RUSI Analysis Podcasts

Tensions in the Gulf region have soared following a drone and missile attack on Saudi oil facilities, and the Kingdom is faced with a plethora of security challenges. These come at a time of extensive social and economic reforms inside the Kingdom. Prince Khalid discussed all these questions and offered his views on the Kingdom’s security and prosperity in the years to come.   The conversation was on the record. Prince Khalid was appointed Ambassador to the UK in April this year. He was educated at Oxford University, where he obtained a degree in Oriental Studies, and then commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Previously, Prince Khalid has served in Berlin, New York and Washington.

Professor Malcolm Chalmers and Dr Jonathan Eyal discuss the implications of the premiership of Boris Johnson and the impending Brexit deadline. Professor Malcolm Chalmers is Deputy Director General at RUSI, Dr Jonathan Eyal is the Associate Director, Strategic Research Partnerships.

The panel of judges have exceptionally this year awarded two medals: John Hussey and Helen Parr received prizes for their books, Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815 and Our Boys respectively. The winners emerged from a strong shortlist of authors writing on military history. At the award ceremony the winning authors were given the medal by The Duke of Wellington, a member of the Judging Panel and the prime mover behind the establishment of the Medal in honour of the 1st Duke of Wellington, who founded the Institute. Helen Parr and John Hussey addressed the audience on their books, before taking questions from the audience.

Recorded on 10 July 2019 at 18:15 In 2001, Jack Straw became the first senior British government minister to visit Iran since the 1979 revolution and has developed a growing interest in the country ever since. His latest book examines Britain’s extraordinary and tangled relationship with Iran, and why so many Iranians are obsessed with Britain’s role. Rather as we in the United Kingdom continue to define ourselves by what happened nearly eighty years ago at the start of the Second World War, modern Iranians define themselves by their bloody experience of the Iran–Iraq war of 1980–88, where the country had stood alone against Iraq. The conflict was an act of unprovoked aggression by Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq. The rest of the world – France, the Soviet Union, later the US and the UK – all piled in to support Iraq, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States bankrolling Saddam. It was this experience that has helped define Iran’s view of the world, and its attitudes to both its local rivals for power and those further afield. In his presentation, Jack Straw shed new light on Britain’s difficult relationship with Iran and explore the culture, psychology and history of this fascinating country. The Rt Hon Jack Straw is one of three senior Ministers to remain in Cabinet throughout the 1997 to 2010 Labour Government. He served as Foreign Secretary (2001 to 2006), Home Secretary (1997 to 2001), Leader of the Commons (2006 to 2007), and Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary (2007 to 2010). He was Member of Parliament for Blackburn from 1979 to 7 May 2015, when he retired from the Commons. Before becoming an MP, Jack practiced as a Barrister, and then worked as a Special Adviser in the Labour Government of 1974 to 1979. He served on the Opposition Front Bench from 1980 to 1997. He is a Distinguished Fellow of RUSI and a Visiting Professor at University College London School of Public Policy. Since 2015 he has been Chairman of the Blackburn Youth Zone, and from 2017 a Trustee of the Tauheedul Education Trust. He is a Trustee of the Global Strategy Forum and of the Atlantic Partnership. His other publications include: ‘Last Man Standing: Memoirs of a Political Survivor’ (Macmillan: 2012); Hamlyn Lectures 2012 on Law Reform (CUP).

In this RUSI Analysis podcast, Dr Emma De Angelis interviews Richard Grayson, Professor of Twentieth Century History at Goldsmiths, University of London; Catriona Pennell, Associate Professor of History at the University of Exeter; and Santanu Das, Professor of English Literature at King’s College London. Together, they explore how the centenary of the First World War has been marked in Britain and beyond, and the role played by commemoration in British politics and society today.

A round table discussion on the up coming NATO summit between Jonathan Eyal, Malcolm Chalmers and Emily Winterbotham.

RUSI experts Dr Peter Roberts, Dr Jonathan Eyal, Ewan Lawson, Michael Stephens and Justin Bronk discuss possible action against Syria in a week when the Assad regime is accused of using chemical weapons against its civilians. https://rusi.org/multimedia/attacking-assad-regime

RUSI Director General Dr Karin von Hippel spoke on the Today programme offering her assessment on the Syrian Civil War and the prospects for peace.

RUSI Deputy Director General discusses UK defence spending a month ahead of the Budget. 

RUSI hosted a panel to discuss Prof Theo Farrell’s new book ‘Unwinnable: Britain’s War in Afghanistan, 2001-2014’ - regarded as  the ‘definitive history’ of the UK’s intervention, drawing on military reports and government documents, as well as interviews with Western commanders, senior figures in the Taliban, Afghan civilians and British politicians. The panelists included Michael Clarke, Emily Winterbotham and Mark Urban The panel gave their perspective on the book and offered their own personal experiences from Afghanistan.  Theo Farrell is an Associate Fellow at RUSI. Theo was Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at City, University London and Head of War Studies at King’s College, London .   

RUSI Visiting Research Fellow Kamal Alam discusses the reported Syrian Army take over of Deir el-Zor from ISIS

RUSI Senior Associate Fellow and former Director General Professor Michael Clarke assesses President Trump's new outlined policy for Afghanistan, announced August 2017.

Elizabeth Pearson and Emily Winterbotham discuss their RUSI Journal article on the role of gender in radicalisation to Daesh (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS). They appeared on BBC Woman's Hour on 9 August 2017

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05bpp1y  The UK and US are currently preoccupied with domestic politics; in the UK's case with Brexit at the forefront. But Dr Karin von Hippel, a former State Department adviser and the director of defence and security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), says the UK is not paying enough attention to global affairs, and the real international threats to its national security.  

RUSI Director General Dr Karin von Hippel discusses the remaining threat posed by ISIS following the imminent fall of Mosul.

Dr Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director of RUSI speaks with Professor Anand Menon on the UK's place in the world after Brexit and in a Trump Presidency. Anand Menon is Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London and Director of the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative.

Karin von Hippel appeared on the BBC's Today programme on 21 January to discuss the Trump Presidency the day after his inauguration. 

As Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the USA, experts from a range of specialisms discuss what the prospects will be like for his presidency and impact on defence and international security.

As Donald Trump prepares to take on the office of US president, RUSI Associate Director Dr Jonathan Eyal speaks to NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu on the prospects for the transatlantic relationship in the year ahead.