with the government aiming to withdraw all combat troops by 2015 to leave behind a strong and stable country. The final US combat troops quit Iraq in December 2012, and since then the country has shown signs of returning to the bombings and sectarianism that marked its darkest days after the 2003 invasion.

An Index of all the Russias

Papers about Russia published on the U K Defence Forum website

RS76 Modernisation of the Russian Army : Hesitant reform and rapid rearmament - September 2010
RS75 Russia and the West : perceptions and misperceptions that define the relationship - June 2010
RS74 Russian energy policy in the 21st century - June 2010
RS71 New Russian proposals for a European Security Treaty
RS70 Crime and corruption in modern Russia - March 2010
RS69 The impact of climate change on the geopolitics of the Arctic - February 201o
RS68 Confronting the mortality maelstrom - October 2009
RS64 Western reactions to Russian proposals for a new security architecture - October 2009
RS63 Towards a new security architecture - October 2009
RS58 Russia and network centric warfare - July 2008
RS42 Russia's defence exports resurgence - 2005
RS2 Russia post the Presidential Election,1996
RS1 Whither Russia - July 1996

By Leon Grasmann

Introduction

When we think about defence and security, we must clearly consider the world we live in. We must reflect upon the threats that face us, and the possible solutions that exist to these threats. Viewing defence only in terms of manpower, technology, and munitions limits change to the small and incremental. When governments think about security in the UK these days, it seldom involves thinking about defending the UK or the EU from external military threat, for no such credible threat actually exists. Since the 1950's, the UK has largely used its military forces in support of US, NATO and UN missions, most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whether this should be considered a desirable use of UK forces or not lies outside the scope of this essay. But within the scope of this essay lies the necessity to relate defence capability to defence needs.