Copenhagen 1807: A British War of prevention and pre-emption?

In the early nineteenth century, at height of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain twice inflicted preventive violence on a small and ostensibly neutral European state, Denmark. On the first occasion, in 1801, it did so to break up the League of Armed Neutrality. On the second occasion, in 1807, Britain sought to pre-empt the possible seizure of the Danish fleet by Napoleon. Both operations were controversial at home and abroad, especially the latter, which involved the destruction of parts of the city of Copenhagen and considerable loss of civilian life.

Illusions of Autonomy: Why Europe Cannot Provide for Its Security If the United States Pulls Back

Europe’s security landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade amid Russia’s resurgence, mounting European doubts about the long-term reliability of the U.S. security commitment, and Europe’s growing aspiration for strategic autonomy. Could Europeans develop an autonomous defense capacity if the United States withdrew completely from Europe?

On Russian strategy in the social media battlefield

Malign manipulation of the information environment is an urgent security threat facing western democracies. This talk examines why and how state and nonstate actors have harnessed emerging technologies – social media platforms in particular – to shape the information environment for strategic ends. Weaponization of disinformation is neither new nor warfare in the traditional sense, but digital aspects in particular have confounded western efforts to manage it.

Broderick McDonald

Broderick McDonald is an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and a DPhil Candidate in the Department of Politics & International Relations at the University of Oxford where he researches conflict, extremism, and political violence. Broderick previously served as a Policy Advisor to the Government of Canada and a researcher with the Non-Partisan Parliamentary Group for Genocide Prevention. Outside of this, he is a Postgraduate Researcher at the Rothermere American Institute and a Rising Leaders Fellow with the Aspen Institute.

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