ippr commissions

Over the last twenty years the national and international security environment has changed dramatically. The end of the Cold War and the horrific attacks of 9/11 are but two developments among many that have signalled the arrival of a new 21st century security landscape. New processes and drivers, from globalisation to climate change, and from the growth of political Islam to a more infrastructure reliant society have come to the fore and now challenge both old analytical frameworks and old policy prescriptions.

Policymakers are working hard to adapt and to keep up with the pace of change, but the challenges are profound and the progress uneven. As a result, while we both commend many of the efforts already underway and welcome the government’s recent publication of a UK national security strategy, we also believe now, more than ever before, that the need for constructive external challenge is great.

As such, ippr is hosting an independent Commission on National Security in the 21st Century. The Commission was launched in May 2007 and will run until mid-2009. It is co-chaired by:

• Lord George Robertson, former Secretary of State for Defence and former Secretary General of NATO
• Lord Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ippr Commission on National Security will:

• conduct a detailed assessment of the changing global security environment and the specific challenges and opportunities this poses for Britain
• identify the values and interests that should shape British security policy over the next decade and beyond
• make specific policy recommendations for how Britain can make a more effective contribution to the promotion of global security and enhance the security of its own citizens at home.

The Commission will address a range of domestic and international security challenges. Current research streams include:

• building more effective multilateralism
• dealing with the challenge of terrorism
• conflict prevention, peacebuilding and fragile states
• critical national infrastructure and resilience
• managing the vulnerabilities of interdependence
• defence capabilities

The Research Secretariat for the Commission is housed within ippr’s International and Security Programme. The secretariat is directed by  Dr Ian Kearns  (Deputy-Chair of the Commission). Other members are  Ken Gude  (Secretary to the Commission and Senior Visiting Fellow at ippr),  Alex Glennie  (Research Assistant) and  Katie Paintin  (Research Assistant).  We are also drawing on the expertise of a number of consultants and associate fellows.