Constraints on the Design of Security Policy

Constraints on the Design of Security Policy:
Insights from Audience Costs Theory and Security and Defence Elites in the United Kingdom

Economic and Social Research Council Project (ES/L010879/1, October 2015-September 2017)

In recent years, the way in which the United Kingdom (UK) designs its security policies has changed significantly. The process began in 2008 with the creation of the National Security Strategy, and accelerated in 2010, with the establishment of a standing UK National Security Council and regular quinquennial Strategic Defence and Security Reviews. This multi-method project investigates the security policy attitudes and preferences of members of the UK’s foreign, defence, diplomatic and security policy communities, with the aim of identifying whether the redesign of the security policy apparatus can be considered fit for purpose.

The project is led by Dr. Catarina Thomson, in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute (SSI), and was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Direct beneficiaries of the research carried out for this project include representatives of the security and defence communities in the United Kingdom such as the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Cabinet Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) the Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC), and the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS). Indirect beneficiaries include members of the broader civil society such NGOs, the media, and pressure groups. Research findings will be presented at a practitioner workshop to be carried out at RUSI in September of 2017.