Over the last four years, the Dahrendorf programme has participated in the design and analysis of a series of opinion polls, first intra-European, in partnership with the eupinions project of the Bertelsmann foundation, and more recently reversing the gaze to look at Europe from the viewpoint of a number of major extra-European powers, in partnership with the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Reports on the polling results can be found at https://europeanmoments.com/.

The Russo-Ukrainian War has raised significant questions about not only the role of cyber operations in conflict but also the measure of private sector engagement and participation in these contexts. But neither is Ukraine the only testing ground, nor is the presence and gap-filling of private companies in conflict and crises new. This lecture will explore the antecedents, enablers and recent examples of how companies have sought to legitimize and expand their presence in providing cybersecurity in conflict and crises.

The international system is returning to multipolarity—a situation of multiple competing major powers—drawing the post-Cold War ‘unipolar moment’ of comprehensive US-led Western political, economic, and military dominance to an end. The rise of China, belligerent assertiveness of Russia, and associated return of multipolarity at the systemic level in turn carry implications for European states’ strategic posture, including that of the UK.

Over the past three decades, the largely rural district of Gurgaon in Haryana has witnessed intense urbanisation and land monetisation. The local Gujjar community is the most recent beneficiary of the new market in land. Gujjars are a ‘Denotified Tribe’. That is, their names have been taken off the list of ‘Criminal Castes and Tribes’ promulgated during the colonial era. Seeking integration into Gurgaon’s urban modernity, the ‘stigma’ of being an ex-criminal tribe and how to overcome it is a frequent point of discussion.

Open Source Intelligence is coming of age, after a long time spent in the shadow of more established intelligence disciplines. It’s doing so in a period of rapid technological change, including widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence capability to enhance and augment the work of intelligence professionals.

In the aftermath of the 2019 election, the Boris Johnson government promised "the most radical assessment of the UK’s place in the world since the end of the Cold War.” The result was the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021 and updated in March 2023 by the Integrated Review “Refresh”. This paper aims to evaluate how far these texts achieved their aims so far, and with what consequences for British strategic policy.